JanW, No, Stella has never had fleas only bird mites as far as I know, I used to give her the three month treatment for parasites (Bravecto) but about two years ago the efficacy seemed to drop off, ie she would still be itchy after having the treatment so I left off with using it, I think it started being "made in china".
It's not the least charm of a theory that it is refutable. The hundred-times-refuted theory of "free will" owes its persistence to this charm alone; some one is always appearing who feels himself strong enough to refute it - Friedrich Nietzsche