Treating kittens with Advantage Multi?

Hi,

I have two 11 week old kittens from the same litter.  They were abandoned by their mom in our woodpile in the backyard a couple days after birth, so we've raised them ourselves.  We bottle-fed, stimulated, kept them warm and clean, and did everything we could for them, but unfortunately we lost a couple kittens to birth defects in the digestive system that prevented them from keeping food down.  Thankfully these two have shown no signs of any defects. They're healthy, lovable, rambunctious boys that are growing by leaps and bounds every day. 

After our second vaccination visit to our vet recently, she gave us Advantage Multi to use for fleas and parasites.  I've heard so many negative things about flea treatments on animals that I'm hesitant to try this out on the kittens.  They do meet the age and weight requirements that is listed on the package, but after losing the others in the litter, I don't want to risk the health or lives of these kittens on a flea medication.  I haven't seen any evidence of fleas on the kittens and they are strictly indoor cats, but we do also have two dogs that love spending time outside and I don't want the cats to pick any up.  

Does anyone have any experience with Advantage Multi on 11 week old kittens?  Is it a good quality product or should I ask for another brand that would work better and have less risk of burns or other side effects?

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Heidi

Advantage is a good brand. I personally have only used Advantage II (currently the only flea medication I use on my cats) and like it because none of my cats have had a reaction to it. BUT, I tried a few brands (Revolution, Activyl and now Advantage) before I found one all my cats tolerated.

I have 2 dogs and only treat the cats during our peak summer months (though keep meds on hand in case I start seeing signs of fleas on the cats.). We also have our yard treated for fleas and ticks as an extra precaution.

You certainly can take the route of flea combing the kittens weekly to see if you see any fleas or flea dirt and monitor for any itchiness or hair loss, and treat only if needed (you would need to treat for 3 consecutive months if they do get fleas.)

You can also be proactive in vacuuming and keeping bedding washed in a regular basis.

We use Frontline on the dogs for the warmer months and we vacuum and change bedding regularly for both cats and dogs, so we really don't have a problem with fleas in the house.  I'm just going to continue to keep a lookout for fleas on the kittens and treat when necessary.  Since I'm in a wooded area, I think I will also look into treating my yard for fleas and ticks.  

Thanks for your help!    

Advantage is a good product. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I were you. I prefer Revolution though because it treats some intestinal parasites too. You mentioned you live in a wooded area so perhaps Frontline would be a better choice as it treats ticks, but it doesn't treat heartworm or ear mites like Advantage and Revolution do. Plus cats are usually so meticulous about grooming that ticks aren't usually a problem for them.

Sigh, so many choices!