Otc Vs. Rx Flea Treatment

LAL

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Melody will be due soon for flea treatment and I am having trouble deciding what to use, if to use, etc. She is INDOOR ONLY. I do, however, see the point of having the protection so she won't pick up fleas at the vet or when the windows are open.

Since she was adopted a year ago, she has had Bravecto applied once every 3 months. It is expensive--just over $70/dose from the vet. I have been looking around and see that I could get Bravecto for about $50 on Chewy--assuming the vet will write the Rx for me to use elsewhere. But, Melody just seems a bit 'off' for a week or so after each application. I was thinking of trying something else.

What is everyone's experience with OTC flea medications? [I prefer topical over oral--because I'd like to keep my fingers on my hands.] Do you have favorites or ones you would avoid? Good source to buy them-web or store?

Its getting closer to cold weather here in Ohio and I am not feeling really pressured to decide as the temps dropp.
 

cheesycats

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I’ve always used advantage or revolution. When I use advantage to actually treat an active flea problem I use capstar with it the day before to make sure all of the live fleas are good and dead then I apply the advantage to kill eggs and larva. Then I retreat with remaining capstar until they run out. That has always worked well for me.
Revolution works well too but is rx only. It protects against most things in cats which is a good bonus. But if you just want to use as a precaution you should look into advantage as its most likely the best over the counter flea meds. It’s single month though. And it’s pretty cheap online. The 6 packs are the best for the money.
I’ve never noticed any abnormal behavior using any of these things in 4 different cats.
 

maggiedemi

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Frontline Plus is the exact same thing that used to be sold at the vet. The patent ran out and it can be sold in stores now.
 

Notacrazycatlady

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I use Revolution on both of mine. It's monthly and prescription, but I got it on Chewy for somewhere around 18/month (buying 3 or 6 months at a time makes it cheaper overall). You enter the animal's name and the name and contact info for their vet and Chewy will contact the vet to confirm that they have a current prescription for it and then ship it. It was half of what I'd paid per month picking it up at my vet's office. I'm probably going to keep them on it year round just because of the colony cats on the patio not to mention the occasional walks we take.
 
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