# Guinea Pigs and a cat! What flea treatments can I use?



## Prettykitty2009 (Mar 4, 2009)

Hi,

I have two lovely Guinea Pigs Murray and Gigantor. I have recently got a new cat and don't want to use any flea treatments on her that might harm my lovely boys. Does anybody know of flea treatments I can use on my cat that won't harm my boys if they come into contact with her?

Thanks


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I dont know off the top of my head, but I do know its always worth getting good flea treatment from the vet not stuff from supermarkets and pet shops, so I would reccomend contacting them. 

Personally I use Advantage on my rabbit and it is suitable for small dogs and cats too, but it might not be suitable for guineas


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

just keep the cat away from the pigs till the spot in is dry there won't be any problems. or give the cat the tablets instead of the spot on.

we've recently found out that our cat is not only allergic to flea bites but is also 'immune' and sensitive to spot on flea controls. she's had fleas for months (house has been doused several times! bloody stinks of the stuff) and we've been spotting her every 4 weeks with the ones the vet gave us.. gave her ONE tablet 2 days ago and BINGO! she's sorted, no itching, no bad temper, no flea dirt.

our other cat hasn't had fleas since spotting her the first time but due to neeps we've had to keep spotting her too.. not a happy kitty lol.

You can get the same stuff in the shops that you can from the vet, we used the frontline spot on, we've also used the drontal spot on before, both of which worked on bubs (but not neeps) it wasn't until i found the tablets in the shop that i realised they even existed! doh! 

I would try a spot on first (easier to administer when they're sleepy) then if you have to use more than one further administration try the tablets.

as for the guinea pigs washing them in insecticidal shampoo should do the trick. but there's a spot on for them too.


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

i just had a mental image of guinea pigs blissfully floating about in a washing machine as soon as i said that!


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## piggybaker (Feb 10, 2009)

I knew guineas could get lice and mites, and skin mange but I am not sure they can get fleas , could be wrong been wrong before, I thought their skin was to greasy,,

will have to go check my books? been a long time?


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## Prettykitty2009 (Mar 4, 2009)

Thanks for all the information everyone! Hopefully the boys can't get fleas! The vet gave us a free sample of Advocat and said as long as the guinea pigs aren't in direct contact with the stuff they should be fine! Will make sure they all have seperate cuddles for a few days just to be safe! I may try spot on though as Advocat is prescription only and will cost a small fortune to treat old puss each month! 

My poor pigglies hate having a bath so hopefully they wont need to be mite washed!!


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I know cat fleas are black and rabbit fleas are red, yet rabbits can catch the black cat fleas ut: if that makes any sense. I think its always best to keep an eye on them and only use the stuff when u have to


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

generally fleas are picky eaters and prefer a specific host but if it's not available then they will latch on to the next best thing around. enough of them will usually survive long enough to find their preferred host later on. That's why humans can catch animal fleas and vice versa.

just in case your interested:

Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) 
Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) 
Human flea (Pulex irritans) 
Northern rat flea (Nosopsyllus fasciatus) 
Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)


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