Feline advantage risk to Tarantulas

[14pokies]

So the day before yesterday I took in a little kitten destined for the shelter.. I couldn't take the chance of him being put down so I snatched him up..

I noticed a few fleas this morning so I treated him with advantage around 2 pm..I have been avoiding petting him or interacting with him like he has the plague..

My question is when is it safe to snuggle the life out of this adorable little furball without getting the advantage on me or my clothes and possibly wiping out my collection?

 

[Teal]

I am TERRIFIED of topical flea treatments poisoning my critters. Read the box and see how long the treatment is effective for. I would be wary for at least that long. Does the cat have access to your critter area? If you interact with the cat, wash your hands thoroughly. I'd probably even change my clothes before dealing with my critters.

In the future, use Dawn dish soap to get rid of fleas. Suds the kitten up really well and let it soak... the soap suds will suffocate the fleas.

 

[viper69]

So the day before yesterday I took in a little kitten destined for the shelter.. I couldn't take the chance of him being put down so I snatched him up..

I noticed a few fleas this morning so I treated him with advantage around 2 pm..I have been avoiding petting him or interacting with him like he has the plague..

My question is when is it safe to snuggle the life out of this adorable little furball without getting the advantage on me or my clothes and possibly wiping out my collection?

When I lived out in the woods, even indoor cat had flea issue. I put him on the The Program from the Vet, never had a flea problem after that. Since that medication is ingested by the cat, there was no worry w/exotics.

ALSO, if you put a nightlight out and directly below it put an aluminum baking pan with soap film on the surface of water, the fleas are attracted to light and will fall into water and drown. It will give you an indication if you have a flea problem in your home or not. That is, if no fleas after a week or so, it's just the cat likely. If the next day you see a bunch, you have an infestation.

 

[14pokies]

When I lived out in the woods, even indoor cat had flea issue. I put him on the The Program from the Vet, never had a flea problem after that. Since that medication is ingested by the cat, there was no worry w/exotics.

ALSO, if you put a nightlight out and directly below it put an aluminum baking pan with soap film on the surface of water, the fleas are attracted to light and will fall into water and drown. It will give you an indication if you have a flea problem in your home or not. That is, if no fleas after a week or so, it's just the cat likely. If the next day you see a bunch, you have an infestation.

I'll look into that when I take the little freak to get shots and neutered..I hate the idea of using pesticides but I wanted to kill the fleas before my house became infested! Thanks!

 

[14pokies]

I am TERRIFIED of topical flea treatments poisoning my critters. Read the box and see how long the treatment is effective for. I would be wary for at least that long. Does the cat have access to your critter area? If you interact with the cat, wash your hands thoroughly. I'd probably even change my clothes before dealing with my critters.

In the future, use Dawn dish soap to get rid of fleas. Suds the kitten up really well and let it soak... the soap suds will suffocate the fleas.

No he isn't allowed in my T room untill I know he isn't toxic anymore!

 

[Formerphobe]

I'd invest in some nitrile or latex gloves to wear when working around your inverts. And put on a clean shirt with no cat hairs on it.
Technically, once it dries it isn't transferable, however....
Advantage concentrates in the skin oils and hair follicles. Definitely keep the cat out of the T room. Any stray cat hairs that might make their way into an enclosure is potentially putting invert at risk.

 

[Ellenantula]

I just keep my cats out of T room. I also think the Advantage/Frontline is less a threat a few days after applying. That said:
You really ought to be washing your hands before and after handling your pets in general. I am sure I have microbes that may not bother me but might prove bad for my Ts, bearded dragon, ball python, etc.. And I am sure some of them have some microbes that may not be very beneficial for me either. And if not microbes (thinking Ts here -- there is the issue of irritating hairs, poop, etc) that I also prefer to wash off.
As someone who works in the medical field, I recommend hand washing even if using gloves.
So -- wash before and after. It's just smart.

(removed OCD comment in case misunderstood)

 

[Ellenantula]

So the day before yesterday I took in a little kitten destined for the shelter.. I couldn't take the chance of him being put down so I snatched him up..

Have you posted a pix of the lil tyke yet? Looked in Not So Spineless Wonders but didn't see a pix.

 

[14pokies]

Have you posted a pix of the lil tyke yet? Looked in Not So Spineless Wonders but didn't see a pix.

No he is horribly camera shy! Seriously everytime I snap a pic he moves and its just a pic of his butt or completly blurry.. When I get some good pics of him I'll create a thread and tag you!

 

[14pokies]

I'd invest in some nitrile or latex gloves to wear when working around your inverts. And put on a clean shirt with no cat hairs on it.
Technically, once it dries it isn't transferable, however....
Advantage concentrates in the skin oils and hair follicles. Definitely keep the cat out of the T room. Any stray cat hairs that might make their way into an enclosure is potentially putting invert at risk.

