best "natural" (non chemical) cat flea control?

[Flaxbee]

OK, I have switched to Advantage from Frontline b/c Frontline DID NOT work for my cats this last month.

One of my girls is older and pretty fragile, and has never been able to handle meds well - always really ill after vaccinations (which I have ceased to give her; she's 13 and after 13 years of shots, plus being an indoor only cat, I'm giving her system a break), and topical flea control - both Advantage and Frontline, have always made her feel like crap for a long time after application.

Anyway - I don't want to use Advantage on her. The other cats are fine, but Clarisse can't handle it.

So, does anyone here use natural flea repellent? What are my options? What have you found useful?

Thanks for any suggestions! :hi: (Also cross posted this in the pets forum)

[jp11]

1. Get a decoy cat to collect the fleas.

I tried one of those products and my older cat just went all weird so I just do routine flea hunts with the comb, and of course torture him occasionally with flea baths.

[TZ]

2. I'd be careful

People tend to use the chemicals because they are way more effective than "natural" stuff. I would ask a vet instead what your alternatives are...A lot of times stuff thats "natural" is little better than snake oil. My cats are indoor cats so fleas haven't been a problem, but I've heard that the flea baths and stuff while more dangerous are the most effective.

[Kali]

3. you can powder her or better her sleeping area with DE, but it will make her fur feel icky

otherwise a flea come and a dish of soapy water will get rid of some. Between the vacuum, combing and some DE you should be able to controm most of them.

Supposedly eucalyptus and citronella types of "natural" repellents work but I suspect they can be just as irritating as "chemicals" (which natural products are too, folks) and my limited experience with them (fly spray for horses) was pretty unimpressive.

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. My "old girl" is about 16-17

I am not really sure . Frontline didn't work on her this time . I tried "herbal" stuff a while back, but it made her hair fall out! I really hate putting poison on her but what is the alternative?

[mike_c]

5. talk to your vet about flea preparations that contain methoprene...

...or a similar growth hormone analog. Here's the wikipedia link if you want more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methoprene

In short, methoprene is an insect juvenile hormone analog that works by blocking life cycle progression to adulthood. It has no effect on adult fleas, so it's usually mixed with synthetic pyrethrins for adult flea knockdown, followed by long life cycle control of hatching eggs and juveniles. It sounds like you want one without the pyrethrins, although for indoor use I'd recommend the pyrethrins as well-- they're non-toxic to mammals and they break down quickly. Since methoprene is an insect hormone analog, it has no effects on non-insects at all.

Methoprene will help if fleas are reinfesting your cats from populations inside your house, where you'll use it. If they're getting fleas elsewhere, then it will still help limit the size of infestations, but your cat will still be bitten occasionally by adult fleas if they pick them up elsewhere. But periodic combing/bathing will help that.

[Orsino]

6. Well, you've got the indoor-only part covered.

It might be time to talk to an exterminator, if you're unable to keep the fleas outside.