Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => Pets without Feathers => Topic started by: boosmummy on November 13, 2011, 22:08

Title: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: boosmummy on November 13, 2011, 22:08
my cat has fleas!!! i wouldnt mind but im so rigourous about fleas they have flea collars, they have spot on treatments, but apparently there has been a problem with fleas this year, i know they've had them at boos school too.  it seems the dog may also have caught fleas off the cat.  Now i used bob martin which apparently is no good and when i went to the vet about the dog i asked about frontline and it was £19 for one cat! Now they sell it at pets at home, but the vet nurse said at the time its no good because its not strong enough and you should only buy it from the vet surgery.  is this true? or is she having me on? has anyone hear used frontline from the pet shop?
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: mumofstig on November 13, 2011, 22:16
yes  ;)
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: boosmummy on November 13, 2011, 22:17
yes  ;)

brill thanks ill go down tomorrow and get some then, and with a bit of luck the dog and the cat will stop scratting!!!! i wouldnt mind it seems the other cat (the evil one) he doesnt have a jot on him!
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: grinling on November 13, 2011, 22:56
supermarkets sell it as well
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: shoozie on November 14, 2011, 20:59
In case this helps in the future, at the minute we buy frontline and other meds online from the company below for both dogs. 

One of the dogs is on a lifelong prescription for his liver - £50 per month - saving £20 on vet price (and vet says this is ok! - mind you, at 15 and 14 we're regulars now at the vet, so every little bit helps!).

http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/

There's others like petmed, and sometimes the prices vary from time to time between the companies - so shop around  :)

Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: maxyboo on November 14, 2011, 21:04
Frontline is frontline whoever you get it from. My vet is currently trying to persuade us to buy frontline combo instead. This has an added benefit of sterilsing the female flea so they can't breed thus breaking the cycle. Probably good if you are not regulalry using a flea treatment. However the combo version is prescription only so I can't help wondering if they are trying to get more money out of me.
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: Raven81 on November 14, 2011, 21:05
Just to throw a spanner in the works, it is known that the fleas have become immune to frontline in recent years.  My vet recommended using advantage or advocate, which seems to work for my lot.  The only advantage to frontline is it is the only spot on that treats ticks in cats, tho my view is that I'd rather keep the fleas away and remove the occasional tick!
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: shoozie on November 14, 2011, 21:10
  My vet recommended using advantage or advocate, which seems to work for my lot.

Ours is saying that too, but we haven't yet switched, and they have both been flea free. 
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: Auntiemogs on November 14, 2011, 22:45
I agree, I buy mine online and save a small fortune. But don't forget to spray the house too, the little critters love it when the central heating comes on... :blush:
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: boosmummy on November 15, 2011, 12:51
yep were all done the cats the house everything xx
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: mumofstig on November 15, 2011, 14:54
yep we're all done


Even you?  :lol:
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: Aunt Sally on November 15, 2011, 15:26
Spray the house again in about 7-10 days time to kill any little critters that haven't hatched yet !
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: maxyboo on November 16, 2011, 09:51
It's true that a lot of people are finding frontline is not effective anymore. It doesn't seem to be as effective on my cats as it used to be. I recently received an email from www.vetuk.co.uk saying advantage can now be bought without prescription. I haven't tried it myself but others say it is better than frontline.
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: spottymint on November 17, 2011, 19:26
Spray the house again in about 7-10 days time to kill any little critters that haven't hatched yet !

You can get  furniture sprays which treat carpets ect for a couple of months.

Not for use on pets, but helps kill any eggs, lavae laying around.
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: NormandyMary on December 09, 2011, 19:38
Just to throw a spanner in the works, it is known that the fleas have become immune to frontline in recent years.  My vet recommended using advantage or advocate, which seems to work for my lot.  The only advantage to frontline is it is the only spot on that treats ticks in cats, tho my view is that I'd rather keep the fleas away and remove the occasional tick!

Not only did my cats become immune to Frontline, all 3 of them developed scabs all over their bodies which also drove them mad. I took it upon myself to change to Advantage which I bought online. Within a few days, Phoebe who was riddled with fleas, was flea free and Tabitha and Freddie's backs cleared up within 10 days. I mentioned it to my vet, but she was reluctant to believe that Frontline was at fault, but Im convinced it was. Its about 2 months now since I started the Advantage and all are scab and flea free. Plus Advantage is cheaper. A double Whammy!!!
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: evie2 on December 10, 2011, 11:50
Our 4 cats had a really bad infestation of fleas a few years ago.  We sprayed the house, treated the cats with Frontline and used and electronic nit comb to comb the blighters out, worked a treat :)
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: salome2001 on January 14, 2012, 22:51
in general: supermarket shelf flea products (Bob Martins etc) are rubbish. Either old drugs with resistance or just no insecticidal ingredients at all! If you don't believe me, look at the active ingredients one day at Tesco.
Frontline or Advantage both work well and are non-prescription.
It is possible for an animal to have an individual reaction (if this happens do remember to tell your vets to fill in a SADR (Suspected Adverse Drug Reaction) yellow form: it's no use just moaning about problems on internet forums. It is also possible for local resistance to develop to one product, especially if used solo for a long time.
The prescription products are not just a way for your vet to hold a monopoly- they usually have additional licences eg. Frontline combo has an insect growth regulator to stop the breeding cycle, Stronghold treats roundworm (helpful if you have young kiddies or immunocompromised people in the household), Advocate is licensed to prevent lungworm in dogs.
You can get cheaper non-POM spottons at Boots or on the internet: what you DON'T get when you save your few pennies here compared to your vet surgery is someone who can give you educated advice about your individual situations: do you have rabbits? How old are the animals? Any skin disorders? Is there now a cheaper generic product that is actually cheaper than buying frontline online?
All products though will not treat a flea infestation in the house- for that you HAVE to treat the house with a spray- every room, every inch of floor, and using the recommended spray coverage. Otherwise all the spottons in the world won;t stop newly hatched fleas ending up on your animal.
Title: Re: Cats and fleas!! advice needed
Post by: salome2001 on January 14, 2012, 22:53
and by the way, you would have been better off spending the couple of quid you spent on the flea collars on a Starbucks cappuccino and pouring it on the cat, for all the good they do in killing fleas. Wish I had a pound for every cat I've seen with fleas merrily sccoting over one of those.