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My cat still has fleas after vet treatment, what should I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 4 months and 6 days old | 5.8 lbs

My cat has fleas I took him to the Vet one hour ago they showered him with a special shampoo and they gave him a treatment although when I was brushing him I flea alive

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Dr. Elizabeth

Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on May 16th, 2022

Hello, my name is Dr. Shines and I am happy to help.

Ugh! Fleas are the worst but the good news is that you can effectively get rid of them if you use a good product and are diligent in the treatment.

Here is a link about the flea life cycle:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/flea-control-in-dogs

The flea life cycle can last as long as 6 months. The key to getting rid of fleas is to make sure EVERY dog and cat in the house is treated with a good flea prevention AND that this treatment lasts an entire 6 months.

Your vet can give you access to the best flea products on the market. top products for cats are Revolution and Cheristan. I recommend to ask your veterinarian what they used and to continue it for a solid 6 months.

Also know you will likely continue to see fleas for at least 6 weeks (assuming your product is working correctly) because of the newly emerging adult fleas.

Lastly, know there is great variation in the effectiveness of topical flea products. As far as they go, for over the counter options, name brand Frontline and Advantage are your best options (but what you get from the vet is usually newer and better).

I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any additional questions.

Vote Icon2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Susan England-Foster

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 8th, 2017

    You have done a great job so far! The way to get rid of fleas is to just keep up with what you are doing. I would apply flea prevention every 30 day. I would also continue to wash the bedding/blankets and treat the house at least for the next month.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 11th, 2019

    I'm sorry, fleas are the worst. I can give you a flea treatment program for Carmen that has always worked for me. Make sure you take off the flea collar before doing it, and also make sure it's been at least two weeks since you applied the last treatment. First, I would give her Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.

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    4Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on August 7th, 2019

    Unfortunately, flea medications are generally recommended for cats 8 weeks and up. You will likely have to keep up daily flea combing (adding a little vaseline to the comb can trap the fleas so they can't jump away) to remove any fleas on the body, and try to see if you can locate a source of fleas in the house.

    Moving mom and babies to a different area of the house and treating where they were may also help reduce flea population as well. Fleas love to hide in baseboards along walls, so making sure you are vacuuming these areas, washing all bedding, and even treating outside spots along outer walls can help as well.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Vet Q & A
My cats still have fleas after a year. How can I get rid of them?
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!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Health & Wellness
My cats still have fleas after treatment. What should I do next?
If you used a topical preventative and applied it soon after bathing, it won't have been as effective as it should be. These produce use the oils in the skin to spread. When you bathe a pet, these oils are stripped and you have to wait for them to build up again. Typically, it recommended to apply a topical 3 days before or 3 days after a bath or getting wet. It should then be used monthly for at least 3 consecutive months, preferably year round. You should also treat the environment, since most fleas live off of the pet and only hop on for feeding. Vacuum everywhere the cats have been. Discard of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately after. Wash all bedding in the hottest water allowable by fabric and dry in the dryer. Use a cat safe area treatment to prevent reinfestation. An oral preventative, such as CapStar, can be given to quickly kill any adult fleas on the cats. Get it from your vet or from the local Petco.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Vet Q & A
Why is my kitten still itching with black specks after flea treatment?
some flea treatment just don't work on every cat/flea! I advice waiting at least 10 days and the use a completely different product. Spot ons are usually the best option (revolution/advantage/advocate) make sure it's an appropriate one for kittens and a different main ingredient in it to avoid toxicity. Going to the vet for this will be the best idea. Treatment should be given every month, especially after he start going out if he does. A spray for the house to kill the fleas is very important as well as fleas can survive in carpets for ages.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Health & Wellness
My cat still has fleas after Advantage. What flea treatment can I use?
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!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Health & Wellness
My dog still has fleas after treatment. What should I do next?
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!
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Vet Q & A
Why does my cat still have fleas on its head after topical treatment?
Good day, In addition to treating your pet, for fleas, you should treat the inside of your house and yard, especially if Lucy goes outside. I favor a product named Comfortis for cats with serious flea issues. You can also considering alternating flea products to keep the fleas guessing. If you opt for Comfortis, consider giving it for 3 months in a row to see its full potential. I know a lot about fleas since I work in warm Florida in 32259 zip code.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Vet Q & A
What to do when my dog and cats still have fleas after home remedies?
Fleas can be very frustrating to deal with! In my experience, Hartz products and other over-the-counter options like flea shampoos, diatomaceous earth, etc. are not very effective. First, I would recommend getting good quality prescription flea medication from your vet for Darwin and your two cats - you won't have any luck getting rid of the fleas in the house until all of the animals area treated. Nexgard or Bravecto are the best choices for dogs, and Revolution or Advantage Multi would be best for the cats. Once that's done, you can treat your house and yard with a premises spray like Knock Off to get rid of the fleas and eggs in the environment. If the problem is severe, you may need to have an exterminator come and treat the environment professionally. Keeping all of your pets on a good quality flea control medication year-around in the future will help to prevent this from being an issue again.
Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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