My Cat Has Fleas! Now What?

Discovering fleas almost always starts in the same gross manner: Your precious furbaby is lying on its preferred parent, getting the good scratches, when something jumps on you. A tiny black speck lands on your hand, your arm, or (god forbid) your face. Ack! You might brush it off at first. Then you notice pink spots on your kiddo. Or you walk across the carpet, and your white socks end up speckled with black, bouncing dots. Suddenly, you're itchy all over, and every time your cat scratches itself, you shudder.

You try to remember when you last treated your cat for fleas. If it's an indoor animal, it might have been a while. Or maybe you have a dog, too, and while you manage never to miss your pup's monthly medication, your cat's flea meds always seem to slip your mind. After all, they don't really go outside, right? Even if your cat is your only pet, the reality is that fleas are mysterious. We often don't really know exactly how they creep in.

The important thing right now is to focus on getting rid of 'em. But, uh, how do you do that? I went straight to a pro for advice.

What's the first step?

Experts agree: The very first thing you should do is treat your cat for the fleas. There are multiple ways to do this. A flea bath and flea comb is a good first start, followed directly by flea medication.

"Do not waste your time on an over-the-counter flea treatment or flea collar," says Mieshelle Nagelschneider, a certified cat behaviorist and the new host of My Cat From Hell. "Your cat absolutely needs to be seen by a veterinarian and receive a prescription strength flea treatment. Topical and oral treatments are now available, and some last two to three months! The flea has turned into what is called the 'super flea,' and even some of the tried-and-true flea treatments are no longer working well because the flea has evolved."

If you were to call around, you'd likely find that most veterinarians are on the same page as Nagelschneider — the pill you get directly from the vet works the best. However, a vet visit isn't in everyone's budget. The topical flea medicine you place between the cat's shoulder blades can also be an effective (and more affordable) first step. Just know that you might end up in the vet's office, anyway.

Is treating your animals enough?

The jury is out on this.

"Eventually, yes, there should be no fleas, but there is a flea cycle that will need to progress," explains Nagelschneider. "Fleas are only a fraction of the problem. There can be thousands of eggs, larvae, and pupae developing into fleas in your home (i.e. carpet, cracks in the wood floor, bedding, in the sofa) even if your cat is flea treated, so to get through these flea life stages, you need to flea treat for at least three to four months (sometimes much longer in the right conditions). If you stop your flea treatment after only one dose, the flea eggs, larvae, and pupae still developing into fleas will eventually find your cat again. If your cat goes outside even for a few minutes, you will need to continuously flea treat. If you have a dog that goes outside in the backyard and it's not continuously flea treated, assume you have fleas, eggs, and larva/pupa in your home and they have also found your cat."

Most fleas only feed on animals. That means even if they're biting humans, they're probably not getting anything they need. As you work through the cycle, the new fleas should eventually die off since they can no longer feed off your treated animal. But if you want to snuff things out sooner, you should take additional steps.

"Treating your cat for fleas is a step to start with, but it won't fix your home infestation," says Nicole Carpenter, president at Black Pest Prevention. "Fleas spend most of their lifecycle off the pet, so even if you kill the fleas on your cat, eggs, larvae, and pupae in your carpet, furniture, or bedding will continue to hatch. Vacuuming daily is your single most powerful weapon — it physically removes flea eggs and larvae, which sprays or foggers often miss. I wouldn't count on fogging alone."

Many experts also suggest immediately emptying your vacuum outside after you use it each day.

Will fogging help?

"Fogging is a waste of time unless you combine it with vacuuming and washing your pet's bedding," says Black. "I don't recommend relying on just one method; it should always be the layering of treatments — vacuuming, pet medication, and home sprays — that breaks the cycle."

Nagelschneider seems to be on the same page.

"In most cases, as long as you get through all life stages of the flea, which takes approximately three months (at least), the fleas will no longer have a meal, and they will die," she says. "In severe infestations, you may need to launder cat beds and dog bedding. We've never had a pet owner who needed to launder clothing. Again, if they have no meal, they can't survive. If they feed on the humans, then yes, you may need to fog and launder bedding, clothing, and rugs."

One thing to keep in mind when fogging is that your animals should not be at home during the process. Removing your cat (or dog) from the house to fog is a hassle for you, and depending on the animal, it might be a bit traumatic for Fluffy. So, if you're going to do it, do it right and combine it with other flea eradication methods. For instance, fog your house on your way to the vet and see if you can leave them there for a few hours while the foggers do their job and you go home to clean up.

To launder or not?

Unless the problem is very bad, you don't need to wash every piece of clothing or bedding in your house. Start with simply concentrating on where your animals spend the most time. Wash their bedding, that pile of your child's stuffies they love, and the blanket on the couch they make biscuits on every night. Combining this with medication and daily vacuuming should be enough. If not, prepare for a week of laundry, complete with trying to keep the clean and dirty separated until it's all finished.

How do you know your cat has fleas?

Flea combs can come in handy in some cases, but Nagelschneider warns against using them as your only source of flea-finding.

"Do not rely on the flea comb when diagnosing fleas!" she says, explaining, "Flea combing is not the definitive way to check for fleas. Many cat and dog owners tell us, 'But I don't see any fleas on my pet, and my vet didn't find any either.' Exactly. You are not seeing them. Fleas do not live on the pet the entire time. They jump on to feed and then jump off and live in dark places (inside bedding, carpets, under and in the sofa, and dog/cat beds). The flea diagnosis questions to ask now are: Where has the pet been? Has your pet been to a boarding or grooming facility or a veterinary practice? In addition to outside, these places are where all the fleas are! Or have you just moved into an apartment where the previous tenant had pets? Carpet or no carpet, there can be fleas!"

Don't waste time on natural remedies, either.

"Skip 'natural remedies' like essential oils because they're not strong enough to kill fleas," shares Carpenter. "Instead, treat all pets with a flea preventative recommended by your vet and stick to it for months. Use insect growth regulators (IGRs) in your home for long-term results, but remember to vacuum daily — that's what will really make the biggest difference."

Feeling like the best course of action is just to burn your whole house down and start over? Relatable. Take heart. As long as you treat your animals and keep tackling the popular areas of your home with that vacuum, you will eventually meet a flea-free day.