I have a ton of nitrile gloves and I figured that I wouldn't be able to work with my Ts for a few days so I fed and topped of water...I'll just be incredibly carefull working with my Ts this month..

 

[Ellenantula]

No he is horribly camera shy! Seriously everytime I snap a pic he moves and its just a pic of his butt or completly blurry.. When I get some good pics of him I'll create a thread and tag you!

I'm sure yours is a cutie. I adore cats!
And sorry for hijacking your thread with my soapbox handwashing thingie -- I know you already know hand hygiene -- but I just thought some newbies may not have considered it. Sorry if I came on too strong. lol

 

[14pokies]

I'm sure yours is a cutie. I adore cats!
And sorry for hijacking your thread with my soapbox handwashing thingie -- I know you already know hand hygiene -- but I just thought some newbies may not have considered it. Sorry if I came on too strong. lol

Your good No apology needed...Everything you had to say was relevent to the thread.. And guess what even if it didn't I wouldn't give a cats umm Tail if you derailed the entire thread..

I love cats myself..All in all I have probably had a cat in my life for 32 out of my 34 years on this rock.. just like Ts no house is complete with out one!

And no Voodoo is not a cutie he is a sexy beast! Lol..

 

[Teal]

A flea infestion is NOT as easy to come by as people think it is. I have dealt with a LOT of fleas and flea-infested animals... your home will not become infested unless you literally do nothing about fleas for a LONG time. Dawn dish soap baths kill fleas and do not pose any harm to other critters. There is zero justification for using topicsl pesticides on pets, especially indoor-only pets like cats, when simple, more natural solutions handle the problem a lot better.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

When I lived out in the woods

Great incipit! Like T.K Unabomber, ah ah :-s

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I always had lots of both (T's & cats, a couple of dogs in the past, including a Mastino Napoletano when I was a children) and thank God, I've never had troubles. No inverts enclosure on the floor, no flea/flea products risks.

My cats are always allowed in my room where I keep my T's, reason is, no matter if the door is closed (mostly now, and in Winter time) they open the door running using the head, lol.

One of mine, a 8 years male called Cips aka "The Slim" basically sleeps on my bed when I'm not home, watching the T's. Sometimes when he spot my P.cambridgei crawling he open (only) one eye, watch, then zZzZz again.

Another one, his twin bro, but fat! isn't interested at all, so those two sister.

I used for those three cats mom (a black one, adorable) Frontline Combo once but had no issues. Of course wearing gloves and she didn't entered in contact with my room/my T's. But she never enters in my room, after all.

Anyway mostly they live out in my garden (day) they enter only for eat & sleep. They kill pidgeon and rats on a regular basis, IMO this explain why they are in full "Meh" with buggers :-s

 

[14pokies]

There is zero justification for using topicsl

Voodoo was nuzzling his head into my beard.. You know how irratating a flea bite in a beard is? I felt/feel extremely justified nuking the little bastards..

Now that I know dawn works if there is a problem with fleas in the future I will use it...

 

[N1ghtFire]

I have 6 cats who all use advantage. I usually avoid them for just a day or so while the medicine soaks and and the fleas die, but thats about it. I keep my Ts in my room and some of my cats sleep with me and I've not had a problem. Id be more worried about the cats knocking stuff over than the residual flea treatment. I also dont really handle my Ts or their food items, so its pretty unlikely the flea treatment gets on them. If you handly your Ts i'd definitely take more precautions, but if not then a day or two after the treatment you should be good IMO.

 

[14pokies]

I have 6 cats who all use advantage. I usually avoid them for just a day or so while the medicine soaks and and the fleas die, but thats about it. I keep my Ts in my room and some of my cats sleep with me and I've not had a problem. Id be more worried about the cats knocking stuff over than the residual flea treatment. I also dont really handle my Ts or their food items, so its pretty unlikely the flea treatment gets on them. If you handly your Ts i'd definitely take more precautions, but if not then a day or two after the treatment you should be good IMO.

I don't handle per say if one happens to crawl on me while I'm doing maintenance I let it stretch it's legs for a minute or two .. I use tongs to feed and over the next month I will use gloves and keep cage maintenance to a minimum just to be a little extra safe..

 

[kooky]

flea treatments that are applied onto the skin on an animal will not be toxic usually 48 hours after applying. This is because the treatment is absorbed into the skin and remains the the blood stream not on the skin/fur.
but there is no harm in being doubly safe just in case.

 

[Teal]

Voodoo was nuzzling his head into my beard.. You know how irratating a flea bite in a beard is? I felt/feel extremely justified nuking the little bastards..

Now that I know dawn works if there is a problem with fleas in the future I will use it...

I didn't say there is no justification in killing the fleas. I said there is no justification in using pesticides on a mammal. But, this is something I feel very strongly about. There are many ways to get rid of fleas without using pesticides, Dawn being a simple and effective one.

And no, I don't know what a flea bite in a beard feels like... growing a nice beard is hard for a woman (;