More than one way to skin-- er, Advantage a cat?

I'm pretty sure Ellie New Cat has fleas. She'll go from sleeping to viciously grooming one spot on herself. She seems to itch a lot. Maybe because my previous kitty was so old, but I thought grooming was generally a calm thing, not an OMG DIE DIE DIE FUR sort of thing.

I do have a flea comb, but as Ellie flees (ha ha) if I touch more than her head, using it is an issue. Sometimes I can get a few combs done on her side, but that came up with no fleas or flea dirt.

I'm going to pick up some Advantage today. Ellie's foster care woman said she put some on her before dropping her off to me (less than two weeks ago), but the back of her neck had been perfectly clean and smooth at the time she came out of her carrying case, so I wonder if it didn't happen. (Also, supposedly you can use Advantage up to once a week if necessary, so hopefully there will be no OD issue.)

Unfortunately I don't know what she weighs, but I'm going to guess over 10 pounds (the doses are over/under 10). Hopefully that's right. :/

All this might be moot though, as I have zero idea how I'm going to get it onto her. I HATE the idea of scaring her, I don't want to undo all this work. (Though she did recover quickly from the terror and trauma of me holding her still long enough to get a collar onto her.)

Her claws really need to be clipped (I can see them outside of her paws when she's relaxed or asleep), but I have no idea how in the world I'll get that done. She doesn't seem to use a scratching post much, so I don't have that much hope they'll take care of themselves.

I'm not sure about trying to wrap her in a towel to put the Advantage on. That would leave her head/mouth free, and as I have no idea on the status of a rabies shot, I'd rather not get bitten. I'm thinking I'll scruff her with one hand and put it on as best I can with the other, but that leaves all of her claws free to rake my hands. D:

Wish me luck, I'll probably try this tonight.

Edit: It'd be nice if I could wrap all this together: Take her to the vet, get her shots, have them clip her claws, and have them help with the Advantage, but I have no idea how bad she'd be there. She's still really scared all the time... She doesn't run away from me too much anymore, but she won't he held or grabbed or even have two hands near her at the same time.

More than one way to skin-- er, Advantage a cat?

I'm pretty sure Ellie New Cat has fleas. She'll go from sleeping to viciously grooming one spot on herself. She seems to itch a lot. Maybe because my previous kitty was so old, but I thought grooming was generally a calm thing, not an OMG DIE DIE DIE FUR sort of thing.

I do have a flea comb, but as Ellie flees (ha ha) if I touch more than her head, using it is an issue. Sometimes I can get a few combs done on her side, but that came up with no fleas or flea dirt.

I'm going to pick up some Advantage today. Ellie's foster care woman said she put some on her before dropping her off to me (less than two weeks ago), but the back of her neck had been perfectly clean and smooth at the time she came out of her carrying case, so I wonder if it didn't happen. (Also, supposedly you can use Advantage up to once a week if necessary, so hopefully there will be no OD issue.)

Unfortunately I don't know what she weighs, but I'm going to guess over 10 pounds (the doses are over/under 10). Hopefully that's right. :/

All this might be moot though, as I have zero idea how I'm going to get it onto her. I HATE the idea of scaring her, I don't want to undo all this work. (Though she did recover quickly from the terror and trauma of me holding her still long enough to get a collar onto her.)

Her claws really need to be clipped (I can see them outside of her paws when she's relaxed or asleep), but I have no idea how in the world I'll get that done. She doesn't seem to use a scratching post much, so I don't have that much hope they'll take care of themselves.

I'm not sure about trying to wrap her in a towel to put the Advantage on. That would leave her head/mouth free, and as I have no idea on the status of a rabies shot, I'd rather not get bitten. I'm thinking I'll scruff her with one hand and put it on as best I can with the other, but that leaves all of her claws free to rake my hands. D:

Wish me luck, I'll probably try this tonight.

Edit: It'd be nice if I could wrap all this together: Take her to the vet, get her shots, have them clip her claws, and have them help with the Advantage, but I have no idea how bad she'd be there. She's still really scared all the time... She doesn't run away from me too much anymore, but she won't he held or grabbed or even have two hands near her at the same time.