Is there a less expensive but good alternative to Frontline Plus?

Hey everyone. I am wanting to get my cat on a flea preventative but I can't afford Frontline Plus.  Is their a less expensive but good alternative to it?  I would prefer something that kills adult fleas, flea eggs, and flea larvae.

Hi.

Well, there is Pet Armor Plus. But I have heard that even though it is the same ingredient as Frontline, it has cheaper inactive ingredients which cause the active ingredient to become toxic to cats and dogs. I personally wouldn't risk it. I've heard about it killing cats, as well, so it's not a good idea.
I saw one at my local pet store the other day called Zodiac (I think) but I didn't look into it. It seemed to be cheaper than Frontline.

Frontline, Revolution, and Advantage are honestly the best and safest tick and flea medications. I had my feral cat Lucky on Hartz brand, and luckily he didn't have a reaction, but a member on this site informed me the stuff is toxic to cats. This freaked me out, and honestly, after doing an Internet search I think it's better to go with the expensive higher quality stuff. It's worth it. If you can't afford this though, I would look into Zodiac because it was relatively cheaper than Frontline.

That's my two cents. Good luck!

Hi KittyGirl, I take it your cat is either an outdoor cat or an indoor/outdoor cat?   My cats are all indoor and I never treat them with any flea medications.  I also have 2 dogs that go in and out of the house.  I do treat the dogs but when I treat them I am extremely careful at what time of day I treat them and they try to keep them all seperated when I am not home.  The canine flea drops can be lethal if felines come into contact with it.

Frontline Plus is a decent product for cats.  You might ask your vet what they have and if they sell single (a 1 month dose) doses of it.  That way it's easier on the pocket book albeit more expensive in the long run than the 3 or 4 pack.

I would never buy an OTC type of flea medication.  I don't think they are safe for any animal, cat or dog.  My dogs get Advantix.  Yeah it's pricey but well worth it to buy a product I've used and trusted. 

Avoid ANY type of flea collar.
 

What really bothers me is that if an effective flea treatment is straining you financially, what will the situation be if your cat has an accident or gets ill?  I do hope she is neutered.  If she isn't, sure as eggs are eggs she is or will be pregnant, and raising kittens is expensive - you use mountains of cat litter and huge amounts of food.

OrientalSlave said:

What really bothers me is that if an effective flea treatment is straining you financially, what will the situation be if your cat has an accident or gets ill?  I do hope she is neutered.  If she isn't, sure as eggs are eggs she is or will be pregnant, and raising kittens is expensive - you use mountains of cat litter and huge amounts of food.

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I'm sure she would take care of her cat in case of accident or illness, I think she was simply asking for a cheaper alternative because Frontline Plus is indeed expensive. :nod: It is a good product and worth the price, but if there was a cheaper alternative, it would make much more sense for her to save the money. I'm fairly sure her kitty is spayed, there is no indication in her post that she isn't. It's much more efficient to save on smaller things like this so there's money in the bank SHOULD a cat become injured or ill.

I save on things like this too so I can afford the thousands I spend each year on vet bills. If your cat is indoor only, perhaps you can simply use 40 Mule Team Borax - on your home, not your cat, of course. It's quite a bit of work but in the 25 years I've been using it I've found it very effective. (By the way Borax is not boric acid, which you should never use around animals or people.) You need to sprinkle it into your carpets, over sofas and bedding, etc., everywhere where fleas like to hide. Leave it in the carpet for several hours, vacuum up, reapply, vacuum up, etc. It kills the eggs by drying them out so they never hatch. It will take a few weeks to be effective.  Slower, certainly, but many times less costly.  If your cat goes outdoors, then Borax will be much less effective because your cat will be bringing in new adult fleas all the time. I've vacuumed it up from the carpet before I let the cats walk on it but I do leave some out most of the time - in a thin line between the edge of the carpet and the wall trim and under the sofa cushions.
 

That was quite rude....this is a forum to find products.  That's what her question was about.  It wasn't about you judging her.
 

