does frontline sting? and flea questions

I'm a little embarrased to even ask this question because it must be so ignorant..

Frontline has such a strong chemical smell.
All my cats literally run as fast as they can as soon as I start spraying them with it.
I don't know if its only the smell or if a flea bite would make the product sting on a kitties skin?

I'm having such an infestation of fleas lately I need to do something fast. Spring has started and I think the warm weather makes it easier for fleas to reproduce, am I right? This tends to happen during spring, but I have never had a big problem with fleas until now.

Frontline has been the only effective product on my cats.. the only other thing that works is bathing them. But the only cat that has gotten used to baths is Tom [because he has never been good at grooming so I bathed him every once in a while].
My other cats keep well groomed, a bath doesn't seem necesary, I don't want to make them go through that.

I have noticed on one kitty that there's something blackish, like dirtish on her chin. I assume its flea droppings?!?! How can I get rid of it? I can't put frontline on her chin...

Don't feel silly about your questions .

Originally Posted by kateyes

Frontline has such a strong chemical smell.
All my cats literally run as fast as they can as soon as I start spraying them with it.
I don't know if its only the smell or if a flea bite would make the product sting on a kitties skin?

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Spraying? It should just be a few drops between the shoulder blades. But yes they will want to run. No cat likes anything wet on them period. They can tough it out though for the effect.

And yes in spring the fleas come out like crazy. Its almost winter here so the fleas are just about all dead.

Originally Posted by kateyes

I have noticed on one kitty that there's something blackish, like dirtish on her chin. I assume its flea droppings?!?! How can I get rid of it? I can't put frontline on her chin...

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Its feline acne and completely normal to some cats. My cat had it for 10 of his 12 year life so far. Usually this can be caused by eating out of a plastic dish so maybe change your dishes to ceramic, glass or stainless steel might help (there is no firm studies showing this is the cause, but I think theres some foundation to this, like a slight reaction to the plastic). Other than being a little itchy it won't bother him. There is also nothing the vet can do to my knowledge. I've asked 3 vets at least about it. Its not like human acne, it just goes away in old age.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

Don't feel silly about your questions

.


Spraying? It should just be a few drops between the shoulder blades. But yes they will want to run. No cat likes anything wet on them period. They can tough it out though for the effect.

And yes in spring the fleas come out like crazy. Its almost winter here so the fleas are just about all dead.


Its feline acne and completely normal to some cats. My cat had it for 10 of his 12 year life so far. Usually this can be caused by eating out of a plastic dish so maybe change your dishes to ceramic, glass or stainless steel might help (there is no firm studies showing this is the cause, but I think theres some foundation to this, like a slight reaction to the plastic). Other than being a little itchy it won't bother him. There is also nothing the vet can do to my knowledge. I've asked 3 vets at least about it. Its not like human acne, it just goes away in old age.

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Hi,
Here in the UK Frontline is a spray, they must make it in different forms!
anne

Originally Posted by Anakat

Hi,

Here in the UK Frontline is a spray, they must make it in different forms!
anne

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Can you order it online from US or does customs block imports like this? You could order it from Dr. Foster and Smith and it is a little tube you queeze on the back of their neck/ Its really easy. Spraying it on sounds like a freakin nightmare. http://drsfostersmith.com/

Originally Posted by touro1979

Can you order it online from US or does customs block imports like this? You could order it from Dr. Foster and Smith and it is a little tube you queeze on the back of their neck/ Its really easy. Spraying it on sounds like a freakin nightmare. http://drsfostersmith.com/

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I just looked at Dr. Foster and Smith shipping policy and they dont ship overseas. You could try another online US website that sells advantage or frontline or if you have freinds or realatives in states or canada you could hae them buy it and ship it to you.

A spray sounds awful! Try to find the shoulder blade drops. I'm really surprised they allow a spray form. I would think its mildly toxic. Putting it between teh shoulder blades prevents them from licking it and allows the skin to absorb it, not to mention easy! Wow...I couldn't imagine using a spray....

I definitely would recommend a flea treatment that comes in a drop that you put between the shoulder blades. Do you have Revolution or Advantage in the UK? You might want to look into importing the products from Australia if they are not readily available to you at home. I know that Australian companies will usually ship to the US so hopefully they would ship to you too.

If you are interested in an alternative to spray I found out that 1800PetMeds ships overseas:

1800petmeds.com

Hah I couldn't find their shipping policy so I got on the "Chat live" and wow I was hooked up with an agent and asked my question and they said sure do ! Their prices are probably a little better than the norm which still means pricey but you do it once a month and its well worth it!

you could go on ebay and buy it there. it is alot cheaper also. that is where i get mine from. also my cat's had feline acne. i switched they're bowl and it is all gone now. it only took about 2 weeks for the pimples to go away.

Here in Australia we have frontline spray and top spot. It dosent sting the cats skin but it does feel weird. If you can imagine pouring alcohol on your skin and then letting the air dry it off it feels cold. and thats usually what drives them crazy. But Frontline spray is the only tick control we have for cats in Australia.

Originally Posted by Anakat

Hi,

Here in the UK Frontline is a spray, they must make it in different forms!
anne

Click to expand...

Frontline also comes in topspot here in the UK, it's what I use on my two

My Dad uses the spray and the cats hate it, I'm always trying to get him to switch! That's not to say mine don't hate the topspot too, but at least it's quick and over in a second

Black under the chin? It could be feline acne. I had never heard of it until this summer when my indoor cat that is a biter looked like she had some dried food on her chin under her lower lip. Because she is such a terrible biter, I ignored it, but then noticed it was bigger, and finally noticed a drop of blood, and suspect now that the dried black stuff was dried blood!

Her chin was very swollen. This whole observation up to noticing the blood took place over about 4-5 days. I immediately then took her to the vet and he gave her a big shot of an antibiotic and sent me home with more to give her. (no picnic giving it to her either) It did finally clear up, but it took quite a while, because he said the best prevention would be to wash her chin with soapy water and rinse it. She would not allow this AT ALL!

Some hints: always wash their water and food bowls with hot soapy water, daily--especially with wet food. I read somewhere that you shouldn't use plastic bowls for their food and water, so I stopped doing that. I guess bacteria gets into the plastic.

I would definitely get your cat's chin examined by a vet.

My adopted stray cat turned out to be spayed and declawed. I think she became a biter out of self defense when she was a starving stray. I am very, very sad about perhaps having to put her down because of it. But the feline acne carries staph with it and if she were to bite a guest, or my 88 year old mother, it would be a disaster. So this is a serious condition you need to investigate.

Good luck, alleycallie

Regarding Frontline Spray: I now use the spray because I just cannot afford the between-the-shoulders drops now that I have 6 cats to dose. My vet showed me how to spray them by ruffling their fur. No I do not like spraying them and No they don't like it. But once outside the spray dries fast and they soon don't look bedraggled anymore. I am extremely cautious about the face area. I spray a little onto my rubber glove and rub it around their ears and under their chin. I truly mean that I wish I didn't have to go this way, but for me, financially, it is spray vs. nothing, and I cannot allow this. I would never dream of a flea collar, and besides I want the tick protection.

I thought my kitties would run away and hate me the first time I did this this past summer, but that didn't happen. They still love me after being sprayed once a month all summer and fall.
alliecallie

back when I was extremely broke and trying to take care of Abbigail after college I couldn't afford flea medication either. One of my best friends worked at a vet hospital and allowed me to come in and she sprayed Abbigail down with a spray...the fleas came out and were all over her face...it was aweful to watch...but I know she felt a lot better once they were all gone. We now use Revolution which is a flea and tick medicine that you put like frontline. It will be allright!