Like for many pet owners, fighting fleas can be a huge battle, one that can be a struggle to win. For me, living in a 600 square foot apartment with two cats, this battle was even more difficult to win. Finding out that your cats have fleas is pretty much a cat owners worst nightmare. Having two cats just made this battle even harder. Just when I thought I got rid of fleas from one cat, the other cat would still have them so I know the fleas weren’t gone forever. Fleas are notoriously hard to get rid of so be ready because this journey to a flea free life is quite a long one that spans several months.

First, I want to tell you a little bit about the flea life cycle so you can understand what I was battling. A female flea can lay up to fifty eggs a day. This is a lot of eggs that will hatch to be full grown fleas that will also start to lay fifty eggs a day. This is part of the reason why fleas are so notoriously hard to get rid of. The eggs are also very tiny and nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. They are non-sticky so they will fall right off your pet onto the carpet, the rugs, the blankets, and the sofas. In one to ten days, the eggs will hatch and turn into larvae. When they enter this stage, they hatch from eggs and burrow into anything they can find. Mostly commonly they will burrow into the couch and rugs. They feed on flea dirt and other organic debris that happens to be around. When they are in this stage, they are also very difficult to get rid of. Vacuuming can help but not all the time. They will soon turn into a pupa or a cocoon. The main issue with this stage, is they can stay in this stage for months. They will only leave this stage when the conditions are suitable. Usually the flea pupa is resistant to insecticides which made it extra difficult to get rid of. Finally, when the conditions are right, proper humidity and warmth (fleas hate the cold), the pupa will hatch into an adult flea which will hop their way onto your pet and start the cycle all over again.

I have no clue how the fleas got into my home in the first place. My apartment complex that I live in is extremely pet friendly and there is a large percentage of the population that have dogs. So perhaps another pet in my hallway had fleas. There are not many places near or around my apartment that are very habitable for fleas. So I am quite curious how fleas got into my apartment complex in the first place. Another possibility is that the person that my boyfriend got Miso from had fleas in her home which then infested Miso who brought it into my home. But who knows, I just hope that it doesn’t happen again.

I first found out my cats had fleas when one jumped on my hand when I was tying my shoe. At that point, I didn’t know what it was and I just thought it was a little bug that had somehow got into my apartment so I didn’t think much of it. I should have realized that if fleas were leaping onto my hand that my cats were very much infested. I chose to be in denial and ignore that which was a very big mistake. When it comes to fleas, the best way to get rid of them is to catch it early. You need to be actively fighting the fleas by the time they start laying eggs in the sofa and carpets. I clearly did not catch them beforehand and so the fleas had been living in my home for who knows how long.

Although I had noticed a flea on my hand at one point, I had ignored it but then I started seeing other signs that indicated my cats had fleas. For example, my ankles and legs became red and itchy and I had bites all over. My bedsheets and pillowcase were white so whenever my cats laid on them, they would leave little black dots all over it. Later I discovered that these dots is not dirt but flea poop. Lastly, I noticed change in behavior in my cats, Stormi in particular. She had a loss of appetite and stopped drinking much water. She would be quite moody and irritable all the time and not want to cuddle. These things were all quite odd for her and so I figured something must be up. Miso’s behavior didn’t change as drastically as Stormi’s but I did notice that Miso had a lot less energy which was unusual for her because she is a kitten. What really made me realize my cats had fleas however, is when I had friends over and a flea jumped on his hand. He has cats at home and knew what it was and immediately told me.

After some investigating and some advice from friends who also had cats, I knew what I had to do. First, I needed to go out and buy all my flea fighting tools. I bought a fine toothed flea comb, some flea collars, some flea furniture spray, a better vacuum, and some cat flea shampoo. I used the flea comb to thoroughly comb down Stormi and Miso multiple times a day. This was one of the most effective tactics I believe. This got rid of the adult fleas directly on the cat’s bodies which is where the fleas live and thrive the best. Because I did this multiple times a day, it got rid of a good majority of the fleas. I would also give my cats a bath using a mixture of the flea shampoo and dawn dish soap every other day. The cats hated this for obvious reasons. When they weren’t getting combed or bathed, I would put a flea collar them to help kill the fleas that weren’t dead already.

Getting rid of the fleas in my apartment was a different story. Remember from the flea life cycle, the flea eggs and pupa are the most difficult to get rid of because they are very difficult to see. Usually the eggs and pupa are found in the environment that the cats are in so this part was harder than getting the adult fleas off of my cats. So I vacuumed the floors everyday and in addition to this, I would run the vacuum over the sofa, couch, and ottoman to hopefully suck up the flea eggs, larvae, and pupa living there. I would also clean my bedsheets every few days and attempt to vacuum my mattress as well. I had a small fur rug in my bedroom area so I put that in my storage unit along with my stuffed animals. They are still currently sitting in my storage unit. Whenever I would leave only for a few hours at a time, I would put my cats in my bathroom and then spray the flea furniture spray all over my entire apartment. I really had to plan ahead for this because I didn’t want to leave my cats imprisoned for too long but they can’t breathe in the flea furniture spray for at least an hour. So I had to pick a time where I would be gone for two or three hours max. I would try to spray my apartment twice a week to really get rid of those flea eggs, larvae, and pupa.

All of these methods I described were very helpful and crucial to getting rid of the fleas on my cats and in my home. I did have to do this for a few months before the fleas were completely gone. At some points I did want to give up, but I realized that I just couldn’t live like that with fleas in my home and constantly itching all the time. I also realized that although my cats hated being combed down and bathed, they were also miserable with fleas crawling in their fur all the time. So I really just had to do my best to get rid of the fleas. As I mentioned earlier, I still have some items in my storage unit that used to be flea infested. It has been quite a few months since I officially got rid of the fleas, but I am still nervous to bring those items back into my home in case they still have flea pupa or something in them. The pupa can last for months so I think I will just leave those items in my storage unit until I absolutely need them or until I move again. I just don’t want to go through fighting fleas again because it was such a long and tedious process to get rid of them.

Some things I have learned however, is to always remember to put topical flea medication on my cats every month. I don’t want to risk them getting fleas again. I am also looking to move into an actual house with some roommates and I would feel really bad if my future roommates have to deal with fleas as well. Hopefully you have learned about how to deal with fleas in case a pet in your home ever gets them. Please remember to put flea medication on your pets so you don’t have to deal with them like me!


1 Comment

David · March 27, 2025 at 1:46 pm

Great advice, well told.

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