Fleas!! low budget..

Guys, I saw that two of my cats had some fleas, which means that more than likely my third one has the same issue.

I would like to get frontline, but as a full time student working part time my budget is super tight! I heard the HARTZ products are very bad, so which options do I have?

What do you guys think is a good alternative?

Thanks in advance..

Eddie

You are correct about Hartz or any other over the counter flea meds. Never use these. Why they are allowed to be sold is one of the great mysteries of life. The ASPCA has a paper out on the dangers of these.

I use Advantage from my vet. However, Advantage is now available in some pet stores. I wouldn't use anything else. Others use Frontline. I have no experience with it.

Yes, it's pricey. But it's more costly having to rid your home of fleas. It's pay a bit now, or a ton later.

I used Hartz on my cat, it didn't go well at all and I almost lost him! Why not call around for prices? Advantage from my vet is 17 dollars a tube but my sister gets it from her vet for 11. I don't think any pet stores where I live sell it but they may around you.

I get Advantage from Amazon, 6 Applications for $52.20... ($8.70 each), or 4 application for $41.99 ($10.49 each)... Here is the link, the shipping is free.

Discuss it with your vet in many area s an RX drug/ pesticide is needed ... but I do not live in an area with bad flea issues ... I use De Flea( which is OTC) and Diatomeceous earth ( yes you can put it on your pet)... In a dire pinch you can use the NON concetrate Dawn( the Original BLUE only) to wash the cat and comb out the fleas

Originally Posted by sharky

Discuss it with your vet in many area s an RX drug/ pesticide is needed ... but I do not live in an area with bad flea issues ... I use De Flea( which is OTC) and Diatomeceous earth ( yes you can put it on your pet)... In a dire pinch you can use the NON concetrate Dawn( the Original BLUE only) to wash the cat and comb out the fleas

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The diatomaceous earth MUST be food/human grade only - not commercial grade. Sprinkling this into your carpeting will also kill any that are there and and future hatchings.

Note that Dawn does NOT kill the fleas. It will stun them and then you must pick them off, put them in soapy water while you are picking them and then get rid of the water.

I have been in a similar situation before when I was in college. Somehow my apartment became absolutely infested with fleas, even though I have strictly indoor cats. It was terrible, and it was making my cats sick. Unfortunately, the prescription flea medicine I got from the vet gave Russel a bad reaction. He was vomiting everywhere and it was scary (though my other cats had no problems with the stuff). I also had trouble affording it since I had 3 cats to treat.

I did some research and eventually bought some Fleabusters Rx. I bought one tub of it and followed the directions exactly. I moved all the furniture and put it under there. I put a little in the wells of my couch. On every square inch of carpet. You sweep it in with a push broom, vacuum up any visible excess, and leave it for a few days before a thorough vacuuming.

You can't have your pets in the room while you're treating, but it's supposed to be safe as soon as it has settled in the carpet. Russel has respiratory problems and he was fine. I had rats at the time too who are very sensitive and they were both fine too. It took a little time, but it killed ALL the fleas, and I never got them again at that apartment.

When I moved here recently, I got fleas again. I used the rest of the tub on the carpets here and I still find a stray flea once in a while, but it didn't turn into an infestation. Basically even if I bring a flea home, when it jumps into my carpet, it will die.

I was reluctant at first, as I was concerned about leaving this powder in my carpet with respiratory sensitive animals... even though the company said it would be safe. Eventually I just didn't know what else to do aside from getting pesticides in the house, which I definitely didn't want. Russel is sensitive to everything. But you would have to use your own best judgment. The product also doesn't seem to work for everyone, but I have to say that it worked wonderfully for me and it saved me a ton of money in the end.

Prior to the Fleabusters, I would fill up a little container with soapy water. I'd comb the cats with a flea comb and then stick it in the soapy dish water. They can't jump free of the soap, and they suffocate.

We use Revolution. I know you have to go to the vet to get it, but it's been worth it here. We boarded Lynxx out, and he came back with fleas. Took us about 2 weeks to catch on that he had fleas. We had fleas every where, even jumping onto the computer screen. We put Revolution on Lynxx's neck, and never saw another flea until we brought Luna home, and the Revolution took care of all her fleas.

