Cat Flea Treatment

[donnap27]

Hi
i did a search on this and it seems the posts are years old; so i'm asking if there is any new info or consensus on this topic. i just put Revolution (kind of like Frontline) on my kitty cat, ... the next day my cats all died. (fortunately/unfortunately i didn't have very many) ... i never touched any of the cats, but of course, did touch their food and containers.
so my questions:
--can the Revolution travel in the air and affect the cats that way? .... if so...
--what options do i have for raising cats with a kitty cat that is on Revolution?
--if not, i just need to be more vigiliant about touching the cat (kitty) and then working with the cats.
--would just soap and water clean the insecticide from my hands, or do i need to use something else?
--i'm in the 'hot hot zone' with temps at 100F today and no air cond ... so it could also be the heat i suppose?
as always, thank you for always being there for us.

[Mona Miller]

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advi ... ntrol.html
I searched on the word "soluble". That is what you want to know, does this wash off with water.

"Invertebrates and selamectin insecticide:
Selamectin and the other macrocyclic lactones are not particularly selective when it comes to insects and, just as they kill fleas and ticks, so too will they also kill a wide range of pest and beneficial terrestrial and aquatic insect species. These chemicals will kill crop, orchard and garden pests like beetles, aphids, mites and certain worms, but so too will they kill insects that are of benefit to gardens, crops, soil and water courses, including: dung beetles, bees and parasitoid wasps. For this reason, such chemicals are rated as being "very toxic to terrestrial environments" and "very toxic to soil environments." Additionally, such chemicals, being water insoluble (hard to flush away), are thought to bind tightly to soil and sediment and to thus persist in the environment for long periods of time, potentially exerting an accumulative, long-term toxic effect on the environment."

Cats roam all over the place and brush up against things. You'd have to raise in a room not visited by your cats and put on clean gloves when working with your caterpillars. I buy boxes of plastic gloves at Costco for working in the garden.

[donnap27]

Thank you Mona for the link ... lots of good info there. it does say it remains in the soil and contaminates the water ... but doesn't say it is effective in the 'air' .... it also says wash with soap and water ... so i'll move my Monarch set up to a separate bedroom, keep the cat out, wash with soap and water, and wear gloves .. and we'll see if this helps. it's particularly sad this year when i am finding so few eggs and cats anyway.
any thoughts on whether it could be the hot temps in the house ?
Appreciate your help!

[Mona Miller]

How hot is your house? As long as you don't have them in direct sunlight and the temps don't get over 95 to 100. Outdoors, Monarch caterpillars will go under leaves and close to the ground to avoid heat. Glass containers do absorb more heat.

I have my inside temps set at 77 (only way to keep the upstairs at 80), but in the room I raise butterflies I have the vents closed. They are also adjacent to a large garden window. There are times, I close off part of the windows and partially close the blinds. I use a black presentation board on the side windows--too much sun coming in.

Thinking about indoor air and flea medicines. If they can attach to dirt/dust particles, then when you vacuum, they are being distributed through the air, which would then eventually settle every where and may be redistributed by your air conditioning system. Can you ask you vet?

[Paul Cherubini]

The Frontline type products get on the kittys fur and then on your hands everytime you pet the kitty. So the best thing to do is raised the caterpillars in a separate room and wash your hands before going into the room to attend to the caterpillars. And keep the kitty out of the caterpillar room.

[donnap27]

Thanks to both of you ....
looks like i need to do a lot of rearranging ....

[sbannister]

I have been using Advantage (similar to Frontline) on my cat for years with no problems, but I am always careful to wash my hands very thoroughly after applying it and I don't pet him there until it is dry.