Which flea med do you use and why?

snake_lady

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
7,218
Purraise
13
Location
ON./Canada
Title says it all.

Which flea product do you use and why did you chose that one?
 

gardenandcats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 4, 2005
Messages
2,514
Purraise
22
Location
Maine
I have always used frontline plus for the cats and my dog. My vet recomended that brand and so far it works well.
 

pookie-poo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
3,911
Purraise
6
Location
Middle-Of-No-Where Michigan
I only use Advantage. My vet recommended it because two of my cats have renal failure, and it is the only one that is safe to use. I also only use 1/2 the recommended dose, and that has worked well for me. Cleo is the only one who goes outside (on a leash.) We've only had one very minor flea problem in over 8 years. I do not pre-treat my cats, because I don't want to expose them to chemicals if it's not needed. I only treat if I find fleas or flea dirt when I comb them. I know I've been lucky!
 

cruisermaiden

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,144
Purraise
3
Location
Hiding from my SS!
I use Advantage. My vet recommended it years ago and I just never changed it since it works well for fleas. Also because I can get it for cheaper by buying it in larger doses and measuring it out instead of buying the individual tubes.
 

goldenkitty45

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 29, 2005
Messages
19,900
Purraise
44
Location
SW Minnesota
I don't need to use any flea preventative for my cats. They don't go outside and have never had fleas in the house. Our dog is treated with BioSpot during the spring/summer.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

snake_lady

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
7,218
Purraise
13
Location
ON./Canada
I treat my dog with Revolution.

We live in a sandy area, so fleas are a definate issue around here. BUT, Kizzy (cat) is going to be strictly indoors. So I am uncertain as to whether I will use flea meds or not.

I do like Advantage Multi or Revolution because of the other 'nasties' they will kill. (heartworm, hook worms, roundworms, and ear mites)

I'm up in the air at the moment.... I don't want to treat my animals with something that they don't need. My dog NEEDS the treatment because she is outdoors (for the bathroom only), we live in a flea prone area and she's allergic to flea bites.

Kizzy on the other hand, will be strictly indoors.
 

aswient

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Messages
1,145
Purraise
1
Location
New Jersey
I use Frontline because my Vet recommended it and it works well. Even though my guys are all indoor cats I have to use it because somehow they they get fleas, they must come in on my shoe or clothes.
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

I also only use 1/2 the recommended dose, and that has worked well for me.
Do you think that would work for other cats that are indoor only and may only need a maintenance dose in case there are still some eggs around and larvae that may hatch? I wonder if larvae need as strong of dose to kill them...

I've used all three, I tend to go back to Advantage since Frontline seemed to stop working at all years ago when I used it on Sho. I only use Revolution occasionally - I usually prefer to treat earmites and worms separately with respective meds for these to make sure they're taken care of. I haven't really had good luck with Revolution getting all of the earmites.

The other day the techs and vet did agree with me, too. Since Sherman had been treated with a separate earmite insecticide, using a strong combo insecticide like Revolution wasn't such a good idea.


For the most part I try not to use anything. No matter what name you dress it up with, it's still insecticide. Has any of it really been around long enough to know what 15-17 years of using this stuff on a cat will do? My two haven't had fleas in several months (nearly a year), but since I introduced a third he was treated. I've held off treating the other two because I see no fleas at all.
 

kitytize

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
2,155
Purraise
2
I use Revolution mostly because it takes care of earmites also. But one year I did try Frontline and I did not think it worked as well. I did not have a flea problem last year so I did not need to use any. Hoping I get lucky again this year!
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
I was recommended Frontline by my vet as it is the ONLY one not found by testing in the blood stream..... I use with my vets blessing De flea , very natural , EPA registered with no warnings... Talk with your vet ... I have on two animals who go out in an area with few fleas and ticks outside of walking them in the forest
 

wingss2fly

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
368
Purraise
1
Location
So. Cal.
We use Advantage, because it was what I could get my hands on, I treat May through October. I have my long hair Tuffy groomed 2 times per year. And this last time she found a few fleas. So being Jan. I freaked out ran to get Advantage and treated everyone, and will do so next month too. I hate using poison on them.....
 

littleraven7726

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2002
Messages
3,339
Purraise
12
Location
Next to the World's Largest 6-pack
I use Frontline (the original, not the "Frontline Plus" kind). I've always had good luck using it as a preventative.

