Fleas with Frontline?

[mandycat]

A few weeks ago I found a couple of fleas on my cat. (not at same time, one on one day and another 2 days later). So I went to Vet & started her on Frontline.

Last night I combed out another flea, a live one. Why is this? I thought Frontline was to kill them for a month. I put it on the 5th and her it is only the 21 st.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this situation?

Thanks, Betty

 

[sandie]

With the Frontline, the fleas have to actually bite the animal in order to die. You probably saw a flea that hadn't bitten yet. I usually recomend the frontline for any animal exposed to ticks, but if it's just a problem with fleas on an indoor cat, I would go with the advantage, it works a lot better and faster for fleas. I would wait until at least the week of the 29th to re apply it.

 

[mandycat]

Thank you for your reply Sandie. That's just the information I was looking for. I wasn't aware that the Frontline only killed the fleas AFTER they bit the kitty.

There is not concern about ticks so I will probably switch to the Advantage. I picked Frontline 'cause it seemed easier to apply.

My kitty is only outside to walk around in the apartment walkways which have indoor-outdoor carpet. Didn't stop to think that fleas could be carried in to that carpet by people coming from outdoors but that is apparenlty what has happened.

Now I rather wish I had never started taking her out like this but she seems to really enjoy getting outside in the fresh air for a few minutes in the morning & evening.

 

[vjoy]

EGAD!!

My Vet just put Danielle on Frontline( applied the first application tonight. I requested it because we have other animals living on this floor, apartment building). He said it was the best, would kill a flea in just 4-8 hours.
He also put a tiny amount on the tip of each ear. He said it helped protect against ear mites.????????????????????

 

[mandycat]

Although I did find a flea it may have only been there for a short time. A couple times a day I take Mandy outside to walk around on the entryways which are covered with indoor-outdoor carpet & that has to be where she is picking them up.

I don't know why but I naively thought the meds would stop the fleas from even getting on the cat. Guess I just expected too much.

I chose Frontline after reading about all of them so am glad to hear your vet's opinion.

Haven't seen any since my post. Hope it is working well for your kitty.

It is nearly time for Mandy's 1 yr checkup & I plan to take in a stool specimen then to check for any worms since they come from flea bites.

 

[vjoy]

Mandy,

My cat does not go out. So maybe Frontline is fine for her.

We do have a cat and a dog living in apartments just doors away, but perhaps the Vet thought the chance of infestatioin was so small, that he thought the Frontline was sufficient. He seemed pretty confident in it.

We go back in a month, and I will ask him about this. But this is the Flea protection that the Vet offers as first choice, I think.

 

[melissa]

We use Advantage Flea Control for our kitties, and it works great! Since Onyx is an indoor/outdoor cat he tends to bring the fleas in with him. Advantage is wonderful stuff, kills the fleas within hours and from what I understand and my own personal experience, it kills all the fleas in the house within 24 hours too, so no flea spray is needed for carpets and furniture. We are treating our kitties tomorrow with it actually, as we are deworming them all today and apparently you aren't supposed to do both on the same day.

 

[sandie]

Just to clarify something....tapeworms come from ingesting a flea, the bites don't do anything but aggrivate them and cause a possible allergy. Any topical flea control is meant to kill adult and or flea eggs. Which means that when you put just a flea killer on the cat, it will kill once the flea comes into contact with the cat. The ones with the egg inhibitor in it will steralize the adult fleas which will prevent any eggs from being hatched. There is no topical that will rid the entire house of fleas. It's all about controling the problem before it gets out of hand. I just don't want anyone to scroll through here and get any wrong ideas.

 

[mandycat]

Thank you Sandie for the information. That's one of the great things about this CatSite; the good information posted here. Much more informative than what I get from the Vet office.

Thanks again. (and Mandy thanks you too)

 

[nightsowindy]

oh - if you're looking to use something that also works as well as (maybe better - more people buy this from us than frontline) Frontline, try Bio Spot - you can use it in small animals and large animals (so you can use it for your dogs too - they have their own type, as well) just letting you guys know!

 

[sandie]

Just a warning from that last post. The Bio Spot is not as safe as the Advantage or Frontline. I had put it on 4 of my cats and one of them had to rushed to the vet for an allergic reaction. I have used Frontine, Advantage and Revolution on all 11 cats and not one has gotten sick. You may save a few bucks with the over the counter stuff, but in the end, I almost paid with my cats life.

 

[nightsowindy]

eww! really? we sell that! what kind of allergic reaction was there????

 

[sandie]

Oh hell, you can get it at any pet store or stores like wal mart and Target. It is supposed to be safe.. I did the chemical research on it after it happened. If I can find the stuff, I will post the difference in the chemicals.
Once I put it on her, within about 15 minutes, she was foaming at the mouth, shaking as if she were cold, her pupils were the size of dimes and she could not sit still for more than 2 seconds, she would dart from one room to the other. I tried to wash it off, but it was too late. It had already gotten in her system.

 

[nightsowindy]

I'll have to tell Lee, the owner, maybe she'll stop selling it. Unlike a lot of petstores, she actually cares about the animals - she'll definitly want to know this. Thanks! But it would be helpful to show her some paperwork on it if it isn't too much trouble?

(ahh! I just turned into an adult cat! yay!)

 

[sandie]

This should give you a general idea

Pyriproxyfen (Nylar, Archer) is a product of Virbac that is a new third generation Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) - Juvenile hormone mimic. Pyriproxyfen (an IGR) + permethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide) (Knockout) kills adult fleas and ticks plus kills flea eggs for dogs. Also, Knockout is formulated as a room and area fogger, killing adult and preadult fleas for seven months plus ticks, cockroaches and spiders.

If the homeowner treats the pet, spot-ons, powders or dusts are preferred over sprays. Put on rubber gloves and apply the product thoroughly into the hair coat according to label directions. Cats are more susceptible than dogs to toxic effects of many insecticides since they groom themselves. Flea collars cannot always be relied upon to bring existing infestations under control. Collars do not kill existing premise infestations. Some animals are sensitive or allergic to collars. Watch for signs of dermatitis on the neck under the collar. Some labeled pet collar insecticides include: Pyrethrins, resmethrin, carbaryl (Sevin), diazinon, naled, tetrachlorvinphos (Rabon) + methoprene (Precor), d-limonene + linalool, rotenone, propoxur, allethrin and permethrin (Bio Spot) for dogs only. Amitraz collars labeled for dogs only are effective on ticks. After 24 hours, 95 percent of attached ticks become detached.


http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature.cfm?REF=88

 

[nightsowindy]

thank you!

 

[hell603]

A friend of mine seems to have a lot of luck with a product called the PROGRAM. It administered orally every 30 days might want to check it out.