So, Oscar got out yesterday. My husband got up in the wee hours yesterday morning to watch rugby, opened the kitchen window a small crack and didn't think that it was necessary to put the screen up (I've been putting it for ages, just in case). A little later he sees Oscar outside strolling past the french doors (Oscar pushed the window open). My husband isn't sure how long Oscar was out, but thank goodness he comes running when his name is called.

Anyway, I was petting him this morning whilst he was laying on my lap and I noticed a black spot by the outside corner of his left eye....it took some scraping but I got it out, didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later, I noticed a bigger black spot by his other eye, I brushed it with my finger and it moved. I killed it but I have no idea whether or not it was a flea, I've never had to deal with them before. I want to treat both of the cats just in case. Can I use over the counter stuff? Is it effective? Or am I looking at taking a trip to the vet?

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Don't bother with the over the counter stuff. Ideally, you only want to do this once, so you need something stronger from the vet. We use Stronghold, and I believe there are people on here who also recommend Advocate.

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Proud Mummy to:

Sam (born June 1999, found August 1999)
Milly (born May 1999, adopted September 1999)
Eva (born 2010, adopted us August 2011)

We find "Frontline Spot On" to be very effective. used it for 5 years, never had any flea problems.

Frontline Spot On Flea Drops for Cats and Kittens | Pets at Home

Don't bother using Bob Martins from the supermarket... you'd be better off writing a strongly worded letter to the fleas asking them to "leave.. or else".

LOL Pete!

Oscar and Poppy were treated with Stronghold at 9 weeks. I called the vet, explained the situation and asked if the kittens needed another flea treatment. They're booked in to get weighed (to get the proper dosage) and to get some more Stronghold and, since weighing is free, I'm only going to get charged for the pipettes.

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