Advantage, Frontline, Revolution ?

[ewemule]

Is one of these better or "safer" to use on cats ? We used one of them many years ago and we are thinking of giving our gang a dose in a day or two.
It's been 5-7 years since us humans noticed any fleas around and this year must just be a flea year. I nabbed 4 on my legs over the last 2 weeks. Before it starts to get out of control I'd like to nip it in the bud.
Our newest family member (Nigel) seems to be particularly aggravated by them and doesn't want to come inside. I guess these little fellows are smarter than we give them credit. He's been scratching more, licking more, and dancing around as if is skins a crawlin'. Don't actually see any of the little bloodsuckers but I'm not wearing his fur.
Thanks,
Marty
P.S. Oh yeah mom says we may have some treatment still around. Does it expire ?

 

[otto]

Dont use a treatment that is 7 years old.

Revolution is by prescription only, has to be got through the vet.

It kills all life stages of the fleas and also protects against heartworm and other parasites (ear mites and several worms) so if you have outdoor kitties, Revolution is what I recommend. Revolution, because of the way it is absorbed should be used only on healthy animals.

Frontline plus is also a good effective flea treatment as it also kills all life stages, breaking the life cycle of the flea, and kills ticks, but does not protect against heart worm and other parasites. It is safe to use on any cat 8 weeks old and older, and cats with compromised immune systems due to illness.

All animals should be treated at the same time. In addition Put a flea collar cut up into your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum everywhere, daily.

 

[ewemule]

I was going to ask how these treatments work. So they all get absorbed ? That's what has been the issue for me. I like to avoid chemicals, but I suppose in the long run these can be relatively safe. I'm thinking Frontline then. We are a mostly healthy group but are in the senior stage of kitty life.
Will ask vet today. Can Frontline be purchased other than at vet ?
Marty

 

[otto]

Frontline has just recently gone OTC and can be purchased places like costco and walmart, however I recommend buying it from the vet to be safe, and your vet is most likely cheaper than Walmart.

You want Frontline PLUS though, not plain frontline. Frontine PLUS kills all life stages of the flea, regular frontline kills only adult fleas

The Revolution is absorbed systemically (goes through the whole body, and why it can treat other parasites) and that is why it should not be used in sick animals. Frontline stays on the skin level.

 

[ewemule]

Where we can get sound, comfortable advice from people who actually have been there. All in a matter of an hour or so.
I'll take a look see at Frontline plus at a few locations. I like the idea of purchasing from a vet as they would be more likely to get the best quality product. Sometimes you just don't know where things "really" come from.
Thankely dank neighborino !

Off to dentist

and then more work

Marty

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by ewemule

Where we can get sound, comfortable advice from people who actually have been there. All in a matter of an hour or so.
I'll take a look see at Frontline plus at a few locations. I like the idea of purchasing from a vet as they would be more likely to get the best quality product. Sometimes you just don't know where things "really" come from.
Thankely dank neighborino !

Off to dentist

and then more work

Marty

I agree. Hopefully the flea product bootleg and counterfeit businesses will be going OUT of business now that Merial and Bayer have put their products officially OTC, but it will be some years for that to take effect. In the mean time, getting it from the vet is still the safest source, and what people don't realize, in many cases, cheaper.

For instance these companies have a promotion, when you buy from the vet it's buy a six pack get a tube free. You don't get that when you buy from an online source or pet store.

 

[amberthe bobcat]

I use Revolution on all my cats, both domestic and the wild cats. For the bobcats and cougar, I use the dog size, but it works great.

 

[dave_ph]

My vet, the worlds best cat vet, recommends Frontline Plus but has Mia on Revolution for now becasue Fay loves to groom Mia even after her treatment. Revolution dries more quickly.

So Fay is on Frontline Plus as the prefered treatment but Mia is on Revolution for Fay's safety because she get's groomed constantly by Fay.

