Has anyone used Seresto collars?

[Willowy]

My mom's cats always have fleas. Always. I apply Advantage or Frontline and give them Capstar but it never really gets rid of them. I don't know why her cats are such flea magnets. . .my cats rarely get fleas.

I've heard good things about Seresto from people who used it on their dogs, but I have never talked to anyone (irl or online) who used it on their cats. I read all the reviews and of course there are some bad ones, but mostly it seems safe and effective. I just wondered if anyone has any personal experience with this product.

Here's an NIH study saying it is safe and effective, but still not personal experience: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22463745/?i=6&from=/22541037/related

 

[red top rescue]

Sorry, I dont have any experience with that particular product and generally don't like collars of any sort because of the danger of them being caught on things.  I've seen the results of that too many times. 

 

[Willowy]

They say the cat collars are safety-snap. And my mom's cats wear collars anyway. But, yeah, that is onething to think about.

 

[GoldyCat]

I believe the OP is asking about a flea collar, not collars in general. Personally, I wouldn't use any OTC flea collar on my cats. I don't know anything about Seresto, but I've heard too many bad things about flea collars actually poisoning cats. For one thing, there is no way to control the dosage the cat gets from a collar. Most cats are very sensitive to medications and a change that would be insignificant in a person (or a dog) could be a dangerous overdose for the cat.

 

[Willowy]

I would never use any other flea collars. Supposedly this one is different---the pesticide they use is the same as Advantage, and the collar is supposed to slow-release the product so it's just kind of like a small daily application of Advantage instead of only doing it once a month. It's not quite "OTC"---only retailers who are allowed to sell Advantage are allowed to sell Seresto.

Anyway, she ordered Seresto for her cats and dogs so I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[red top rescue]

ONE of the two ingredients, imidacloprid, is the same ingredient as original Advantage.  The second one, flumethrin, is a NEW product, supposedly the ONLY tick killing product that is safe on cats.  The question is, do you need a tick killing product or does your cat stay inside and never get ticks?  I have had outside cats for years and never found a single tick on them because they groom themselves, unlike dogs.  The whole thing is a moot point for me because the collars cost $45-$49 each and for 20 cats shelter (numbers come and go but that's what is here right now) that would cost about $1000.  I can buy a 6-pack of Extra Large Dog Advantage (not Advantage II but old Advantage Blue) for $32.  Each one of those 6 vials can treat 10 average sized cats or 20 kittens for one month (or 5 extra large cats, which I do not have).  Do the math.  If I were treating just ONE cat, that's 60 months for $32, versus 8 months for $49.  Hmmmmmm.

Here is an in-depth study for those of you who want to investigate this more.

http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/5/1/66

 

[Willowy]

Haha, yeah, I didn't buy any for my cats because 27 cats times $40 (they were on sale at Drs Foster & Smith) is just too much! Although, considering what it can cost to get rid of a bad flea infestation, if I were having a serious flea problem I might consider it anyway. But for those with only a few cats it can be cheaper than a spot-on since the collars are supposed to last 8 months, and most people don't know how to split large dog Advantage.

Yes, my mom's cats do go outside. I wish they offered a version of Seresto without the tick pesticide though.

Where do you buy Advantage for only $32? I got a 6-pack for $50 and that's the cheapest I could find. It's still under a dollar a dose for each cat so I'm not complaining but cheaper is always a good thing!

 

[red top rescue]

I buy Advantage Blue on eBay.  I used to buy from the same seller all the time but they don't always have it now so I just shop around, sometimes I get lucky, more often I get the 4-packs for $32.79 lately but sometimes they sell a huge amount, like 12, for a low amount of money.  Advantage itself seems to work just as well as Advantage II and it's cheaper so I still get it when I can.  I try not to pay more than $8 per vial if I can.  You have to be careful and make sure you get free shipping or else figure the shipping cost into your total price if you are calculating.  Here's an ad now -- he has 9 available for $31.99 each, free shipping, has sold 19 in the past 24 hours. If you want it, go for it.  If there's still some on Monday, I'll get some then.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Advantage-B...229?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c40520875