My cat has fleas after Effipro. Is it working or should I reapply?

A [flea](https://www.petcoach.co/article/fleas-life-cycle-anatomy-disease-transmission) infestation on your pet or in your home can be [difficult and frustrating](https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-are-fleas-so-hard-to-kill) to deal with. Yes, if after two weeks the [flea preventive you applied isn't working](https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-reasons-your-flea-prevention-isnt-working), you can reapply flea treatment early, or switch to another brand. I recommend using Advantix or a chewable prescription product from your vet, like Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica, or Credelio. This recommendation is unrelated to Petco or PetCoach. If you are seeing fleas on Mia now, you can give her Capstar ([Nitenpyram](https://www.petcoach.co/pet-medication/nitenpyram)). It's a one time pill that starts killing adult fleas in 30 minutes and is safe to use with a topical treatment. Use a monthly preventive on all pets for at least 3 consecutive months to break the flea life cycle. Year round use is preferred. You will also have to [treat the environment](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas). Wash all bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. Discard of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately afterwards. Use a spray, such as Indoorex or Knockout ES, in the house and to prevent reinfestation.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, you may in about 5-6 days. However, I would highly recommend you use a stronger and likely more efficacious product. There are plenty of flea products in the market and a lot of them are very effective. I prefer Bravecto and Frontline plus. You can pick one of those products. The nice thing about Bravecto is that it is very effective and it is only applied once every 3 months. You can also use a product called Capstar along with one of the previously mentioned products which can help kill a lot of fleas at once. Remember to vacuum all the surfaces that have contact with your pup regularly. This is very likely going to work well. Good luck and have a great day!

This medication should kill all the fleas within two days of use. If it's not, then I would check to make sure you gave the right dose, gave it properly and did not give a bath soon after applying ( should not bathe for at-least a week after applying). If the flea you combed-out was dead, then all is good. If not, then wait a day, or two and see if there are any live ones. The medication will kill any flea that jumps on her for the next month. However, there is a concern with the fleas reproducing in the environment. Treating for fleas is not just restricted to the host, because fleas do reproduce and nest in the environment and continually cause an issue. Below is a link to a short article that explains treating the cats and environment for fleas: https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/ I hope that helps and all is well with Missy.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It should be ok as long as you applied to topical after the bath. If the fleas are slow moving it is likely the treatment is working. There are still fleas in the environment that have to get on the pet in order to die. Continue the treatment every 4 weeks for 3-4 doses. You can apply after 3 weeks if you are still seeing live fleas. Also remember to treat all pets in the home. Kisses to Charlie!

Capstar will only kill those fleas that are on the dog and sucking blood once. Getting rid of fleas is relatively easy but entails work for a few months: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly )Bravecto/Nexgard/Seresto will last longer) 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto/Nexgard spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you so much!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I certainly understand your frustration. There are 2 products that I particularly like in these cases where different therapies have failed to help. I like Bravecto as a preventative and Capstar to be used concurrently as needed for fleas. Capstar is crucial because it can help kill a lot of fleas at once and it can be used as often as once daily to effect. Also, it is important to vacuum the house and all things that have contact with them frequently. Try this for 1-3 months and if does not make a difference, they may have another type of allergy such as a food allergy or environmental allergy. This is likely going to help. Good luck and have a good night!

I would refrain from reapplying this topical product, because you cannot be sure how much of it was rinsed off and it is best to not overdose him. Also the biting and scratching can be normal for any pet that has just received flea preventative if there was a large infestation of fleas. The "itch cascade" as we call it can last even after the parasites are gone, and often pets require a short course of steroids or a steroid shot to stop the itch completely. Your best option at this point, if you still see evidence of fleas or ticks, is to follow up with a medication called Capstar. This is the only flea ridding product that can be used in conjunction with topical flea preventatives, because it does not last in the pets system very long. You can safely redose the Pet armour in 2 weeks time. However I will say I am not a fan of this product and find there are better, more effective ones on the market. For instance, Bravecto, Nexgard, Advantage Multi, just to name a few.