Worried About Advantage Flea Treatment!

[Lomond19]

Hello everyone, I hope someone can help put my mind at ease as I'm really worried at the moment!

I put Advantage flea prevention spot on treatment on my 8 month kittens about 2-3 hours ago.

They have quite long and very thick fur but I separated it with a comb and thought I'd managed to get it all on their skin rather than fur. Inevitably it seeps onto the fur though.

One of my cats wriggled a little though! Girl cat is almost completely dry but boy cat (who wriggled), still has very wet/greasy fur. Product feels quite oily on his fur and I'm worried it won't dry off! I've tried blotting the fur (not the skin) with tissues but it's still greasy.

They are apart just now but I'm not sure:

• Will his fur eventually dry off or do I need to clean the product off? If so, does that mean the flea prevention will no longer work? How would I clean it off as I've tried blotting with a damp paper towel on the fur followed by dry tissues?
• once the product is dry to the touch, is it safe for them to groom each other? They are very close and groom each other a lot!
• how long should I keep them apart for? Product instructions say 2 hours but as he is still wet I don't know what to do!
• if anyone have cats with long and thick fur and use spot on treatments has any advice that would be amazing.

Please help this worrier! Thank you very much in advance

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Give it a few more hours, just to be on the safe side. Especially if they groom each other a lot. You are PROBABLY going to be fine with this. My own cat has managed to wriggle free mid-application (more than once), leaving a trail of flea meds down her fur that she could manage to groom off, and so far, no issues from that. But do give it another 4-5 hours. Better safe than sorry. You could always call your vet and ask for advice, as well. Most of the time, they are very willing to answer questions like this.

 

[jen]

The only thing I wouldn't want is the other cat to groom the oily spot. But it is not likely the other cat will due to the taste of it. So you should be fine. The product is a greasy oil type of liquid so when they have long fur it stays a few days. Even my short haired cats will have a greasy spot for a couple days.

 

[Lomond19]

Thank you so much both for replying. It was my first time applying flea treatment, as I'm harness training them to go outside for the first time . I'd just assumed any excess product that seeps on to fur would dry off within the two hour period the instruction leaflet advises to separate them for. It is indeed very oily though!

So four hours later I'm worried it's still not dry, but I'll give it another couple of hours and then allow them in the same room but watch them for grooming the greasy spot.

Would you recommend separating them overnight (and when I can't watch them) for the few days while it's still greasy?

Once it eventually dries, does that mean it's safe for them to groom each other? Now I'm that worried that the residual product could be harmful!

Thanks again for your advice and reassurance

 

[jen]

I wouldn't have ever even thought to separate cats after applying flea product. I don't think I have ever done that or heard of anyone doing that. I doubt one cat would groom the nasty tasting product off the other cat. If they get it in their mouth they get all foamy and drooly. Usually it is the cat trying to groom the flea product off themself you have worry more about. It will likely be greasy and damp for a day or two. If it makes you feel better then separate them, no harm in doing so.

 

[Lomond19]

Thank you, Jen! Your message was very reassuring and I really appreciated it. I'm sorry for not replying sooner. I tried to log back in at the time, but got temporarily locked out of my account as (I must have stupidly been putting my password in wrong!) I was able to reset it today when I tried logging in though.

Both kittens were fine, I kept them apart for three hours then allowed them to be together, but I kept an eye on them until 12 hours had passed before I went to bed.

By the next morning there wasn't any greasy patch on their fur so I was a little worried that they had groomed the traces of wet patch off each other. But as so many hours had passed beforehand, and because of all the helpful advice and reassurance from you guys, I didn't worry too much. So, all seemed completely fine in the end

Thanks again!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thank you for updating us! I'm tickled that everything is fine now, and you aren't worried anymore.

 

[ArchyCat]

Check to make sure the cats are now free of fleas. There are Advantage II and Frontline resistant fleas. I know, my cats have them . The fleas apparently hiked a ride into the house on my trousers. I'm now waiting for a delivery of Revolution I ordered from Australia.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The fleas apparently hiked a ride into the house on my trousers.

Probably. They are oppotunistic little beggars. ONE reason to use flea treatment, even for indoor only cats.

ALSO...make sure that your flea treatments also prevent heartworm. Yes, cats can get heart worms, and they are NOT treatable in cats. Not yet.

 

[Lomond19]

Thanks Mamanyt1953 and A ArchyCat !

I've heard of fleas becoming resistant to Frontline but I hadn't heard about there been a problem with Advantage, so that's really useful to know. I'm in the UK so perhaps it has become as much of a problem with Advantage here yet?

Thanks also for the heartworm info. I don't think Advantage covers that but I'll ask the vet about preventative treatment when I go there tomorrow. My kittens have been quite recently wormed with Panacur - do you know if that covers heartworm?

Thanks again!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

To my knowledge, Pancur does not protect against heart worms, but ask your vet to be sure. Heart worms are primarily a danger in areas with mosquitoes, so it may not be as big a risk as it is here in the US.

 

[Lomond19]

Thanks Mamanyt1953 ! We do get quite a lot of mosquitos here so will check with the vet about preventative treatment. Thanks again

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You are very welcome! MOST people don't know that cats can get heart worm. For some reason, vets don't tell them. LOL, I'm on a bit of a mission.

 

[Lomond19]

Thank you for spreading the word Mamanyt1953 ! I had heard of it, but wrongly assumed the worming and flea meds covered it. I'm going to definitely ask our vet about it this week though. Very scary that it can't be cured

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SOME do. Trifexis, Revolution and Advantage MULTI all do. I know there are others, but those come to mind right away.

 

[leo12]

We have had our cats on Advantage for probably a year, and would like to try a different brand because it isn't working great. Our indoor/outdoor cat is on Frontline Plus because of ticks, but I really don't want to start our indoor ones on an extra medication for ticks if they don't need it. Is there a monthly treatment that anyone has had good luck with, or does it just depend on the cat?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It depends on the cat, and the area. Fleas in a certain area can build up immunity to a flea treatment that is widely used. You may have to experiment some.