Agh!!! FLEAS.

My 10 yr old kitty got fleas for the first time. I called the vet, who suggested I contact a specific groomer. She said to call the vet back and get some prescription I can give my cats (I have another, a short-haired domestic cat, almost 13 years old). I called the vet, got the prescription for both cats, and am waiting for them to arrive.
   
How should I take care of things in the meantime? Can anyone recommend treatment for both the house and the cats?
   
Any advice - anything! - would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

The best flea & tick monthly treatment for cats is Revolution For Cats. It's expensive, but the best out there. If you can fill a prescription online, good; if your vet won't allow online prescription-filling, ask if they price-match (you bring in a print-out). I advise you to avoid 1-800-Petmeds, I don't trust them. Drs. Foster & Smith has prices very close to the cheaper questionable sites & you can trust their medication sources
   
Call the vet back, tell them you need a flea shampoo; vets usually have some on hand for these cases. You can pick up the shampoo any convenient time when the office is open, without seeing a vet.
   
You'll also need a product to kill fleas in your carpeting & upholstry: go to the pet store for this, it's usually a powder. Follow the directions for spreading it all over your carpet & upholstered furniture. It's normally vacuumed up.
   
Consider flea-bombing (fogging) the house if the flea powder for the carpets doesn't work. Call the vet for the best brand or a recommendation. You buy one rated for your house's square footage. You have to remove the cats, yourself, & any other pets from the area while you bomb it & wrap up food so nothing's exposed to the air: read the directions. The cats can spend the night at the vet's if necessary.
   
This website has information on de-fleaing a house: http://www.worldwise.com/fleacontrol.html
   
Also this site: http://hubpages.com/hub/How_to_de-flea_your_home
   
The search terms are "de flea house" (search all words).
   
1) Thoroughly de-flea one room to start, a room w/a hard floor & no stuffed furniture.
   
2) Bathe all the cats immediately.
   
3) Put them in the de-flea'd room. While they're drying (& you can keep them in there a few days if necessary, until the job's done:)
   
4) Use the flea powder & vacuum the whole house thoroughly as the websites recommend.
   
You can also usually get good advice from some of the pet store personnel.