frontline plus must all pets in household be on it?

ast · Mar 4, 2006

I am putting my dog on frontline plus as he is always outside with me. My cats stay inside or go out in our TINY back yard. I know to be safest they all should be on it however my cats are 13 and 17 so I would like to avoid further chemical exposure to them.

If I treated the yard once in a while should this set up work?

can't wait to hear back.

booktigger · Mar 4, 2006

I might be wrong here, but surely fleas can be transmitted between cats and dogs? So only defleaing one of them wouldn't be a good idea, esp if the cats do occasionally go outside?

ast · Mar 4, 2006

My thinking was that frontline plus kills fleas on contact so he should not be able to bring any home. Also I should clairify the dog goes to work with me. I work on a horse farm and often he goes out with me in the surounding wildplaces. The back yard where the cats could go is litterall 30' by 30' so I am hoping I could treat the yard instead of the cats.

booktigger · Mar 4, 2006

He shouldn't be able to bring any home, but maybe the cats can bring them in. I know Frontline Plus is supposed to do the house as well. I don't know if you would be able to treat your yard.

semiferal · Mar 4, 2006

Going out in the yard is more than enough to get fleas, and fleas can cause far more damage than Frontline exposure. You would have to use very strong insecticides in the yard and these would certainly have the potential to be harmful to the cats. Frontline is much, much safer.

Frontline is exactly the same insecticide that is used on vegetables. So unless you eat and feed your pets only organic food, they are getting more pesticide exposure just from that than they ever would from Frontline. It is really very harmless stuff.

luvmy4cats · Mar 5, 2006

Frontline Plus only kills fleas that get on the pet that it has been applied to. It does not kill fleas in the home. To kill fleas in your house you will have to use either Flea spray or a flea bomb. Also, Frontline does not kill on contact. The flea jumps on the pet and can actually live there for a few hours before it dies. If your cats go otside at all I would say they definately need to be on some type of flea preventative. If not, they will be bringing fleas inside your house with them, which will lay eggs in your carpet and furniture. It's very hard to get rid of fleas once you have them in your house.

cloud_shade · Mar 5, 2006

Let me tell you from personal experience that treating only the dog will not be sufficient. I recently treated my two indoor only cats for fleas. Apparently the fleas jumped off the cats and on to me, as I woke up with at least a dozen flea bites the next morning.

Have your older kitties had bad experiences with flea medicine before? If not, I would definitely have them treated. My old kitty boy (he's at least 13, possibly older) didn't have any problems when the Frontline was applied. If your kitties get fleas, there is also a chance of them getting tapeworm, which is much more hazardous to the older kitties.

yosemite · Mar 6, 2006

You can bring fleas into your house on your clothing after walking on your lawn so I'm sure your dog can bring fleas in and also your cats.

I had a horrific infestation of fleas one time and it took a professional exterminator to rid our house of fleas. Over-the-counter flea sprays usually aren't strong enough to do the job - we tried many including one we got from the vet.

Now our cats have a monthly application of Advantage (except during the cold winter months). We find this actually to be less costly than calling in an exterminator.

tuxedokitties · Mar 6, 2006

All of my cats are older, and I'd much rather use Advantage or Frontline on them than have to use a pesticide spray inside the house, or on the lawn on grass they might nibble.

ast · Mar 8, 2006

Sorry for the delayed reply. I lost my bookmarks and couldn't remember where I had posted this.

The eldest cat (17)is pretty sensitive to chemicals. Two years ago he started getting seizures(grand-mal) that had him loose sight, hearing, sense of smell, some memory and muscle control. It took months for him to regain a good quality of life and about a year to get to the pre seizure state.

The trigger for him was febreeze. I don't know why but it set his seizures off. My vet tells me one of his patients has his seizures set off by the noise his owner would make to call him for dinner. She would clang a spoon on his dish and it would apparently set him off. This is all to say it is not likely that the FEBREEZE is to blame just that he is sensitive to it. I try to keep any and all chemicals away from him as a result.

I worry the 6 month program injection may have started it then the febreeze just made them too severe to be dismissed as "odd behavior". I have read that there are some connections to seizures for some pets so I am a nervous nelly.

Currently he is off his seizure meds and seizure free. He does however have kidney damage due to the long term use of Phenobarbital to control his seizures. It is a bit of a messy situation.

fatkitties · Mar 8, 2006

I put flea control on my dogs during flea season as they spend a lot of time out in the yard (especially the big ones). I don't treat my cats unless I actually see fleas. Which so far in having Gizmo for almost 5 years and Sasha for 3 years, they haven't gotten fleas. The only fleas I've seen is Little Man had some last year when I was too poor to put drops on everyone and decided to take my chances. I stuck him in his crate and ran to the vet for meds, and never saw another flea. I try to keep chemicals to a minimum. This year I may just treat the yard and not put anything directly on the dogs or cats if I can avoid it. But I do daily, sometimes more than daily, flea checks on everyone.

