Using dog frontline flea medication for my cat?

I echo James Young! Here's a direct quote from a vet from Highbury North Pet Hospital regarding using flea products specific to Dogs-on Cats:

"...Hartz or sargeant's or zodiac spot on that contain permethrin and are designed for dogs. They should NOT be used on cats. Every year, many cats are poisoned because they are treated directly OR come in contact with a dog that's treated or the dog's bedding after the dog has slept in in after treatment. Would NOT have this in my house for ANY pets. Problem is , Pet store staff and general store (walmart/ canadian tire/ grocery/ hardware store) will sell these and not be trained to ask you if you have a cat OR even be aware they will kill your cat, or harm your dog sometimes."

This information was accompanied by a very horrific video of a poisoned cat, which thankfully, with extensive vet intervention survived the ordeal. 

MichelleG: some posters are adamant about Hartz being toxic for cats and I've seen the photos on the internet and? Scary personal stories written on the internet. Thank you for agreeing with me. This subject truly scares me to think that cat parents would risk the life of their cat using products for a dog. I even mentioned that a cats body is more internally fragile. Perhaps what you said will change some minds about using dog products on cats. I wanna get a calming collar for Annabel but would never use one for dogs.

The important part here is "Hartz or sargeant's or zodiac spot on that contain permethrin and are designed for dogs." Frontline does not contain permethrin, either in the dog or cat version. Neither does Advantage, or Revolution. The cat and dog versions of those brands have the same ingredients, which is why people can safely use the dog version for cats, if they are careful to dose it correctly.

Is permethrin an enhancer to etofenprox? Because if you call the company they won't tell you what the other ingredients are besides etofenprox. I've never heard of this other one.

No, permethrin is the active ingredient in some dog flea products. It kills fleas, and it can kill cats. But, it is only used in some  flea products for dogs.

I've used advantage for years on the advice of my vet and it's been perfectly safe. But I buy single tube and my vet does not have the advantage in large dog in single tube so I have to go elsewhere for it . The place I'm going to only sells front line so I called my vet they told me the dosage for the cats is .05 ML's for each cat. And that using frontline for dogs on cats is safe for your cat as long as you get the dosing correct. But don't use any other dog products on cats other than the frontline or advantage because it will make them sick or killed him .

Unless the flea medication states that it can be used on cats I would recommend you don't use it. Some formula designed for dogs is lethal if used on cats
Why not just use Frontline or other reputable product designed for cats?

According to my vet, Ziggy plus is correct, including the dosages for cats and small dogs. The one proviso, according to the vet, is that the large dog formula of Frontline is the ONLY brand of flea/tick medicine you can do this with. DO NOT attempt this method with ANY OTHER BRAND ( for instance, Advantix, Sentry, Hartz, etc), as the chemical makeup of these other brands are different than large dog Frontline. Doing so could hurt or kill your cat. This is not a sales gimmick, so please don't attempt this with any other brand; but doing so with Frontline will work and save you lots of money in keeping your animals flea/tick free. I do this with our dogs and cats. When the flea season starts, depending on the severity of the fleas, I use Advantix for our dogs and Advantage for our cats for the initial dose, because it seems to go to their blood steam and last longer and kill stubborn infestations, but for the following doses (6 weeks later), I go to the Frontline method, re-treating them every 4-6 weeks. Out in Oregon, where I live, we've had very mild to non-existant winters the last few years, so it didn't get cold enough to kill the flea lavae/eggs, so spring brought severe infestations.

.For a 9lb cat use 1/2 ml.  Wendy's Feline Friends

I treat anywhere from 60 to 100 cats a month. I buy the large dog size & give each cat 1/2 ml a month. NO side affects in 4 years.  Wendy's Feline Friends

I was wondering if anyone has noticed a difference in the way frontline works? Lately it's just not doing it for our 8 cats. We split up the large dog dose and have for years. The last time i dosed them though, it seemed like the frontline acted as an attractant!! Im trying to find what else i can do for them, well actually what we can afford. I cannot stand to see them scratch and have their tuna and mice filled dreams interrupted by the need to itch. I think I've seen that dogs revolution and advantage can be used on cats... But I'm not getting legit answers like i am for the frontline...

Has their been a final decision on what dog flea medication u can divide into 5 ml.dosesfor cats?

http://communityvet.net/2010/11/splitting-vials-risk-minimising/

I have 5 cats and if I don't split the XL dog II advantage I can't afford it.

My cats have had tapeworm to many times at $15 a pill = $125 to do all 5 cats.

I am looking at trying frontline or revolution as I think the fleas have become tolerant to advantage.

I treat 60 to 80 cats a month with frontline for dogs Just measure carefully ...1/2 ml per cat.

I treat tape & other worms with Drontal @ $6.00 a pill. It is made by Bayer.

Wendy's Feline Friends

Wendy Erskine said:

 
I treat 60 to 80 cats a month with frontline for dogs Just measure carefully ...1/2 ml per cat.

I treat tape & other worms with Drontal @ $6.00 a pill. It is made by Bayer.

