Advantage won't work

My poor kittens are scratchin up a storm The advantage just won't work for them! Does it work for yall? What else can be used? Do you have luck with anything?

You have to switch off and on. The fleas build up a resistance to the repellent, so every few months you switch go to either Frontline, or Revolution or another spot on flea repellent that you get from your vet.

I just started them on it, like about 2 weeks ago, and they still have fleas, not as many but they aren't gone yet. Also, how do I get rid of the fleas around the house, like the grass/ carpet? Does Borax really work? It doesn't hurt the cats or white carpet?

For carpets you have to vacuum vacuum vacuum! Move the furniture and get underneath it thourghly. Remove the vacuum bag outside and throw it away right after you finish. Give the cats a bath and scrub away the flea dirt. This will also get rid of dead hair and help the Advantage to work better. I always flea treat after a bath. The flea bites won't go away over night either so they will still scratch for a while after treatment.

I do bathe and bathe and bathe. I don't know where all the fleas are coming from. They are inside cats. I don't see where the eggs came from hatching in my house. Does any one know if Borax does Dehydrate the fleas so they will die? Is this safe? Thanks for more help. These fleas are tough lil bugs! hehe

Last summer, we had a stray cat in our neighborhood who always slept on out front porch. He had fleas terribly and they were in our yard, our garage, our porch...everywhere. We ended up having a bad infestation in our house because those lil boogers came in the house on our shoes & clothes. It was a mess! We tried everything and nothing seemed to work. We ended up a calling a Extermator (sp?) and that solved the problem immediately. It was fairly cheap (I think 50 bucks for the house, garage, and yard to be done...I think we got lucky. It's usually more than that.), but we had to take all the animals out of the house for at least 5 hours. That was the most tramatic thing...the cats hated visiting Grandma for the afternoon! Anyway, you might have to get someone to de-bug your house if nothing works. Good luck!

Thank-you. Ya a new stray has tried making this our home and almost has. He has a bad case of the fleas so that is what had happened. Looks like I will take your advice, hopefully it's as cheap as it was for you. Thanks

Do you get Capstar there? It is a Novartis product. I live in a house with suspended wooden floors and had a flea problem for a while before I sprayed under the house. I found that Capstar worked best for me as all the fleas are DEAD after just half an hour of giving the cats a tablet each. It is safe for kittens from 4 weeks of age.

i bought this flea control shampoo for one of my rescued kitties.

It is called Zodiac FleaTrol protein conditioning shampoo.

According to the bottle, it was "tested, trusted, effective." It kills adult fleas, lice & ticks on contact. Also, it prevents flea eggs from hatching for 28 days.

It helps to sooth sensitive skin, and contains an insect growth regulator - kill flea eggs and has a baby fresh scent.

Their website is www.zodiacpet.com.

Also, once i inquired about flea control at Petco. The store manager told me that there are three main areas to concentrate on: outside the house, inside the house and on the pet.

Outside the house : water plants with a flea control product.
Inside the house : spray the areas where your pets frequent with a flea control product.
On the pet: Some flea control product. i used Advantage once and it really worked. What Mary Anne said makes sense about rotating the products.

There are products that you can buy from Petco or pet supplies store for such purposes.

Don't know how much this helps, but thought i would share.

Smiles and cheers!

Chritztal Please do not use Borax. Yes, 20 Mule Team Borax does work, but research on the net tells me it is not safe as a cat lays on the carpet, and they lick their fur. Rent a steam shampooer and suck up these pests and vaccum alot. Linda

What flea and tick medications do you recommend? I have just received a stray cat for my birthday, and we have just begun to use Hartz medication. It seems to be working well, however, I was told that it was quite bad for cats. My cat, Nakita, has an appointment with the vet tomorrow afternoon, and I will be asking him what sorts of medications to use to get him into shape to finally bring him into the house. He has been in the garage since Saturday, and I hate to see him out there. He loves it in the garage, as I think he is just happy not to be inside anymore. The first couple of days he just slept a lot and ate. Today he is quite playful and enjoys our company. I finally got him to play with a rope today, and I look forward to spoiling him like I spoil the other cat and two dogs. I wish I could bring him inside!

Clinton the best product to use is one you get from your vet. Frontline, or Revolution or Advantage.

I have used Hartz on the other cat, and he turned out OK. I am trying to get as many opinions as I can, because there are some that say my cat could die from using Hartz. If this is the case, at least my cat has an appointment with the vet tomorrow. I will keep you posted as to how he does, and what the vet recommends. From what I can see, the cat seems to be doing quite well. He is playful, eating, drinking, and being merry. He loves to jump and play, and has not once been violent (yet). Thank you for the comment, and I hope to hear from you and the others soon.

Clint

I agree with Hissy. Use Advantage or Frontline... again, you can get Advantage from Petco. Hartz flea tube meds are BAD BAD BAD, it has killed pets and I do not know how they continue to sell it! This is what I have heard several times, I do not want to scare you, just inform you that this has been said. Use the Advantage or Frontline and within 24 hours the fleas should be dead. Linda

OK. What I will be doing tomorrow is going to the vet and making sure the cat is OK for many reasons:
1. He has a nickle sized flesh wound on his neck, which we have been trying to help with hydrogen peroxide.
2. I have used the first does of Hartz and I think I will have to change that when I see the vet.
3. Nakita needs to be checked for worms and other issues that may have arisen from her time as a stray.

When I see the vet tomorrow I will ask what he would recommend for Nakita and take the advice seriously. I love Nakita so much and I would hate to see anything happen to him, since he loves us so much.

Again, I would like to thank you all for the advice, and I will keep you posted as to what the vet says when I take Nakita in tomorrow afternoon.

Clint

We use Advantage (monthly) along with the Program (a shot that lasts for 6 months)

Lheeza~
I took Nakita into the vet today, and the vet informed me that some cats have had really bad reactions to Hartz, however, she did not ask me to change the medication, or even continue it, so I am at a loss of what I am supposed to do with that. He was tested today for FIV, and thank God, he came out negative. The vet said he was a pretty healthy kitty for being a stray, and she said he is pretty young as well. So, now I have more information. Nakita is 10 months old, 7 pounds and 3 ounces, and more importantly, HEALTHY.


Clint

I am glad that Nakita did not suffer any ill effects from the flea repellent. I would suggest that you throw the remainder of the Hartz product away and go to either Frontline or Advantage. It could be your vet didn't tell you what to do because A. He was distracted or B. He figured out you knew what to do. You can use Advantage and it will work, but you cannot use it all the time, you need to alternate it with other products like Frontline or Revolution.

Hissy~
We have found that the only thing Nakita had was ticks, and not fleas. When the first dose of Hartz was used, we noticed that all of the ticks had left his body. When we were at the vet, she did not state anything about there being fleas, and flea season in Wisconsin has not started yet, so there really is no reason for him to have them. I think it may be safe to toss the other two bottles of Hartz away and hope for the best. If the cat begins to itch again, we will start over with Frontline or Advantage. The vet recommended Advantage, so we will go to the store and buy that. I believe they sell it at Petsmart?!? Again, thank you for the advice; you are a wealth of knowledge, and I look forward to learning much more from this web site. You are doing a great thing here!

Clint