Amber

ast · Mar 8, 2006

Amber that is encouraging to hear. I really would prefer to not put anything on the oldest cat. The younger one (13) gets flea bite dermaitis so I guess I would have early warning if we had a problem.

fatkitties · Mar 8, 2006

Just do frequent flea checks. I check mine at least once a day, and if I see anyone as much as scratch an ear for a second, I'm checking for fleas! I'm really considering spraying the yard this year. I'd think it would be safer to spray the yard than put chemicals directly on my pets' skin. Plus, as I walk through the yard to go in the house, any fleas I may have picked up at work will hopefully jump off in the sprayed yard and die!
Another thing I've heard of that is supposed to work very well is borax. I've seen it in the grocery store laundry aisle as "20 Mule Team Borax" laundry booster (see, there IS something at hte grocery store that's good for the kitties!) I've heard that if you sprinkle it around the house (although rain kills it's effectiveness) it kills the fleas because it's tiny crystals are sharp and cut thier bodies. You can also work it into your carpet with a broom, let it set for 24 hours, and vacuum up if you have a flea problem in your house. A friend of mine sprinkles it under furniture that the cats can't get under and leaves it there. I've learned a LOT about chemicals and stuff over the past year, and I'm really going to try to go as chemical free as I can. I'm going to try to find a non-chemical to spray the yard with if at all possible, too.

Amber

semiferal · Mar 9, 2006

Originally Posted by fatkitties

Just do frequent flea checks. I check mine at least once a day, and if I see anyone as much as scratch an ear for a second, I'm checking for fleas! I'm really considering spraying the yard this year. I'd think it would be safer to spray the yard than put chemicals directly on my pets' skin. Plus, as I walk through the yard to go in the house, any fleas I may have picked up at work will hopefully jump off in the sprayed yard and die!
Another thing I've heard of that is supposed to work very well is borax. I've seen it in the grocery store laundry aisle as "20 Mule Team Borax" laundry booster (see, there IS something at hte grocery store that's good for the kitties!) I've heard that if you sprinkle it around the house (although rain kills it's effectiveness) it kills the fleas because it's tiny crystals are sharp and cut thier bodies. You can also work it into your carpet with a broom, let it set for 24 hours, and vacuum up if you have a flea problem in your house. A friend of mine sprinkles it under furniture that the cats can't get under and leaves it there. I've learned a LOT about chemicals and stuff over the past year, and I'm really going to try to go as chemical free as I can. I'm going to try to find a non-chemical to spray the yard with if at all possible, too.

Amber

Treating the yard with a non-chemical won't work, and the insecticide treatments used on the yard are super toxic.

Frontline is the same insecticide they use on lettuce, which we eat without thinking twice. Frontline is safe even if it is given orally - not that I'd recommend that, of course! It's really the safest and most effective way to go. Advantage is also very safe - I've used it on newborn kittens with no ill effects. It's much less harmful than fleas can be.

gussy · Apr 23, 2006

It sounds like a lot of people have different opinions. I live in the midwest and treat my dog with Revolution for fleas from about mid April through the end of October. He is almost 6 and I've never had a problem with my 2 cats getting fleas from him, however my cats never go outside, they are Persians. I have heard that fleas can jump etc... but i've never had a problem Thank Goodness!!! :>)

yosemite · Apr 24, 2006

After suffering from an intense infestation of fleas from our previous cat, I no longer take any chances. Our cats (Mika indoor only, Bijou allowed outside in our yard) are treated with Revolution from April until October/November. Fleas are one of the hardest things to get rid of once you have them that I would prefer the ounce of prevention to the pound of cure.

commonoddity042 · Apr 24, 2006

I treat Pudge for fleas year-round. She has severe flea allergies, so I immediately know when she's got live ones on her because she starts getting bumpy.

ktlynn · Apr 24, 2006

Originally Posted by semiferal

Treating the yard with a non-chemical won't work, and the insecticide treatments used on the yard are super toxic.

Frontline is the same insecticide they use on lettuce, which we eat without thinking twice. Frontline is safe even if it is given orally - not that I'd recommend that, of course! It's really the safest and most effective way to go. Advantage is also very safe - I've used it on newborn kittens with no ill effects. It's much less harmful than fleas can be.

Many people these days *are* thinking twice about the foods they eat. There's a huge demand for and increase in the supply of organic foods because lots of us DON'T want pesticide with our salad. There's no Frontline on *my* lettuce!!!

It's debatable whether or not "Advantage is very safe" but one thing is for sure - it should NOT be used on newborn kittens. The manufacturers themselves clearly state the product should not be used on kittens younger than 8 weeks old.

Ast, there are some things that may help prevent fleas in your yard and home - try some of the suggestions at www.pesticide.org/fleas.html. Diatomaceous earth in particular is very effective.

yosemite · Apr 25, 2006

Originally Posted by KTLynn

Many people these days *are* thinking twice about the foods they eat. There's a huge demand for and increase in the supply of organic foods because lots of us DON'T want pesticide with our salad. There's no Frontline on *my* lettuce!!!

I try to eat healthy too, but I wouldn't bet all my money that there is no pesticide on the food I eat. Marketers are pretty good at fooling the public as my comment on "All Natural" vanilla ice cream in another thread shows. I often wonder if they haven't just found a way to charge more for their products by saying they are better.

I'd rather use the Advantage/Frontline/Revolution on the cats than have more serious problems like roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm, etc.

jcat · Apr 25, 2006

Originally Posted by semiferal

Treating the yard with a non-chemical won't work, and the insecticide treatments used on the yard are super toxic.

I got this from the horse's mouth, meaning an exterminator, when I asked him about the little flags he was putting up on a neighbor's lawn last summer after spraying for ticks. He said that he wouldn't treat his own yard because of his young children and pets.

frontline plus must all pets in household be on it?

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