Splitting Advantage ii doses?

xx18xx

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I've seen quite a bit of stuff on buying the large dog Advantage ii & breaking the doses down for cats. I've been wondering about this & if it is actually safe to do. I would love to hear from anyone who does this for their own pets. I have 7 cats so this would be extremely cost effective if it's safe. I am a little nervous about trying it as I don't want to hurt my cats. Any info would be helpful.
 

red top rescue

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I have done it for many years.  It was my vet who first told me about it when I said with 15 cats I could not afford to use Advantage.  Advantage II is the same formula for cats and for dogs.  All that varies is the dosage, which is determined by weight.  You will just need a 1 cc.syringe to measure it with, and some sort of bottle to use so you can get it out easily.  I use old empty vaccine bottles myself.

Bayer's dose for a kitten is 0.23 ml. (That's about 2 1/2 lines on a standard 1 ml. syringe.)  Their dose for a regular size cat (under 10 lbs) is 0.4 ml., which is the "4" mark on the 1 cc. syringe, and for large cats over 10 lbs. they use 0.8 ml. which i the "8" mark on the 1 cc syringe.

I buy the Extra Large Dog size, and each vial of that contains 4.0 ml.  (That is 10 regular sized cat doses).  It's important to make sure it is Advantage (plain) or Advantage II, because Advantage MULTI has another chemical in it that is not in the same proportion in the dog medicine as the cat medicine.  Also, someone recently wrote on here that although she had bought the Large Cat Advantage II, she ended up with 4 vials of that in the six-pack along with 2 vials of AdvanTIX Extra Large Dog.  AdvanTIX should never be used on cats in ANY size. 

I will send you a chart of the doses we use in our rescue for both cats and dogs, according to size, via Private Message.
 
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xx18xx

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I have done it for many years.  It was my vet who first told me about it when I said with 15 cats I could not afford to use Advantage.  Advantage II is the same formula for cats and for dogs.  All that varies is the dosage, which is determined by weight.  You will just need a 1 cc.syringe to measure it with, and some sort of bottle to use so you can get it out easily.  I use old empty vaccine bottles myself.

Bayer's dose for a kitten is 0.23 ml. (That's about 2 1/2 lines on a standard 1 ml. syringe.)  Their dose for a regular size cat (under 10 lbs) is 0.4 ml., which is the "4" mark on the 1 cc. syringe, and for large cats over 10 lbs. they use 0.8 ml. which i the "8" mark on the 1 cc syringe.

I buy the Extra Large Dog size, and each vial of that contains 4.0 ml.  (That is 10 regular sized cat doses).  It's important to make sure it is Advantage (plain) or Advantage II, because Advantage MULTI has another chemical in it that is not in the same proportion in the dog medicine as the cat medicine.  Also, someone recently wrote on here that although she had bought the Large Cat Advantage II, she ended up with 4 vials of that in the six-pack along with 2 vials of AdvanTIX Extra Large Dog.  AdvanTIX should never be used on cats in ANY size. 

I will send you a chart of the doses we use in our rescue for both cats and dogs, according to size, via Private Message.
You split doses regularly then & have since the "do not use on cats" label has been put on the box. I'm not exactly sure when it was added to the box since I have only been using it for around 2 years now(it is what I have seen in some comments). That label is what makes rethink splitting doses. I understand that most likely that label is more along the lines of do not put this whole dog size dose on a cat but it still makes me nervous. Money is tight right not & with 7 cats & 2 dogs I need to find ways to save. My animals are always the first priority and if I have to spend $300+ on flea meds I will.
 

