Chinchilla Community Forums

General Chat => Other Pets => Topic started by: GrayRodent on May 07, 2012, 04:52:36 PM

Title: Diatomacious earth for fleas
Post by: GrayRodent on May 07, 2012, 04:52:36 PM
I have a friend with a very old cat who has fleas and is having a very hard time controlling them. One of the problems is that she cannot use harsh poisons because the cat is so very old. I read that using diatomacious earth (DE) is very effective when used to treat the carpet. I heard it's not good to use it directly on the animals as it dries out their skin and is a mechanical irritant. Has anyone had any experience with DE or other less toxic flea control products?
Title: Re: Diatomacious earth for fleas
Post by: mojito on May 14, 2012, 08:59:44 PM
Not sure about using that, however you can try other flea meds or there is also oral Meds you can get from a vet. I've also heard dry shampoo can be both ineffective and effective, probably worth a shot. My cat was over 19 when he passed and we were able to use frontline on him safely.
Title: Re: Diatomacious earth for fleas
Post by: GrayRodent on May 15, 2012, 07:17:35 AM
Too bad the vet advised against using Frontline for this one. I'll be going over there later today to work on her computer and I'll probably recommend trying DE. I would think shampoo would get pretty irritating. Thanks.
Title: Re: Diatomacious earth for fleas
Post by: ExoticFamily on May 27, 2012, 02:20:40 AM
I have had GREAT success with DE! I live in the country, and during the warmer months the fleas REALLY come out! Plus there are alot of stray cats around, and all it takes is my brother walking his dog in my house, and all my ferrets get fleas super quick! It is usually hard to get rid of them because we have dogs, & ferrets, and the ferrets are usually hard to get rid of because they are always sleeping and have their warm spots!

So I usually rub the DE into the ferret hammocks, and rub some on the dogs... if it is real bad, I will rub some into the ferrets fur also! Just be sure to cover their faces because the DE just floats in the air like dust, and this will wreak havoc on any animals nasal passages!
Title: Re: Diatomacious earth for fleas
Post by: GrayRodent on May 27, 2012, 05:55:03 AM
I will pass this on. Thank you.