Schokokeks
Enlightened
I'm going to wager that was a while back.
Collars used to have a pesticide that could impact mammals (it had neurotoxic affects). The more recent ones use pesticides that only affect invertebrates.
You can research the ingredients of any particular collar. They still sell cheaper ones that can cause skin irritation in mammals (so, probably avoid those), but there's also ones made in Germany that use pesticides that just target invertebrates and/or insects. There's literally no mechanism for them to impact mammals. They ARE fairly expensive, though.
And then, many of the sprays today only have essential oils from plants to repel the fleas (usually Eugenol and/or maybe a mint oil), and/or soap. The small amount of soap encapsulates the insects, suffocating them (you can knock Japanese beetles into a bucket of water with a single drop of dishsoap and do this, too, fellow gardeners).
There are other sprays and shampoos, but do the same as above: research the compounds, and make sure they're ones that are insect/invertebrate specific.
Of course, keeping cats inside is the easiest (and free) way to avoid having to deal with all that, as the fleas can also pass parasites to humans (and cats can pick up all kinds of parasites outdoors), so it's something to be mindful of, as it can impact you directly.
I've always been a proponent of keeping cats indoors as to not have to worry as much about fleas and ticks (as a bonus, I get more song birds out in the garden), but if you just brush them regularly and keep an eye out, you should be fine. In the decades of pet ownership, I think I've dealt with fleas twice, MAYBE thrice - every time after a visit to the vet... -_-
And congrats to Raggie on a new friend. Cats tend to like flashlights as much as the all the humans around here, haha.