Originally Posted by Carolina

I get Advantage from Amazon, 6 Applications for $52.20... ($8.70 each), or 4 application for $41.99 ($10.49 each)... Here is the link, the shipping is free.

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drs foster and smith are a Guaranteed USA Advantage supplier

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

free shipping

4-pk; under 9 lbs
($9.50 per dose),
$37.99
\t
6-pk; under 9 lbs,
$51.99
\t
12-pk; under 9 lbs,
$97.99
\t
4-pk; over 9 lbs
($9.75 per dose),
$38.99
\t
6-pk; over 9 lbs,
$52.99
\t
12-pk; over 9 lbs,
$101.99

Hi, this probably doesn't apply if you're in the US - but for anyone reading this in UK and Ireland, frontline has come off the patent and you can buy a cheaper version called effipro, same active ingredient.

I would not -ever- risk my cats by using an OTC flea product (not counting Advantage which recently went OTC), including a knock off of frontline.

My opinion: Frontline products, Advantage and Revolution (Stronghold) are the only products that are safe to use on your cat, and the only safe place to get them is through your vet.

Best case scenario, the product won't work, so you will have wasted your money and will still have to buy something that does work.

Worst case scenario, and highly likely, your cat will get sick and you will have a huge vet bill to save kitty, in addition to being out the cost of the cheap stuff, and still having fleas.

It's just not worth it, imo.

Another good thing to do is use the vacuum cleaner very frequently and burn or throw out the bags.

Originally Posted by otto

I would not -ever- risk my cats by using an OTC flea product (not counting Advantage which recently went OTC), including a knock off of frontline.

My opinion: Frontline products, Advantage and Revolution (Stronghold) are the only products that are safe to use on your cat, and the only safe place to get them is through your vet.

Best case scenario, the product won't work, so you will have wasted your money and will still have to buy something that does work.

Worst case scenario, and highly likely, your cat will get sick and you will have a huge vet bill to save kitty, in addition to being out the cost of the cheap stuff, and still having fleas.

It's just not worth it, imo.

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there are 8 online pet pharmacies accredited by the national association of boards of pharmacy:

\t1-800-PetMeds\twww.1800petmeds.com
\tDrs Foster & Smith Pharmacy\twww.DrsFosterSmith.com/pharmacy
\tNational Pet Pharmacy\twww.nationalpetpharmacy.com
\tPet Meds n More, Inc\twww.petmedsnmore.com
\tPetCareRx, Inc\twww.petcarerx.com
\tSmartPak\twww.smartpakequine.com
\tVetCentric\twww.vetcentric.com
\tVetRxDirect\twww.vetrxdirect.com

Originally Posted by detmut

there are 8 online pet pharmacies accredited by the national association of boards of pharmacy:

\t1-800-PetMeds\twww.1800petmeds.com
\tDrs Foster & Smith Pharmacy\twww.DrsFosterSmith.com/pharmacy
\tNational Pet Pharmacy\twww.nationalpetpharmacy.com
\tPet Meds n More, Inc\twww.petmedsnmore.com
\tPetCareRx, Inc\twww.petcarerx.com
\tSmartPak\twww.smartpakequine.com
\tVetCentric\twww.vetcentric.com
\tVetRxDirect\twww.vetrxdirect.com

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And those products at my vet are cheaper than every one of those on line suppliers.

People, don't assume your vet is going to be more costly than some on line store. Check first. The clinic I use undersells on line pet supply stores deliberately, because they want their client's pets to have a safe and genuine product. Plus you get the manufacturer promotions, which are often buy a six pack, get two tubes free. You don't get those promotions on line.

And never ever buy a prescription item (such as Revolution or drontal) from an on line store if the store does not require a prescription from your vet. There is no telling what you'll get.

In addition, Frontline will not honor a complaint if you did not buy the product from your vet. Unless things have changed very recently, they sell ONLY to practicing veterinarians.

Originally Posted by otto

And those products at my vet are cheaper than every one of those on line suppliers.

People, don't assume your vet is going to be more costly than some on line store. Check first. The clinic I use undersells on line pet supply stores deliberately, because they want their client's pets to have a safe and genuine product. Plus you get the manufacturer promotions, which are often buy a six pack, get two tubes free. You don't get those promotions on line.