Wendy's Feline Friends

Click to expand...

Ok I will look into both of this.  I had 3 of my 6 cats (5 now) get tapeworms 3 times in 6 months and then again a year later.

I got melbamax I think it was from the vet.  Like I said $15 a bill for cats over 9 pounds and cats under half a pill.  Still expensive.

1/2ml.  I will have to look at what that is in my syringe as it only has .2 .3 .4 .5 and so on.

Thanks 

Permethin is derived from Chrysanthemum flowers, so in a sense it is a natural insecticide. Often a company will tweak it's formula to make it more potent, longer lasting, etc. Just because it's a natural product doesn't mean it's safe for cats, however. Cats can react terribly to certain plants that don't bother other animals, like lily's and similar types of flowers. Pyrethins are in just about every bug killer out there including yard guard and raid products. Pyrethins are fairly safe for most applications but they also turn up in some flea collars...typically they aren't in the spot treatments, like Frontline and Advantage.

Jim   

I don't treat as many cats as @Wendy Erskine, but I have been treating anywhere from 10 to 30 cats monthly with Advantage, and now Advantage II (because the old plain Advantage isn't always available anymore).  The formula for the Advantage for Cats and the Advantage for Dogs is identical, the only thing that changes is the amount, which is on a by-weight basis.  The way Bayer dispenses the Cat Advantage is in 0.23 vials (for kittens), 0.4 vials (for cats 5 to 10 lbs.) and 0.8 ml. for cats over 10 lbs.  You would be fine to use their dosing.  I actually throw in an intermediate size of 0.6 ml. for my 7-8 lb. cats.  I put the medicine into little glass vials (the kind some vaccines come in) so that the 1 ml. syringe will fit in he neck of the vial to draw it out.  In winter I treat about every 4 weeks, and in summer I treat about every 3 weeks, because this is Georgia and fleas are active most of the year, but more so in the summer, and the flea life cycle is 3 weeks, so I am just staying on top of it.  I also use diatomaceous earth inside my house in summer.

For worming I use pyrantel pamoate in the 4.54 concentration (i.e. small animals, not livestock) usually in the form of Nemex-2.  It tastes good and even ferals will lick the bowl clean if that is mixed in.  That gets your basic intestinal worms (roundworms, hookworms), but for tapeworms, you need an additional drug, praziquantel. There is an affordable product that is a combination of pyrantel pamoate AND praziquantel and is for both cats and dogs, called BIHELDON.  It is manufactured in Bulgaria, and comes in packages of 30 tablets.   Many U.S. sellers get it and sell it on an individual tablet price.  One tablet treats a 22 lb. animal.  Most cats need only 1/4 to 1/2 tablet, so you can scale down your order.  I just bought a couple of tablets from a seller in Alabama (they are in my P.O. box, I have not picked them up yet.)  They are the equivalent of Drontal here in the U.S., but supposedly these are tasty chewy tablets I might be able to sneak into the ferals' food, so we shall see.  My seller has sold over 300 of them and has no complaints, so I hope they are great.  If so, I will order an entire box of 30 tablets from one of the Bulgarian sellers (less expensive than the U.S. resellers) and that will do my feline population for the entire summer.  I paid $8.95 + free shipping for my two tablets that will do 4 of the larger cats.  (the same seller offers same 2 tablets for $2.95 but charges 5.97 for shipping, so it works out the same -- it's a psychological thing.)  Anyhow, prices vary greatly on eBay, lowest prices are for partial packages obviously, but it's nice to have the choice if you have just a couple of cats or dogs, or if you have both cats and dogs, or if you have a huge rescue.

I agree.  I have approx 20 cats and 1 dog.  I have been using Frontline Dog 89-132 lbs for all 21 pets for years.  I used to do the same thing using Advantage but switched to Frontline.  I also have a friend who does the same thing for all of her animals. 

I keep the Frontline in a small jar with a tight lid and use it until it runs out and use an insulin syringe WITHOUT a needle. Frontline kills fleas for 2 to 3 months, kills ticks for 1 month.  Do not reapply more than once a month.

1. Pour contents of tubes into small jar with tight fitting lid.
 
2. Use the syringe to draw the right amount for your animal - see below.
 
3. Part the fur on the back of the animal's neck, between the shoulder blades. to expose the skin.  Apply the contents of the syringe to the skin. 

Make sure the Frontline goes onto the skin and not the fur.  Keep the animal upright until the application soaks into the skin.
   
Dosage:
 
Dogs over 89 lbs:    4.0 ml (1 entire tube)
Dogs 45-88 lbs:       2.68 ml

Dogs 23-44 lbs:       1.34 ml
Dogs up to 22 lbs:   0.67 ml  
Cats:                        0.50 ml

Great thread, I had no idea you could do this. I can now buy one big pack for both my dogs and cats and just adjust the dosage.

Please be careful doing this. Seen somewhere using flea control for dogs can kill your cats. Not sure about which product. Been using revolution because my young cat always lick it off somehow, if she doesnt reach it, she uses her paw. And revolution is safe orally and still works. Revolution for cats btw.