Clowning Around at the Flea Circus

We have had houseguests. I had no idea until one jumped from my daughter's hair onto my arm. And another jumped from my son's shirt to his neck. So I checked my cats and found them to be hosting quite the three-ring. Did I mention our cats are indoor-only cats? And that they haven't had fleas since the flea treatments/flea bomb shortly after I adopted them and took them home to my one-bedroom apartment lo those ten years ago?

Three theories:

1) The fleas came in on our shoes and pant legs and then found their way to the cats, who offered them comfy places to copulate.

2) The previous owners of the house left a few of the critters behind when they took their dog, and those critters made their way to the cats and slowly increased their numbers and only went to the children's bedrooms when the carpet was removed from the rest of the house a couple months ago.

3) The two salamanders I found in our basement last month were actually agents of the circus. Smoking cigars late into the night and speaking in hushed and husky voices, they negotiated with my aging felines until the cats made a deal with the devil.

I'm leaning toward Theory Number 3.

Yesterday was the great de-fleaing. The cats were treated. The house was bombed. We vacated for two and a half hours and fed the kids Wendy's Frosties way past their bedtime to keep them from driving us crazy while we waited. And so far there have been no new flea sightings. The cats are happy to be out of their evil kitty carriers, and I am happy that my children won't be getting any flea bites for a while.

And now, because I am not completely heartless, we shall sing the following to remember those tiny ones who fell in yesterday's siege:

Baby saw that when they pulled that big top down
They left behind her dreams among the litter.
The different kind of love she thought she'd found
There was nothin' left but sawdust and some glitter.
Don't cry out loud. Just keep it inside.
Learn how to hide your feelings.
Fly high and proud. And if you should fall,
Remember you almost had it all. . . .

Um, yeah.