Fleas! What is working for you now?

texasrose

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The newest versions of Frontline and Advantage II have quit working. I am in TX and the fleas are back in force. I am considering a Seresto collar for the long haired cats and ordering Revolution (from the Australian site) for the short haired cats (5 total, 2 long, 3 short haired). Thoughts? Our cats are in/out with a enclosed garden that they can go sun in at will. One is a new stray (neutered and vaccinated) that will come in some, but is still fighting with current cats a lot, so he is outside way more and on the loose in the front. It will be sometime before we can acclimate him to being a inside/in the garden cat.
 

SpecterOhPossum

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You can use diatomaceous earth in the garden, I don't condone dangerous chemicals and poisons AKA what kills fleas; included indiscriminately in those flea treatments and toxic collars, I'd inforce regular sanitization of your home with full vacuuming, wiping things down, taking every single article of clothing or fabric and washing it, you can spray the house safely with diluted cleaner (dawn comes to mind, vinegar preferably, some use baking soda but that's toxoc for cats in general, so why people use it is beyond me Same goes for ... Lemon? Meh.) but I'd just go with boiling water in a sprayer, but if you need to use a cleaner I would follow that up with 2 treatments of boiling water to further dilute it, followed with a towel wipe down.

Dawn baths are effective, no excuses not to do that really. You can swap dawn for boiled, cooled, blended oatmeal which is much healthier for cat's fur and skin, and less toxic in the chance that you don't get the opportunity to fully rinse.

You could use the boiling treatment on the yard if you really want to kill fleas, and also the plants probably. But I prefer being parasite free to a pretty garden personally.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I am in the same situation with a flea issue here in FL - although, so far, I have only tried Advantage II. I have also tried several of the above poster's suggestion - many renditions of some of them, and while it is nice that it works for some people, it doesn't always work for everyone. It is certainly NOT working here!!!

Revolution has been touted by many on this site, but I always suggest you at least place a call to your vet and ask what their top 2-3 recommendations are first. And, read up on them so you know what you are going to be putting on/in your cat. Also, I believe Revolution requires a prescription (maybe it doesn't in Australia?). Lastly, as far as flea collars, from what I have heard and read, I think you will find them to be less effective (and, potentially more harmful) than the topicals you have tried so far!

Edit: you might want to take a look at this website for other ideas on treating the house and yard (despite the fact that they recommend Advantage II)! FleaScience
 
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fionasmom

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I am currently using Advantage II successfully and also have used Revolution. Natural solutions never worked for me either but I am not saying that they should not be tried and that they won't work under other circumstances. I don't use collars or any other type of flea treatment and did have a cat react to a collar once. His skin blistered and peeled.

My cats are indoor only, the dog is almost indoor only, and I have no carpeting anywhere...just to add a couple more details.

I have never used flea treatments monthly nor for the entire year. They are major chemicals and I only use them during flea season.
 

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I live I Florida and I swear I think we have Super fleas! When my kittens where little the vet gave them an introductory Revolution treatment for free and it worked amazingly. It’s a little expensive for me but I read on this site about ordering from Australia with No prescription needed. So so much cheaper. It does take a while for shipping (and this was before virus outbreak). It took 14 days to arrive and I paid for 1 upgrade in the shipping. Not that big a deal now I will just order before I need it. From past experience Revolution is far more effective than over the counter topicals. Collars are not effective at all . Good luck fleas are horrible
 

kittenmittens84

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If frontline and advantage aren’t working anymore (assuming they’ve been applied correctly), it’s very possible that there’s a reservoir of fleas/larvae somewhere in or outside your house that’s leading to reinfestation. They can be super hard to get rid of in carpet especially!
 
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texasrose

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My vet called and said Frontline and Advantage haven't worked in awhile now, the fleas have developed immunity. She recommended bravetco (topical) as being the best. Revolution plus as working fairly well, but not great. Natural does not work AT ALL. It doesn't freeze here, so we have fleas and mosquitoes year around.
 