 

[zen-emij]

I had Bruce on Frontline PLUS for a few months, but it didn't seem to be completley effective; he was still itching and licking/biting compulsively. I would flea comb him everyday and pick off a startling amount of fleas each time, so the vet switched us to Revolution. It's been almost a week, and I haven't combed out a flea since. Now I just have to keep working on getting the buggers that are still in the house!

 

[ewemule]

If I remember correctly we put the stuff on the back of the neck kinda midway between the shoulder blades and base of neck. I have been thinking if it's too high on the neck that it could be picked up by scratching. Or if it's down between the shoulder blades maybe prone to licking although I think that's a long shot.
Anyone have the exact best spot ?
Marty
P.S. We have 4 tubes of Frontline Plus from July 11 2007 and the vet says it should be okay if maybe a smidge weak. $85 bucks gets us six more !

 

[carolina]

Some here are on Advantage Plus, some on Revolution but only when I get the odd flea - once a year or so.

Lucky is allergic to Advantage, and Bugsy to Revolution

 

[ewemule]

Hoping for just this once to get through the warm spell. It's been close to 4 years since we used it last.
Marty

 

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by otto

Frontline has just recently gone OTC and can be purchased places like costco and walmart,

Wal-Mart, really? I've never seen it there. PetCo and Petsmart, yeah, but not Wal-Mart. We don't have Costco so I can't comment on that.

I've found that Advantage works better on fleas. At least around here. I think the fleas are becoming immune to the flea meds. Anyway, Frontline isn't cutting it anymore.

 

[luci_sushi]

Originally Posted by otto

Frontline has just recently gone OTC and can be purchased places like costco and walmart, however I recommend buying it from the vet to be safe, and your vet is most likely cheaper than Walmart.

I have seen Frontline at Target, they had the 3pk for around $50-$60. Petsmart is the same. Buying from the vets will definitely be cheaper. You can get print out a coupon "buy 6 get one free from your vets" from the Merial Frontline & Advantage websites.

Frontline doesn't expire

"Do FRONTLINE Brand Products have an expiration date?
FRONTLINE Brand Products do not carry an expiration date. We recommend storing FRONTLINE Brand Products at room temperature and keeping them sealed in their original packaging. If stored under these conditions, FRONTINE Brand Products will not expire."

 

[ewemule]

About 10am. this morning and now the kitties are scratching more than ever.
Is this because we've disrupted their (the fleas) feeding spots and are relocating ?
Marty

 

[zohdee]

I agree, this has been the WORST year for fleas I have seen in a long time.

I gave all my kitties a dose of Revolution today and...uggg, dead fleas are all over! Baylen, my long haired, is really mad at me. I brushed her for 30 minutes getting dead flea goop off her. She is still glaring at me but not scratching! She is purrrty.

 

[Willowy]

Ugh. It IS a bad year for fleas. Although I managed to keep on top of them this year. Last year I didn't treat the cats early enough so the fleas got out of hand. So I got some Capstar and gave it to them.....dead fleas everywhere! Then I treated them with Advantage or Frontline (I use them in rotation) and everything was fine after that. My brother is having trouble this year. He said they combed their cats and they got 70 fleas off of Fluffy (who is of course a longhair). I'm getting him some Capstar and Frontline soon.

 

[silva_unt]

Originally Posted by Dave_PH

Revolution dries more quickly.

I just tried Revolution for the first time on Neko and liked it much more than Advantage. 1. The Revolution DOES DRY QUICKER!! On Advantage, she would have oily hair where it was applied for many hours. Her fur looked back to normal only after a few hrs with revolution. 2. Revolution didn't seem to bother Neko as much. She wasn't shaking her head or making that yuk face like she did with advantage.

 

[javern]

in the midwest at least mosquitoes and fleas are really populated this summer. Though my cats are strictly indoors I decided to use Revolution. My vet charges $12 per treatment. I do see places online that state can be bought without a prescription, I'm not sure I trust those sites

 

[hissy]

Just be careful when you use these products and rotate every month because the fleas will build up a resistance to the products if you use them repeatedly. Also purchase the products from your vets- that way you are covered if something should go wrong, plus clinics store the treatments the right way so it remains potent.