The Fleas are winning advice on alternative to Fronline Plus

[gardenandcats]

  This is the 1st year that frontline plus is not working at all..Its like I haven't even put it on... I have two Persians and 4 Siamese They all get frontlined regulary ..The Persians get monthly baths also.... I have 1 golden Retriever who gets flea baths and Frontline he has also been on a antibiotic and prendisone for 10 days due to allergy skin..probably from flea Bites........ I do have rugs in the house I vacumm daily sometimes twice.... No signs of fleas in the house just on the pets!        I have always used frontline and it has worked well.  Not so this year..I'm leary of other topical drops as I have heard Horror stories about other brands.. What else have any of you used with no health issues to the kitties that also have worked? I am thinking I should give another brand a try for a few months and see if this will help...

 

[Willowy]

Advantage has always worked for me. Be sure to use Advantage, not K9 Advantix, for the dog. . .Advantix is VERY toxic to cats so you don't want to risk it.

 

[melesine]

I use advantage II, and it's always worked great for me. Fleas love me so I want them dead or unable to bite ASAP. On the dogs we use canine advantixII because it also repels mosquitos and is waterproof ( a requirement for my dogs). I've never had a home infestation while using either product even when I found fleas on the animal themselves but that was always when first got them. All three of my cats had fleas when I first got them. 

 

[riccadawn]

Advantage II has worked well for me too. River had terrible fleas when we found her as a kitten and within an hour of applying the Advantage II we just watched the fleas start falling off of her. It was pretty impressive.

 

[detmut]

Advantage 2 also, plus Capstar for immediate short-term flea kill. But be careful what you use on your dog if your cats like to rub or sleep on them. make sure everything is cat-safe.

 

[detmut]

Advantage II has worked well for me too. River had terrible fleas when we found her as a kitten and within an hour of applying the Advantage II we just watched the fleas start falling off of her. It was pretty impressive.

plus, Advantage has 3 different sizes -- under 5 pounds, 5-9 pounds, and over 9 pounds. for any cat over 8 weeks.

 

[stephanietx]

We use Revolution because it also protects against heartworms, which is a concern here.
 

 

[orientalslave]

You don't see fleas in the house, but if there are fleas on the pets there will be eggs, larvae and pupae in the house as well.  Vaccuuming helps a bit but doesn't clear it completely.

The following gives lots of good information though not all the products it mentions are available in the US, or are under a different name.  However it gives the active ingredients which should help:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html

 

[p3 and the king]

This is what I do, I switch the medicines every month or so.  So one month, I'll use Revolution, the next Frontline Plus and so on.  Reason?  Fleas, like any other thing in life build up a tolerance to medicines if you keep using the same all the time, and they produce offspring that have the same tolerance.  So try not using Frontline Plus for a couple of months and see if that helps.  Vacuuming often helps, too.  Along with washing all the linens you can.  I also recommend giving them a bath in Dawn dish soap.  It kills a lot of fleas and then when they are dry, try placing a new medicine besides Frontline Plus.  I like Revolution the best but others swear by Advantage II... I've just never been impressed with Advantage or II. 

 

[bigperm20]

I'm a Revolution fan myself, however my new kitten had a few fleas so I had to treat him when I got him. My vet was out of Revolution so I used Advantage Multi and it worked like a charm.

Previously, I had spent $30 on a kitten box of FrontLine and I saw minimal results. It killed some of the fleas, but the ones it didn't just started hanging around near his privates. I asked the vet about this and she told me that fleas have simply developed a tolerance to FL. It's sold OTC (even generics)so everyone uses it and therefore fleas are just used to it.

I'm not wasting my money on it again.

 

[gardenandcats]

I bought a spray for the rugs and floors I bought from the vet and have sprayed the whole house... The Siamese A bath it would be IMPOSSIBLE to bath them I think they would actually break a bone struggling to get away..The persians have been bathed...I just used frontline on the Siamese a few days ago and it seems like it has agitated the fleas not killed them.  As I can not bath them to get the frontliner off. I wonder how long I need to wait untill I use the Advantage II???? Any thoughts on how long untill I use the Advantage?
 

 

[Willowy]

They don't sell "Advantage" anymore, just "Advantage II"--it's the update.

I think you can apply it 2 weeks after the other stuff. If you want instant satisfaction, get some Capstar (you can buy the large size and a pill splitter, and give them 1/4 of a tablet to save money over buying the small size)---it's really gratifying to see the fleas dropping off, LOL.

Will your cats allow you to comb them with a flea comb? That's what I would do in the interim.