And never ever buy a prescription item (such as Revolution or drontal) from an on line store if the store does not require a prescription from your vet. There is no telling what you'll get.

In addition, Frontline will not honor a complaint if you did not buy the product from your vet. Unless things have changed very recently, they sell ONLY to practicing veterinarians.

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i didn't say anything about costs, those things vary. you said the only safe place was the vet, which is not true.

Originally Posted by detmut

i didn't say anything about costs, those things vary. you said the only safe place was the vet, which is not true.

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I disagree. The bootleg and counterfeit flea product market is big business. I wouldn't want to take a chance with my pets.

There is a cheaper way to use Frontline on several cats. Some people frown on doing this but I have done it on my cats and my foster cats for years and it's the only way I could afford treating all of them. I have never had a problem with it in any cat and it is effective. I was actually told about this from my old vet and the vet at a TNR organization I used to volunteer with also used it this way.

What you do is to buy one dose of Frontline Plus for dogs and divide it up into cat doses with a syringe. Cat and dog frontline has the same ingredients except for that one of the ingredient is in a smaller quantity in the dog version. The two active ingredients in Frontline Plus are Fipronil and S-methoprene. The cat version contains 9.8% Fipronil and 11.8% S-methoprene. The dog version contains 9.8% Fipronil and 8.8% S-methoprene. Even though the amount of S-methoprene is less in the dog version it is still effective on cats in my experiene. It is, in my experience, safe to use on cats in the right quantity. It's very important to know that because of the higher amount of S-methoprene in the cat version you can not use cat frontline on dogs.
The dose for a cat - the amount that is found in a Frontline pipette for cats - is 0.5 ml. The largest dose for dogs (89-132lbs) contains 4ml so that's enough to treat eight cats. That's what I use. Since you only have three cats you could get a smaller dose. You need to at least get the size for a dogs that are 45-88bs to have enough to treat three cats. For me it costs about $2.25 to treat each cat.

What I do is that I get a 1cc or 3cc syringe with a removable needle (monoject syringes usually have a removable needle), you can get one online or in some states at the pharmacy), stick the needle through the foil cover on the pipette and draw up 0.5ml. Then I remove the needle and squirt the contents out on between the cat's shoulder blades just like you would with the pipette. If you don't have a syringe with a needle you can squirt some of the frontline into a cup and draw it up with a syringe without a needle, like an oral syringe. You do of course need a syringe to be able to measure the right quantity.

There are a lot of people on Ebay that sell "Frontline kits" (go to ebay and search for Frontline). These are basically large dog pipettes that come with supplies and instructions for how to divide it up to use it on cats or smaller dogs the same way I do it. You can also get single doses of frontline at some low cost vaccination clinics like the ones they have at Petco. Some vets also sell single doses.
I would also recommend treating your cats with Capstar which kills adult fleas in about 30 minutes. It's not that expensive.

I know that some people are against using medications in ways they were not sold to be used. Some feel that it's taking a huge risk and is irresponsible. I can understand why some people feel this way but I have discussed this with two veterinarians and have used it this way for several years. It's up to each person to decide for themselves if they want to use dog frontline for their cats. I would not recommend using other dog products on cats as some of them may cause great harm.

In addition, Frontline will not honor a complaint if you did not buy the product from your vet. Unless things have changed very recently, they sell ONLY to practicing veterinarians.

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It has changed. Frontline does now sell their products to various retailers too.

Originally Posted by Ziggy'smom

It has changed. Frontline does now sell their products to various retailers too.

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You now, I read that it had, at the same time that Bayer (Advantage) went OTC and then I read that Merial (maker of frontline) denied that report. On their website it still says that Frontline products are available at your veterinarian.

As for buying "kits" on ebay...I would never ever ever risk my cats that way. I know someone in another forum who came in asking about doing that. Several of us advised against it and why, but she did it anyway. Three months later she was back, wondering why she couldn't get rid of her fleas.

She was going to complain to Merial. Yeah right, good luck with that, LOL.

She was lucky, at least her cats were still alive.