Diatomaceous Earth --- it is safe for cats and dogs. (chickens too.)

If your cat licked it off you applied it wrong. For cats and small dogs you only put it at the base of their skull where they cant reach it.

We live in the country, Coyote, rabbits, geese, deer, racoons etc. are in our yard daily dropping their fleas and poop. The ONLY one that keeps our furry kids flea free is Frontline Plus.

Did the vet actually find fleas on your almost 18 year old cat? The young cat isn't scratching so I doubt it is fleas. I bet is more that the 18 year is having an age related dry skin issue

OR if she is only scratching one spot she might have pain there. Think about it, if you have an ache you rub it, your cat can only scratch.

Table salt on the carpet? And Crystals? Really?

You might want to read
http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/qt/Getridoffleas.htm
or
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/fleasgetridof.htm

or any number of sites.

Sorry, forgot, Flea Collars, they only work around the neck. Fleas just hang out around the butt.

Think about it, if they worked vets would sell flea collars

If your cat licked it off you applied it wrong. I realize that. The cat's hair is short and it was very hard to apply to his skin.

Did the vet actually find fleas on your almost 18 year old cat? Yes. She could have a flea allergy I suppose. Each bite of a flea causes itching in even old flea bites.

Table salt on the carpet? And Crystals? Really? Sure, why not? I know the salt works from past experience. It's safe for kids, pets and my carpet. Cheap too. The crystals were just something I had read about and thought it was worth a try. I'll be leaving them in my pet's water dishes just in case.

Think about it, if they worked vets would sell flea collars Or... maybe they don't sell flea collars because they make more money on the chemicals???

I'll check out the links you provided. Thanks.

Okay, the fleas are coming from somewhere and you need to find out where. I suggest that you apply the DE to the yard. Make sure you follow directions and take precautions. Applying the DE to the cat is not going to do much since they are constantly cleaning themselves, but if you apply it to the yard and make sure the house has no fleas you will begin to win the battle. I suggest you put all of your animals on a topical flea control like Advantage or frontline. Sentinel is okay but not great. Flea collars, powder, spray and bombs can cause more porblems then they are meant to cure.
If money is an issue, use a full dose on the animals for the first few months then you can split the cats dose in half since they dont go out. I would suggest a full dose on the dog for the first 5 months for certain. Not only will this rapidly diminish the flea population making everyone more comfy but combined with outside application of DE you should see very little in the way of a return population in the future. Good luck

since your cats dont go outside I think you need to approach the problem by getting rid of your dog's fleas. I only use regular flea collars on my cat and it works great, before that she would occasionally pick up fleas and start scratching. When we moved to this house the previous occupant had two large dogs that used to sleep in the garage and straight away our dogs became infested with fleas but we tracked it down to the garage which was also infested (Ive never seen so many fleas before and the garage was just alive with them) so we started by flea bombing the garage and then I used the frontline spray to get rid of the fleas on the dogs. You have to follow it up though, as soon as I saw one of my dogs scratching i would grab them and roll them on their back and search out the flea until I got every last one and this is what I do with my dogs if I see any scratching or a single flea.

vacuuming the carpet will also suck up eggs and spray around places like the baseboards with a surface spray insecticide. you have be tenacious with fleas or the problem just keeps going but every time my dogs get fleas I do get rid of them completely by doing this. Im not a big fan of the ongoing treatments because I did have a dog that became sick from those so I only treat the fleas when I know they are there. My vet tried hard to push me into putting my dogs on them, and I thought it was crazy since my dogs didnt have a single flea a the time so I do think the ongoing treatments are a bit of a money spinner for vets. It may be appropriate in some dogs but I dont think all dogs need to be on them but some vets seem to see it as a standard thing these days. The spray on frontline works fantastic, if the fleas are bad I'll spray down the dog and rub it all over and it really knocks them down

Amethyst in water repels only spiritual fleas.

We lost our German Shepherd because of a Hartz flea collar.

Sadly, we didn't realize that if we had bathed her after removing the collar we might have saved her. While she was being treated at the Vet's, he was concerned with meds that might help her and the poison still on her fur and skin continued to harm her.

The collar works on the principle that the fur is poisoned, then the skin and then the animal's blood. When the fleas move around on the animal they're exposed to the toxins and when they bite them, that's an extra whammy.

The problem lies with the fact that these poisons are organophosphates and they're never removed from the animal's/human's systems. The levels build up over each exposure. Each creature has a different level capacity before the amount becomes toxic.

Remember years ago, when Hartz had a TV commercial showing a clear box filled with live fleas? And then they inserted a small handful of animal fur in the box? And then the fleas died from exposure to the fur?

After many animals died or were seriously harmed because of the collars they stopped these commercials. But that's how flea collars work. Scary, isn't it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Hartzvictims

I researched and found that flea collars are very toxic to animals especially when they become wet.

I did find an all natural flea and pest control for cats called Target Spray. You can get it from http://www.petwellbeing.com/cat-fleas-p68.cfm

The only use I have for flea collars is to throw one in the vacuum bag.

Fleas get inside your home from you also. They are everywhere and that's how they get in the house. You can use a flea bomb and also treat your yard. I have heard that garlic and brewers yeast help, because Fleas can't stand them, put it in their food.

Good Luck!!

Please do not use a flea collar on your pet. They will kill the dog slowly, and not harm a flea

earthygal52 you should NEVER give a cat or a dog Garlic, It is very toxic to them along with onions. I know this has been a VERY long time since anyone has posted in this topic but I came across it looking for information and so could anyone else and think it would be ok to give their animal garlic.

Here is a link that might be useful: People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets

Flea collars on cats NO ..They have killed many many cats very dangerous.Go get two front line plus at your vets and apply them high up on the back of the cats necks where they can not lick it.Your rugs need to be treated with a flea killer or at least shampooed..
No flea collars besides being very toxic cats have gotten stuck in there mouth and had jaws stuck open untill owners helped, I had on cat many years ago get her front paw stuck inside the collar. before I knew not to use them.