red top rescue

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Yes, I rechecked the formulas which are posted on the Bayer web site (they are there but you have to go down several sub-menus) when they added the new scare labels.  Nothing has changed.  By the way, the CAT formula says DO NOT USE ON DOGS also.  Bayer did not like people finding a cheaper way to purchase the product.  Now, their patent has ended so that a lot more companies are selling "generic advantage" and "generic frontline" under other names.  I still buy Bayer Advantage II in the Extra Large Dog Size and split it proportionately among my cats.  In heavy flea season I may have to apply it more often to certain cats (in groups wyou will notice some cats are immune to fleas and rarely ever get them while others are flea magnets.)  One thing I always liked about Advantage was the assurance it could be used as often as once a week in heavy infestations, and the fact it could be used in teeny amounts of small kittens, because in rescue we often find kittens so eaten up by fleas that they are severely anemic and will die if not deflead promptly and kept flea-free.  In a lifetime of using Advantage, and then Advantage II, I have never had one cat or kitten get sick from it.  It may only kill 98% of the fleas, but that's enough for me.  Here are the current Bayer web sites for Advantage II

Bayer Advantage II for Dogs

http://www.bayerdvm.com/show.aspx/productdetail/advantage-ii-for-dogs

You will see a picture of four DOG advantage packages, underneath is a link to PRODUCT LABEL

click on it

You will see the exact label including the description of the ingredients and amounts of each

Open a new tab and pull up the Cat product

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bayer Advantage II for Cats

http://www.bayerdvm.com/show.aspx/productdetail/advantage-ii-for-cats

You will see a picture of three CAT advantage packages, underneath is a link to PRODUCT LABEL

click on it

You will see the exact label including the description of the ingredients and amounts of each

Compare
 

llittlelucylou

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I've seen quite a bit of stuff on buying the large dog Advantage ii & breaking the doses down for cats. I've been wondering about this & if it is actually safe to do. I would love to hear from anyone who does this for their own pets. I have 7 cats so this would be extremely cost effective if it's safe. I am a little nervous about trying it as I don't want to hurt my cats. Any info would be helpful.

I've been splitting Advantage 2 for X large dogs on my cats for years. I use the correct dose for each cat (I have 9 rescue cats, and I also use it on strays and cat colonies) and I've NEVER had any problems. As long as you use a syringe and use the exact dose (a little less is okay, but not more) than everything will be fine. I put all the doses in a empty pill bottle that I got from my vet and close the bottle tightly, shake it well and then I use the correct dose for each cat with a syringe. I do close the bottle and shake it well each time I use it. If you don't, the compound in the main ingredient will sink to the bottom rendering the formula useless. But always make sure it is NOT ADVANTIX FOR DOGS. THIS WILL KILL YOUR CAT. I do not know about splitting other flea medicines except Advantage. I am not a veterinarian or medical Professional - just a cat caregiver and rescuer, so take my advice at your own risk. If you are unsure, you can always ask a rescue organization, shelter or a vet. Some vets don't recommend this. Mine did because they also have their own small cat rescue organization. It boils down to money. The vets that don't want you to do it - want you to spend more money in their establishment. And of course, Bayer doesn't want you do it because they will lose money. It should be about the welfare of the animal and not the greedy pockets of people or corporations. Some of us are trying to do what we can on a fixed income. Where I live nobody seems to care about animals much, so they most certainly don't care about getting their cat spayed or neutered. Which leaves me and a select few others to take on their responsibilities. So if anyone has a problem with what I do can go suck it.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt
  • To further break down the Advantage dosage by weight alone:

    0.4ml = 0-10
    0.8ml = 11-20
    1.2ml = 21-30
    1.6ml = 31-40 - If your cat weighs this much - please put him/her on a diet.
 

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I use Advecta II, large dog size. Use a syringe for dosage. (.1cc per lb - .1cc) (1ml = 1cc)
Example: 12lb cat gets 1.1cc
9lb cat gets .8cc
7lb cat gets .6cc
60lb cat screws it all up though. He just gets dosed last and it's whatever is left over after dosing the 1st three. Besides anywhere to close to a full dose..... it'd all run down to his toes :lol:


X xx18xx Best I can tell, Advecta II is same ingredients and same proportions as Advantage II (cheaper though). It's what I use and have for several years. Seems to work just fine and no problems as of yet.
The dosage I use USED to work out to cost $5.00 to dose 4 cats per month. It still does, but, one of the cats got too big...so now, he just gets what's left over after dosing the other three cats.
 