I originally used it because it was easiest to buy for all 3 of my cats. I had/have two 9-10 lb cats and one 17 lb cat. The other companies based theirs on weight and that was just too expensive for my household.
 

twstychik

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
5,720
Purraise
4
Location
Northern IN
We don't use flea treatment. Both cats are indoor only and we don't have a dog. It's fortuntely never been an issue except for when I found Frankie on the streets as a kitten.
 

alleygirl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
11,814
Purraise
24
Location
hiding in the bathtub
They are indoors so I don't use anything if they don't need it. I did pre-treat Riley last year with Revolution because we took him on vacation where there were indoor/outdoor animals who were not treated and I didn't want him to pick anything up while he was there.

Xander had a reaction (hair loss) to his recent Revolution application so I won't be using that again regardless.
 

katgoddess

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
397
Purraise
1
Location
BC, Canada
I chose "other" because neither my dog or cat uses flea meds. As you know, Snake_Lady, I see no less than three different vets and while one is conventional (drugs are always her first treatments for everything), the other two are holistic and half holistic/conventional. These two recommended that I not use those flea drops monthly because it can be taxing on the liver. Instead, they told me to treat them *when* they get fleas. I haven't had a problem so far (my dog is now six years old). It is a pesticide/insecticide, so I do refrain from using it.

Where I am, fleas are apparently a big problem. Supposedly. But like I said, never had a problem yet (knock on wood).
 

sneakymom

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
910
Purraise
21
Advantage for cats.

I'm not a huge fan of using it on my 16 year old cat. But, he's got an allergy to flea bites. And we have mosquitos around here in the summer, and I've seen what heartworm can do to an animal.

Many years ago, before flea treatments were avaliable, we had a HORRIBLE problem. There were so many of them in one part of the carpet, you'd walk by and the fleas would be all over your feet. I had to put a treatment down on the carpet- thankfully that got rid of it, I really didn't want to resort to a flea bomb.
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
For the dogs I use Frontline Plus. I live in an area with a lot of ticks and it seems to do a better job with ticks than the others.

I use food grade DE on my carpets inside the house. If I keep the fleas off the dogs (who go in and out all day long), and keep the fleas out of the carpet, I usually don't need to worry about treating the cats.

But during a particularly bad flea year, I do have to ocassionally use Advantage on the cats. It typically takes a single dose for the year when things start to peak. If I control them early, I control them for the season. Most years I just use a flea comb on the rare ones that get on them.
 

pookie-poo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
3,911
Purraise
6
Location
Middle-Of-No-Where Michigan
Originally Posted by strange_wings

Do you think that would work for other cats that are indoor only and may only need a maintenance dose in case there are still some eggs around and larvae that may hatch? I wonder if larvae need as strong of dose to kill them...
Here's a link from the makers of Advantage, describing how it works.
http://advantage.petparents.com/howItWorks.cfm
Apparently it works on both adult fleas and the larvae. Some of the people on the CRF support site recommend only treating the non-CRF cats in a multi-cat household. From what I can tell, they seem to have good luck doing that. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try it. I only had one flea summer, and 1/2 dose on each cat took care of the problem. I think I only treated them twice....1/2 dose, and then 6 weeks later, another 1/2 dose. Obviously not what the manufacturer recommends, but it worked for me.
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Obviously not what the manufacturer recommends, but it worked for me.
Of course they wouldn't recommend you use less, it might mean you'd save some money. Less would only mean it would be less potent.

I also wonder about the box's "over 9lbs" label. What if one is 10lbs and another is 15-17lbs? Obviously it will either be more potent in the smaller cat or weaker in the larger cat - so there's already a big gap there.

Wasn't there a member here who left some Advantage sitting in a plastic cup overnight on a counter? Only to have it burn through the cup and into the counter. I suspect it's strong enough at half dose...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #20

snake_lady

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
7,218
Purraise
13
Location
ON./Canada
Wow.

Thanks for all the input. Your posts have given me alot to think about in regards to even starting a flea med program.
 
Top