Many years ago, my mother took home a young kitten, of whom we were to name Tommy. A woman that worked with my mother at a bank, brought in a litter of kittens that her female cat gave birth to, and naturally, she couldn’t keep them all. One by one, other co-workers picked out which kitten they wanted, all but one, as no one seemed to want him. My mother, feeling sorry for the kitten decided to take him home even though at the time we already had five cats, in fact we had only gotten another new kitten only a few months prior.
Naturally being a small kitten he won our hearts and reminded us so much of a cat we had that just previously died. But then it became apparent that something was a bit wrong with this kitten. He kept scratching and scratching and scratching himself and had no idea what was wrong with him, as we never had this problem with any other cat we ever had. Living in an apartment, and therefore our cats had always been strictly indoor cats we never contended with a problem that is usually more obvious to pet owners, both cats and dogs who let their pets outdoors: fleas. While he may have won our hearts, we were alarmed that to our discovery this kitten, Tommy, was literally crawling with fleas, the worse flea infestation imaginable. Even back then I was none too keen about the various flea products to get rid of these nuisance critters. Thinking back, that poor kitten must have had the patience of a saint, since at the time, I felt the only natural way to get rid of these fleas was to give Tommy constant baths, and I mean constant, I can’t even remember just how many baths I gave that kitten.
For the next several days, like clockwork, I had established a regular routine going for me to get Tommy rid of these fleas. The first step was to fill the bathtub about a quarter full with warm water, then I’d grab Tommy and locking the bathroom door to ensure he didn’t escape, I placed him in in the tub and gently poured water over him, then lathering him up with a more natural, pure type soap like Ivory, then pour the warm water over him again to rinse off the soap. I could immediately see, many of the fleas in the bath water as warm to hot water is known to not necessarily kill, but temporarily stun the fleas making them immobile. Taking Tommy out of the water I began to towel dry him off, but his “treatment’ was far from done. Having a large stainless steel bowl of scalding hot water nearby, I then began combing Tommy’s fur with a flea comb over and over again…once more many more fleas showed up, on the comb, and I would dunk the comb with those pesky fleas in the hot bowl of water, then dumping the flea infested water down the toilet.
Another thing I had to do also on a daily basis, was to give a quick vacuum all over the apartment to make sure I got any fleas and their eggs that may have settled elsewhere in the apartment. Thankfully, for some reason the fleas were contained only on the one kitten, Tommy, and they didn’t spread to any of the other cats. Finally, after many days of this routine of mine, Tommy and our apartment was completely flea free.
Now of course, constant bathing and diligent persistence such as I did to rid a pet of fleas is probably the all around best way to be rid of fleas, but lets face it, not too many people have the same patience I displayed in getting rid of fleas. Also, as anyone can testify who owns cats in particular, cats aren’t as easy to bathe as dogs, and one often feels as if one needs to wear combat gear to insure one won’t get scratched to pieces. So what is the alternative?
At the first sign of fleas on their pets, many people will race to their pet store and arm themselves with all kinds of flea treatments. Unfortunately, what most people don’t realize is just how toxic they are. Yes, they will get rid of the fleas and kill them, but being toxic, they can also sooner or later have detrimental health effects on their beloved pets, especially cats who are more sensitive to the chemical ingredients.
One of the most toxic chemical ingredients used in the commonly used flea and tick products is permethrin. This chemical can be found in flea and tick sprays and even in some shampoos. Even those products that do not contain permethrin, contain other ingredients that are just as hazardous. For example one of the most commonly used flea and tick control products is Frontline, whose basic ingredients are fipronil and S-methoprene. (1) It would seem strange that according to the directions, whenever a person uses the Frontline products, it is recommended to use with gloved hands, and cautions not to get the product in the pet’s eyes or mouth, also, it is flammable. (2)
The most common symptoms that a pet, especially a cat, will develop from these flea (or tick) products are neurological ones, producing tremors, high fevers, stroke and even death.(3) Now I don’t know about you, but if you love your pet, would you really want to risk such detrimental health problems, even death itself, just in order to get rid of fleas or ticks? I know I sure wouldn’t.
Thankfully, besides doing the constant bath treatment like I gave to my cat, there are other alternatives that are more natural, and many can be found on the “Only Natural Pet Store” wdbsite Pet Store . This is just one website that contains such products but is the most diverse in what is available. Also, in many cases the cost of these products is actually cheaper than the more commonly used and sold items. The items sold at this website, range from the All-in-One Flea Remedy, which is a powder, there are also sprays, shampoos & conditioners, plus even a natural Flea & Tick collar.
The main ingredient for the All-in-One Flea remedy is diatomaceous, which is a natural mineral substance that has proven to be deadly to fleas and ticks, but completely harmless to pets. The 8-ounce size of this product sells on-line for $14.99.
Some of the ingredients that are found in the “Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Shampoo & Conditioner” are a blend of Calendula, Chamomile,Yucca, Kelp and a variety of oils such as Lemongrass, Clove, Jojoba Sunflower, and Pennyroyal, just to name a few. A 16-ounce bottle of either the shampoo or conditioner sells for $12.99.
The all natural Flea & Tick collar and is good for both cats and dogs, has the natural ingredients of Pennyroyal, Eucalyptus, Cedarwood, Citronella, and Rue. This collar sells for $5.99, which is about the same price as the more toxic collars and are also hazardous to pets.
One can go to this website, and look at each product for the ingredient contained in the products listed and other vital information on how to use them.
If you truly love your pet, and are confronted by a flea or tick problem, please consider using these more natural alternatives in getting rid of these pesky critters rather than the more toxic products. You could just be saving the life of your pet by doing so.
Information about Frontline
http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/products_flspray.asp(2)
http://www.ask-the-vet.com/frontline-plus-dogs.htm (1)
Articles about commonly used flea and tick control products:
http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/permethrin.htm (3)
Natural Pet Products
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/
http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=Natural-Flea-Products&click;=
5&s;_kwcid=natural%20flea|1301511603&gclid;=CKqk9M_Es5MCFQObFQodkQ703g
