The only reason Ivermectin rang a bell with me when it became popular during the plandemic was that my then-vet had given it to a kitten we adopted off the street with mange mites, and it got rid of them with no harm done.
I’ve tried Revolution, Advantage, and different topical things with results from nada to 3-4 weeks tops. The latest (the one with the seizure reviews) was a pill called Credelio, which cost almost $100 for 6 doses. That’s 2 packages, to treat all our cats. Yeah, there’s a little left over, but too bad. Same results - about 3-4 weeks. I can’t afford to stay on this expensive train, so I just keep combing and combing. Three cats get the vast majority of the fleas. They barely touch the other two who live indoors with them, and the 3 who live exclusively on the screened patio never get them at all - as counter-intuitive as that sounds. But I treated all of them anyway. Gave each one about 1/12 tsp IVM in their meal the other day. Hasn’t seemed to do bupkus for the 3 cats most affected. Oh well. What was left over in the syringe I put in my drink and drank it down. Probably about 1/2 tsp. or so. Didn’t taste too bad. I wonder if it eliminated any parasites.
I don’t know where these fleas lurk and breed, as I never even see them anywhere except when combing those three cats. We literally have no carpet or rugs. The cats don’t sleep on the beds. I vacuum everything they lie on if it’s upholstered. It was so much easier long ago, when we moved into a flea-infested apartment that had wall to wall carpeting. Just powdered it with boric acid, vacuumed, and no more fleas. These current ones must be a new breed of super-fleas.
That is weird about the fleas! But, you answered my question-ish about a vet giving ivermectin to a kitten... so you know what to do then. I hope it works.. nothing more frustrating than fleas or mosquitoes or ants.
We are being inundated with big, giant moths. It’s crazy and hahahahahah, I fear for my sweaters and coats.
I hope this works for you. Makes you wonder if some cats, like humans that attract mosquitoes, are magnets for fleas??
good luck with the fleas
I’ve had to battle them in the past (lived near a swamp) and finally won the war by using Frontline (topical) once per month. The cat picked up the fleas from the rodents that he hunted.
My now cats (in the high desert) are also avid hunters but they never get fleas.
I am wondering if different parts of the country have more fleas...
Not sure about cats, but I’ve found Spinosad works wonders for fleas on dogs. Got the skinny at my local feed store, the locals are always coming up with animal cures to bypass expensive veterinary treatments.
Somebody realized the active ingredient in Trifexis and Comfortis for fleas is Spinosad. They experimented and came up with the dose of 1 Oz per 50lb of dog. Works like a dream, no more fleas, doesn’t seem to hurt the dogs at all.
They don’t like the taste, so mix with something they love (bacon grease works well for mine).
It’s actually a lawn and garden pesticide.