Pls help! !!!!!"Advantage" related...

Today is the first time I used Advantage on my cats. A minute after application, the neck area, especially my MowMow, is so wet.... MowMow also scratches that area... GuaiGuai is not as wet as MowMow. However, since GuaiGuai is only 8 pounds and MowMOw is 12 pounds, the dosage (for cats over 9 pounds) on MowMow is more than that of GuaiGuai. Also, both of them have very dense hair. So the exposed skin area is very minimum.....

Does this happen to your cats when applying Advantage? Did I do something wrong? How come that neck area is so wet? Should I comb those wet hairs or do something else to dry the hair? I guess MowMOw got some medication and shows me that "bitter" face.... What should I do??? Thanks.

This is a health question, so I'll move it to the proper forum for you.

It's best to apply any flea treatment to the back of the head, the area where the cat can't reach to scratch. It sounds like you just need to apply it a little higher up. With Advantage, there is an information pamphlet with a picture showing where it is best to apply it.

When applying, it's best to part the fur at the location and then apply it. This ensures that the flea medication gets to the skin and correct area. After this, you will notice that fur around the area appears wet. This is normal. After about 8-12 hours, this will dry. Do not try to wash it out or comb it out. It is the flea medication.

With MowMow, watch her closely. If there are any signs of illness such as vomiting, then take her to the vet. Chances are is that she may have ingested some of the medication. Otherwise, she may be upset with you because of the flea treatment. She will recover and love you just as much by the next meal time or next day.

a_loveless_gem,

Thank you for your advice. I applied the medication about a couple hours ago, and MowMow is doing fine. I did follow the intructions included in the package, but just not sure. Perhaps I didn't put the medication as close to the skin as possible. GuaiGuai was the second one to be medicated and the wetness area is much smaller than that of MowMOw... Perhaps I didn't do a good job on MowMow...

When I put Advantage on my cat the first time, the area around where I put it was wet, and he had a squinty eyed look about him for a few hours afterward, I guess it was just the smell or something from the medication, but he slept for most of the day after and then he was fine. Mine like to groom each other and I made sure they didnt groom each other till it had dried.

Advantage can irritate some cats, plus if you warm it up first, keep it in your pocket for an hour, or in your hand, that helps. The neck area will be wet, and the smell with distract some cats for awhile, but they soon get used to it and go about your business.

If you see drooling, or if the cats become lethargic, take them to the vet immediately.

thank you all for the advice! it has been more than 3 hours since the administration of Advantage this morning. MowMow, though a bit sleepy and she is always sleepy during the day, is alert to the words of "treats" and the smell of watermelon... GuaiGuai has no problem regarding the drug, and I did a better job on GuaiGuai. So I guess they are fine.

My husband is so jealous of the cats becuase he thinks that I put too much attention on them then anything else. I confess that I treat these cats like my babies. Perhaps you all can understand my feeling

My vet always has a bunch of informational pamphlets / printouts on the check out counter. When I was there this past Friday, there was one on Advantage. It stated that my vet will no longer be carrying Advantage because of a number of reported kitty deaths and serious side effects that have been blamed on its usage. Don't know if it is true or not, but anyone thinking of using Advantage might want to do a bit of research first.

Wow, that scares me now! I have used it one 2 of my cats and they have been ok with it sofar, now I'm worried!!

I don't have the print out from the vet in front of me, but as I recall, the number of reported deaths was quite small. 25 or so? If your kitties haven't had any problems so far, then I wouldn't stress about it. You just might want to get more info about Advantage before applying it again.

The print out from the vet really didn't say much. It was really just a quick note to inform clients why they would no longer carry that brand.

I used it several years ago on the kitty I had then, (she has since passed on - no relation to using Advantage) as well as on my parents small dog. Neither of them showed any negative side effects.

I just did a search on yahoo, and I couldn't find anything but rave reviews of Advantage. The only warning I could find was one that said people in Florida were reporting problems with an Advantage "look-a-like", which had an additional ingredient in it which was very bad for cats. Perhaps the vet received faulty information?

I have used Advantage several times on my cat. However, both times she has ademently run away immediately after opening the dose. She appears to have burning eyes, and also to be hallucinating or seeing things. I think her senses are stronger immediately after giving her the medication. I think I am going to change over to Frontline as Spook doesn't usually have reactions to other flea medications that I've given her. Also, the employees at the vets office I go to use Frontline without problems and dislike Advantage for some reason (although the office sells it). I think I'm going to give Spook the benefit of the doubt that if she dislikes the medication then I'm not going to make her suffer through a day of discomfort when there are other adequate meds like Frontline out there without the side effects. Just a thought.