The Best Way to Kill Cat Fleas & Infestation

Cat fleas can infest an entire home, making their removal difficult.

Fleas are small insects that infest pets and fabrics. Once fleas begin infesting an animal's fur, they quickly move to household furniture and clothing. Fleas on animals can quickly turn into an infestation of the entire house. If you detect fleas in your cat's fur, act quickly to not only remove the fleas from your animal, but also remove the fleas from your home.

Things You'll Need

• Flea shampoo
• Flea treatment spray
• Vacuum
• Washing machine and laundry detergent

Instructions

How to Remove Fleas from a Cat's Fur

1. Bathe your cat using warm water and flea shampoo specially made for felines. Follow the directions on the shampoo bottle's label and then rinse when complete.

2. Comb the dead fleas and eggs out of the cat's fur after the bath, using the flea comb. This prevents any more from hatching, as well as removing the dead bugs.

3. Apply a flea removal cream to the base of the cat's neck after its fur is dry. This prevents any more fleas from breeding in the cat's fur. Make sure that the cream is designed for cats.

4. Repeat the steps as necessary until the flea infestation is gone.

How to Remove Fleas From Your Home

1. Clean the house entirely, including vacuuming all of the floors, cleaning surfaces, and washing every article of clothing and furniture. Clothing and bedding should be washed in the washing machine with regular detergent.

2. Spray a flea treatment solution around the entire house, making sure to spray underneath furniture to hard-to-reach areas.

3. Quarantine the house for at least 24 hours. Flea spray is often very toxic to pets and animals, so take the family to stay elsewhere until the fumes have died down.

4. Repeat if needed. It may be necessary to hire an insect exterminator if store-bought products do not remove the flea infestation from your home. An exterminator has access to stronger flea treatments that will kill fleas and their eggs upon contact.

Tips & Warnings

• Fleas can infect human hair as well as animals. Make sure to wash the hair of each family member and use a flea comb on it every day.

• Fleas can infest gardens as well as homes. Make sure to treat the outside of your house as well as the inside when dealing with a flea infestation.

• Clean and vacuum hard-to-reach areas, even if you cannot see any sign of bugs in the areas. Fleas spread quickly over an entire house, and are hard to notice by sight.

• Always check the warning label on flea products before use. Follow the directions carefully and keep the products away from children and pets.

• Never use a flea product on a cat that was designed for dogs or other animals.

References

• Cats of Australia: How to Get Rid of Fleas