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geoffhazel

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I've seen quite a bit of stuff on buying the large dog Advantage ii & breaking the doses down for cats. I've been wondering about this & if it is actually safe to do. I would love to hear from anyone who does this for their own pets. I have 7 cats so this would be extremely cost effective if it's safe. I am a little nervous about trying it as I don't want to hurt my cats. Any info would be helpful.
When we got two kittens back in 2002 and brought them to the vet, HE told us how to split doses of Advantage, and even gave us some syringes to do it with. I have been doing it ever since. All those scare warnings on the box for Extra Large Dog Advantage are just that -- scare warnings. The ingredients inside are exactly the same for dogs and cats, same strength even. (Not so with Revolution - you can split that too, but watch the strength). I appreciate the poster below who showed the three doses: .23ml for kittens, .4ml for cats 5-9 lbs and .8ml for 10lbs plus. We have 2 kittens and 4 adults and I can do all of them with one tube of Extra Large Dog.
 

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I have also done this on the advice of my vet who said something like "you didn't hear this from me, but...." The only reason I don't do it anymore is that I have switched to Revolution once Advantage stopped working effectively.
 

geoffhazel

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I have also done this on the advice of my vet who said something like "you didn't hear this from me, but...." The only reason I don't do it anymore is that I have switched to Revolution once Advantage stopped working effectively.
I have used Revolution as well. for the same reason. To get the "large dog size" since it's by prescription, I ordered it from a site in Australia where apparently it's OK for them to ship without prescription.
 

Cha77Cha

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I have done it for many years. It was my vet who first told me about it when I said with 15 cats I could not afford to use Advantage. Advantage II is the same formula for cats and for dogs. All that varies is the dosage, which is determined by weight. You will just need a 1 cc.syringe to measure it with, and some sort of bottle to use so you can get it out easily. I use old empty vaccine bottles myself.

Bayer's dose for a kitten is 0.23 ml. (That's about 2 1/2 lines on a standard 1 ml. syringe.) Their dose for a regular size cat (under 10 lbs) is 0.4 ml., which is the "4" mark on the 1 cc. syringe, and for large cats over 10 lbs. they use 0.8 ml. which i the "8" mark on the 1 cc syringe.

I buy the Extra Large Dog size, and each vial of that contains 4.0 ml. (That is 10 regular sized cat doses). It's important to make sure it is Advantage (plain) or Advantage II, because Advantage MULTI has another chemical in it that is not in the same proportion in the dog medicine as the cat medicine. Also, someone recently wrote on here that although she had bought the Large Cat Advantage II, she ended up with 4 vials of that in the six-pack along with 2 vials of AdvanTIX Extra Large Dog. AdvanTIX should never be used on cats in ANY size.

I will send you a chart of the doses we use in our rescue for both cats and dogs, according to size, via Private Message.
 

Cha77Cha

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Just double checking on the Advantage 2 for large dogs to be used on my cats. I have 9. When we are speaking of the .4 and .8 on the syringe, that is on a ml/cc syringe correct? I count the lines on the syringe, correct? First 4 lines is .4 ml then count 8 lines which is .8 I just want to make sure I am doing the right dosages. I have 9 cats.
 

Cha77Cha

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Thank you. That's what I thought, this is very helpful. :)
 

MariaCa

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Thanks for that info. I have 5 cats and 2 dogs. Haven't been able to get rid of fleas. One of the dogs is highly allergic to them too. I'm on social security and have to watch budget. Will be ordering large size Advantage2 and splitting. This forum has been a lifesaver due to this thread. Glad I found it.
 
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