FeebysOwner

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My vet recommended Bravecto as well. It is topical, but enters the blood stream (as does Revolution) - not to be confused with other topicals which work through the sebaceous glands (Adv II, Frontline Plus). I am freaking out because Bravecto contains the newer class of meds, known as the isooxazoline, which contains a warning about possible seizures, especially in cats that have been known to have neurological issues - which Feeby might have. Revolution (NOT the plus one) does not contain this new drug.
 

fionasmom

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Always something to worry about with new meds. I just pulled out of a nose dive in time to realize that vitamin D had been added to something I have been using for my dog (not a cat med at all) and that it could cause major problem. I do feel that Advantage is still working but have to agree that it is not maybe 100%...it might be like 90% so the theory about immunity probably has something to it.
 

FeebysOwner

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I do feel that Advantage is still working but have to agree that it is not maybe 100%...it might be like 90% so the theory about immunity probably has something to it.
From a logical standpoint, I am not sure how anything between 100% and 0% is even feasible. After all, it either sterilizes and kills the adults, and prevents larvae/egg production, or it does not.

Not questioning the concept of a lesser %, but rather trying to make sense of it.

So, perhaps it weakens the fleas - they don't grow as big, die off eventually, and can't produce as many offspring - but can't entirely eradicate them? Maybe... The only place we find fleas at this point is ON Feeby. And, they are much smaller than they initially were, but they are still there nonetheless. So, if that were all true, I guess I'd rate Adv II as maybe 50% effective??? It's doing something to them, just not enough to get rid of them.
 

sweet jane flash

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Advantage is still working in my town. It is interesting (and challenging) how the horrid little buggers can become so immune to a product. Good Luck texasrose, I hope Bravecto works for you--we're keeping our paws crossed!
 

Paris Pluto

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Ive been using Advocate for 2 years but have recently changed to Revolution Plus for the extra tick protection. No flea/worm problems with either product! 😺 I'm in Australia and no prescription is needed for any of these treatments.
 
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MissClouseau

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For the summer I definitely prefer a treatment that gets into the bloodstream. The ones that stay on the skin like Advantage and Frontline -- in my experience even whey are effective, they aren't effective for longer than a week or two.

Stronghold works well in Istanbul for my Hima. It's selamectin-based, the same as Revolution. The same brand, Zoetis. I start once the weather passes 20°C in the spring. I applied this year's first today then saw this, coincidentally.
 

Talien

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From a logical standpoint, I am not sure how anything between 100% and 0% is even feasible. After all, it either sterilizes and kills the adults, and prevents larvae/egg production, or it does not.

Not questioning the concept of a lesser %, but rather trying to make sense of it.

So, perhaps it weakens the fleas - they don't grow as big, die off eventually, and can't produce as many offspring - but can't entirely eradicate them? Maybe... The only place we find fleas at this point is ON Feeby. And, they are much smaller than they initially were, but they are still there nonetheless. So, if that were all true, I guess I'd rate Adv II as maybe 50% effective??? It's doing something to them, just not enough to get rid of them.
It's due to a small number of parasites beginning to develop an immunity to whatever product is being used. It always starts out as a small percent and grows as the non-immune parasites are killed off, leaving only the immune ones to breed and take over.

The good thing is parasites can't develop an immunity to treatments that physically attack them like Diatomaceous Earth because that kills them by eviscerating (think of it like crawling through broken glass) rather than poisoning them.
 

FeebysOwner

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It's due to a small number of parasites beginning to develop an immunity to whatever product is being used. It always starts out as a small percent and grows as the non-immune parasites are killed off, leaving only the immune ones to breed and take over.
Now, that makes sense - and, is kind of horrifying when you think about it! So, my house and probably T texasrose 's as well now have a wonderful colony of immune fleas - at least to the treatments we've tried so far!
 

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The house gets sprayed every six months. Rotate with Precor 2000 and PT Ultracide.
Lawn gets sprayed every other month during warm weather with Demon WP or Talstar P.
Cats get treated with Advecta II (for dogs).

And if you spray outside at dawn, you'll not have near the fly, mosquito, or gnat problem you would have otherwise either.
 
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