Advantage II Dosing

[lillypie]

Hi! I have a 7 month old kitty, Lilly, and our new addition Gerald who is 2 months old. Lilly weighs over 5 lbs and Gerald was 2.5 lbs at his last check up. We just purchased a 6 pack of Advantage II for the kitty's for flea preventative. However, the weight for the pack is 5-9 lbs, obviously Gerald is not 5 lbs, but I didn't want to buy two different packages of flea medicine especially when he won't stay 2.5 lbs for long. Is there any way to still give him a proper dosage with the 5-9 lb advantage I bought??? Thanks in advance!!

 

[catwoman707]

He can get 0.4 mls.

Your best bet is to buy the larger size and dose down according to weight to save money.

 

[lillypie]

Thanks! How do I go about measuring out 0.4 mls of the medicine from the original 5-9 lb size?

 

[catwoman707]

How odd, I just checked that size you have and it is 0.4 mls.

Sorry, I went from getting the right size for each sized cat/kitten directly to buying the extra lg dog size, since I have a rescue.

Kittens 8 weeks and up used to be 0.4 mls. 

For full sized adults it is 0.8 mls I know, makes me think they have changed something.....

Go with half of the tube you have, without squirting it out but lightly squeezing the tube, allowing single drops to come out, 0.2 mls is 6 drops.

So I just double checked and kitten size is 0.23 mls, so go with 7 drops. 

Easiest to get a 1.0 ml needle-less syringe and draw it out that way, it attaches right to the applicator tip.

 

[lillypie]

where do i get a needless syringe?? thanks, i will have to do that then!!

 

[lillypie]

I found some needeless syringes on amazon, will those work? i will link them.
Will that fit the applicator tubes so i can draw out the correct dosage? also, i just weighed him and he is up to 3.5 lbs now. Would the 0.23 ml dosage still be right?

 

[lillypie]

Or would these be more appropriate?


Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[mazie]

I would think any pharmacy would have the right syringes, my guess.  Of course, if you need to, you can always order online

 

[lillypie]

i never considered the pharmacy, silly me. either way im not sure which ones are best suited for the job?

 

[mazie]

When in doubt, I would call my vet, tell him that you need a "needle less syringe" for your kittens.  He knows their sizes and I am sure he can advise the best syringe for you, right down to the brand I am guessing.  You also may just go to your pharmacy and take a look at what they offer, they can't be that expensive, if you have a question of which to get and they come in different styles, buy them both.  Sometimes if you can see the actual product  that can help you make your decision.

 

[lillypie]

I dont think my vet would be too keen on me trying to self dose my cat with a larger weight flea medicine.

 

[mazie]

That's where we disagree.  The reason for the syringe is to accurately dispense the right amount of medication for the kittens while saving money on the larger vial.   You do not need a vet's prescription for Advantage II, but you do for Advantage Multi.  By asking a recommendation  about the brand name for a good syringe is being a responsible pet owner in my opinion.  Besides, catwoman 707 is one of our top advisors in my opinion and you and I both know she would never recommend one of us medicating a cat in a way she would not endorse.  Please just do what makes you feel more comfortable.  If by purchasing the vials in the recommended dosage is how you feel most comfortable, of course by alI means, that is the way to go. I completely  understand.  No second guessing and you will feel more relaxed dispensing the dosage that way.  I totally respect that decision, I promise you.  I guess you could say, it's more of a "personal choice"

 What is important is that they are protected. 

 

[catwoman707]

A 1.0 ml syringe is what any pharmacy can give you if you tell them it's for dosing med to your pet.

For that matter you can even tell them it's for giving an accurate dose of flea meds to a smaller cat.

 

[lillypie]

So i just ask the people behind the counter? Do they usually charge you for them? Im just curious because my CVS is almost ALWAYS way more expensive than online. Also, I was reading and I saw a couple dosage charts suggesting that all cats 0-9 lbs should receive the 0.4 mL dose. Did something change? 

 

[lillypie]

My husband just went to the Target pharmacy and grabbed one for me, thanks everyone! 

 

[catwoman707]

 
So i just ask the people behind the counter? Do they usually charge you for them? Im just curious because my CVS is almost ALWAYS way more expensive than online. Also, I was reading and I saw a couple dosage charts suggesting that all cats 0-9 lbs should receive the 0.4 mL dose. Did something change? 

See this is why I had told you at first that kitten will get 0.4 ml, it appears this has changed and they now have a kitten size, it used to be 0.4 and 0.8 mls depending on size, .4 for over 8 weeks and up to 9 lbs, and over that is 0.8

Interesting.

 

[lillypie]

So weird, wonder what could have changed.

 

[catwoman707]

I doubt anything has changed really, except that they were dosing a young kitten the same as a 5 lb teenager, so maybe just closed the gap a bit.

I've come up with my own anyway of in between.

I dose at 0.1 ml per pound until at least 4 lbs, then go according to the package doses.

 

[lillypie]

So for example, for my 3.5 lb kitten I would give him .35 mLs? Instead of the .4 mLs my 6 pound kitty will get? Or should I stick to the .23 mL?

 

[catwoman707]

At 3 1/2 lbs he can get the 0.35 fine.