CLVRGRL43, I'm not sure who you're addressing, but this thread is over one year old ,and some of the members that posted here no longer post on the site. Please do bear in mind that TheCatSite forums are dedicated to cat welfare, not just finding products. :rub:

I know this thread is old but someone may look it up looking for the answer.

my vet reccoments resolution. It kills 3/5 flea cycles and also deworms. Its not over the counter so I am not sure if the cost is more or less. For 6 tubes for a 12 pound cat is $110 after tax at my vets.

I also see that this thread is old, but I want to HIGHLY advise against some of the advice on here seeing it was brought to the front page again. After getting my two INDOOR ONLY kittens and asking about flea treatment (because one came to me with fleas), I was told (not sure if it was on here or not) that I shouldn't treat my kittens with flea medication after my first problem was cleared up because it's unnecessary chemicals. I agreed and I followed this advice the next month and didn't use the Advantage and now I am battling fleas again. My kittens have never stopped foot outside except for our deck and we were holding them, yet we still have them somehow!!

KEEP YOUR CATS ON FLEA TREATMENT. Even if they are indoors only, you can track in fleas or so can other animals and then it becomes a major problem!! Yeah, you're putting chemicals on your cat, but it's better than having your house and cats infested with MILLIONS of disgusting blood sucking, disease giving little insects for the rest of your life.
 

I have had good success with Sentry FiproGuard. It has fipronil as it's active ingredient, the same as that in Frontline. Fipronil kills adult fleas only, so it does not meet all of your criteria. I buy it by the 12-pack and it's only $3.83 per dose. One of the things I like best about this product is it's apparent lack of odor. I can sneak up behind the touch-me-nots (even some of the ferals) while they're eating and, except for the sound the tube makes when I squeeze it, they don't even know that I've applied anything.

Wolfie - if you only have the cats as pets no dogs then your bringing the fleas in your self and giving them to your cats

Yes, exactly. Which is why they should be on medication all year round, indoors or not.
 

Wolfie305 said:

KEEP YOUR CATS ON FLEA TREATMENT. Even if they are indoors only, you can track in fleas or so can other animals and then it becomes a major problem!! Yeah, you're putting chemicals on your cat, but it's better than having your house and cats infested with MILLIONS of disgusting blood sucking, disease giving little insects for the rest of your life.

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It really depends on where you live. We've had dogs and indoor/outdoor cats while living here for the past 30 years and have never treated for fleas. We currently have an indoor cat and an indoor/outdoor cat, and don't treat. Our neighbor takes her dog for walks in the fields and woods every day and also doesn't use flea treatments. Some years there are ticks, though.

Now I have to knock on wood!

I have 6 of my own cats plus I foster cats & kittens for our Humane Society. This is what I've learned......kittens under 8 weeks should NOT be treated. After that, all kittens over 8 weeks and all cats get the same .50ml ( that's a half ml ). When the Humane Society does their vet checks and treats for fleas, they use a syringe to apply it. I've found on-line that Frontline Plus uses the same formula for both cats and dogs....only the dosage amount is different. What I do is get the Frontline Plus Kit for cats 32 doses at 81.99 ( $73.79 in on sale 10%off ) and apply it just like they do at the vet check with the syringe. This is the most economical way to treat for fleas and ticks if you have multiple cats and dogs since you get a chart for dosing dogs based on their weightand cats get the half ml ( .50ml ) And you don't have to buy separate packages like you would at a pet store. The website is Frontline4Less.com. Look for the Frontline+Kits for cats. It shows a dog on the box, but as I said before....they use the same formula for dogs and cats but different dosages. Hope this saves everyone enough money to get their pets some extra treats.

The only reliable Frontline generic I know of is ZoGuard, it's much cheaper and doesn't seem to have the large amount of adverse reactions that a few of the other Frontline generics have.. Maybe consider food grade diatomaceous earth as well though? It's more difficult to apply but your cat definitely won't have an adverse reaction to it (unless you get too much of it into their eyes)

So to the above comment, what you're saying is that if you can't afford a pet, then don't get one?  Okay, then I guess that you'd prefer that more animals be put to death because if the poor and struggling people of this country didn't own animals, then guess what?  There'd be a lot more killing going on in the shelters.  That was a stupid comment.  EVERYONE should be allowed to have an animal.  I am sure this person does her best to keep her animals safe and healthy.