Revolution for indoor city homes on water?

[korina]

Ok I will start off that I and you should be well versed in at least Fipronil (frontline).

I had tried revolution on my other cats, but something creeped me out aboutg it and i stuck with frontline.

I now have two new kittens, well they are not new, they are about 8-9 months now, 8 and 10 lbs (girl and boy).

When the last of the two got her last boosters, I saw they had 6 and 12 month packs of Revolution on sale.

They had just grown big enough in weight.

My vet is 1 mile down my street. So keep that in context.

http://goo.gl/maps/QI5Do

They suggested for fleas, I cant remember parasites.

We have ALOT of bugs, if I open the door two quick I am guaranteed house flies, moths etc.

Normal cities dont have this issue but Baltimore is right on the water.

Anyways, just looking for hurt vs help opinions.

Money is not an issue either.

And it is obvious to me (growing up with a doctor father and hanging in his office alot) that reps from the drug companies that make this stuff sway the vets into it. 

 

[imbri]

Well take my opinion with a grain of salt, I work in the vet med field.  I'm not a huge fan or frontline either, I've actually had a cat respond very poorly to it and lose all of her fur at the application site. 

I've seen the studies by the company and indpendent labs on it, both for effectiveness and safety and I would have to say that I consider it well worth any risk that it may have (which is rather minimal). 

I live in the Chicago area and we've got a serious mosquito problem here even with the city spraying to control them. I know the damage heartworms can do, and that on average around 25% of the cats surrendered to the local cat shelter from indoor homes test positive for heartworm antigen.  So I give it to all 4 of my cats (even the defective kitten).

Given how easy it is to accidentally bring in parasites, and how hard it is to get rid of them once they have set up housekeeping, I'd rather prevent the whole mess before it happens.  Also consider with heartworm; generally they do not progress to the adult stage in a cat (not the primary host) but if they do there is nothing that can be done.  You just have to hope that when the worm dies in a couple of years it will not cause an embolism or anaphylatcic shock in the cat.  The bigger concern is killing the larva before they begin to migrate, which Revolution (and heartgard) do.  Normally the larva die in the lungs during migration, which causes tiny cysts in the lungs, which leads to asthma like symptoms for the life of the cat.  Again, I'd rather prevent all that (and I already have one "asthma" cat) and Revolution seems to be the safest product on the market. 

So far as other parasites, it covers your cat for heartworm, fleas, round worm, hook worm and ear mites (though it will take care of ticks and sarcoptes mites too it is isn't labeled for it).  Hookworms are unlikely, but it is easy to track rounds in on your shoes, and if you have potted plants they're in the potting soil.  The good news is most adult cat's immune systems can handle roundworms, they aren't so good at hookworms.   Unless your cat is coming into contact with other outdoor animals mites aren't much an issue (of course, if you work with animals it increases the chance you could bring them home).  Basically it sounds like you would be using it for flea and heartworm prevention, and this is what it was designed for.  The fact that it takes of other parasites is pretty much a bonus. 

I know some people get a little freaked out that it is so broad-spectrum in bringing about the end of parasites, and that is part of what concerns them about putting something so "toxic" on their beloved furry friend.  The good news is that it isn't a particularly toxic drug to mammals, our nervous systems work differently and a cat is a heck of a lot bigger than a flea.  And just because I was curious I went and looked up the LD50 on it.  In rats (the only animal I could find) it is >1600mg/ml, compared to the 45mg in the standard adult cat dose. (LD50 is "lethal dose to 50% of the test population")

I can also say that in the 5 years I've been using Revolution (and seeing our clients use it) the only negative reaction I've ever seen is drooling from licking the application site.

I hope this helps you and your fur babies.

 

[stephanietx]

My kitties are indoor only and I use Revolution on them, but I only apply it every other month.  We don't have a flea problem and don't have dogs, but I still know they're out there and can hitch a ride on my pants and shoes, so we use it.
 

 

[matts mom]

Matt's Meant to be indoor only, but he occasionally sneaks out. 

Revolution is the ONLY flea treatment I will use, after my last cat was poisoned by Zodiac. Thankfully we had only used the spray, and got it off of her quickly, but she still foamed and twitched for almost an hour. 

I have not seen any adverse reactions in my cats to Revolution, but I have seen it kill off the flea infestations in two different cats in 48 hours. I'd recommend it any day