advantage or frontline?

[Biciclista]

SOMEWHERE on here we discussed this and someone said that fleas are becoming resistant to either advantage or frontline. please someone tell me which i have to order ... one of them.

[smurfalicious]

Neither! My landlord has a little black chihuahua that has a white stripe down his back from where that stuff burned his skin. The EPA is stepping in to investigate these products too because they can be downright dangerous. Here's the link:

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/flea-tick-control.html

We're blessed to not really have fleas in Colorado, but oh do I remember living in Portland and being a bite magnet. Simple soap and water will kill fleas on your pet, so "flea dips" are wholly unnecessary. The problem is fleas don't spend the bulk of their time on your pet so treating the house is more is important to stopping the cycle. Rather than me ramble, check out this article it has good tips:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/KnowledgeBase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=53&Keywords=

Last spring at the Boulder Hometown Fair and I coated myself with our herbal defense spray since we were right by the creek and I the skeeter magnet lived to tell. I definitely recommend sprinkling with the all in one powder around the house and yard. And the brewer's yeast/garlic remedies work great too. I used to take both myself when I lived in the "valley" because otherwise I was coated in red bumps.

[Blueberry]

We're actually having problems with both now. I had originally posted about problems with Frontline (which is now wholly ineffective for me). But, we've tried advantage recently and had really bad results.

Our dog is on Comfortis, which seems to be working. We're still working on what we can put on our kitty (he's on chemo, and we're being very cautious...). Regular baths might work, but they would stress him way too much. For now, we're doing lots of combing.

[Eden]

I can't remember what we used - its been a while, but our kitties are indoor only, so I've only did the treatments once or twice. Once our house was flea free it has stayed that way. No ill effects to either kitty.

[kermit]

I get my yard sprayed every three months and knock on wood have never had a flea problem. A friend of mine did and was turned on to sevin dust. Use it around the perimeter of the yard and even on the dogs. The bug man recommended it and once you have used it, they leave and will never return. Also works or ticks.

[bouncybouncy]

I like the natural approach to fleas...use it! But what about TICKS???? They are out of control and nothing seems to help...

Thanks

[smilingcat]

Hi Mimi,

It was me who was complaining about Advantage.

BUUUTTTT this is what we know around here. Lot of people in our area have been using Advantage and the fleas have developed an immunity to them. Several of the vets in the area were telling us that many of their clients were saying that Advantage was not working. Fleas on our cats have been resistant to Advantage since about two years ago.

Frontline seems to work and lot of people in our area have switched to them. We have switched to Revolution as it takes care of several other parasites and bugs. mites and ticks?? Revolution isn't as readily available.

What you need to find out is what majority of the people in your area are using and call several vets in area to find out if any have heard of "advantage doesn't work anymore" or "frontline isn't working anymore" . If neither is working then you need to go to Revolution. Its available only through a vet.

hope this helps.

[Biciclista]

thanks, Smiling cat.

that's a good answer. I can call my vet.
I used to be able to comb fleas out of my cats' hair but my eyes no longer see them quickly enough. Now what happens is I get fleabites (from fleas jumping on me while i comb the cats) and not EVER finding fleas on my cats. :(

Yes, I agree they are terrible poisons but as long as neither of my cats has a physical reaction to the stuff, I'm going to keep giving it to them.

We don't have ticks here thank goodness, and as long as I live on this dead end, I will probably continue to let my cats out because they seem to keep the rat population down.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I think it's important to remind everyone NEVER to give more than the dosage recommended in the instructions. I saw the results of that at my vet's once- a poor beautiful maramelade tabby cat in a cage having horrible convulsions due to being over-dosed with one of these products. She was literally poisoned and the vet said she had been convulsing for a day and a half. I asked about the poor kitty later, and she did recover but came close to death. That was from Hartz Mountain flea/tick meds.- though I'm sure an overdose of any brand might produce the same results. :(

[smurfalicious]

Welp, you could always try this stuff. It's a little less chemically than other spot ons.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Sentry-Natural-Defense-Flea-Tick-Squeeze-On-for-Dogs/207000.aspx

For ticks neem oil works fabulously. You can find neem oil sprays. My store has one from Ark Naturals but you can also get the straight essential oil from www.vitacost.com. A word about essential oils though, they should never ever be applied to cats. Can't for the life of me remember why, but I think it just has to do with the licking to groom themselves.

[Biciclista]

we don't have ticks, thanks though.

[smurfalicious]

we don't have ticks, thanks though.

Oh, sorry should have quoted it. Bouncy was asking about ticks. Neem works for people and pets in that regard. I have never had the misfortune of getting ticks on any of my animals. The thought alone makes me want to vomit. I helped my roommate get one off her dog, blech!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A word about essential oils though, they should never ever be applied to cats. Can't for the life of me remember why, but I think it just has to do with the licking to groom themselves.

That's right, unlike dogs, cats wind up EATING whatever you put on their coats if they can reach it with their tongues. That's one reason they say to apply those Advantage type products to the back of the neck or between shoulder blades.

[tctrek]

I seem to remember a long time ago, I rescued a pregnant cat that had terrible fleas. I didn't want to use any of those products on her because of the kittens. I *think* my vet told me to bathe her in baby shampoo... that somehow it got rid of fleas. Anyone ever heard of that? Or is my memory just bad? :confused:

[ASammy1]

We use Frontline Plus around here, but I know that our vet recommends Revolution.

[andtckrtoo]

I think it's important to remind everyone NEVER to give more than the dosage recommended in the instructions. I saw the results of that at my vet's once- a poor beautiful maramelade tabby cat in a cage having horrible convulsions due to being over-dosed with one of these products. She was literally poisoned and the vet said she had been convulsing for a day and a half. I asked about the poor kitty later, and she did recover but came close to death. That was from Hartz Mountain flea/tick meds.- though I'm sure an overdose of any brand might produce the same results. :(

Please avoid the Hartz brand like the plague. Its known to cause many troubles in cats and dogs, even while used correctly.

My dog doesn't not suffer from fleas - they are not as prevalent where we are, so I don't know any homeopathic remedies for fleas - although the orange peel oil is supposed to be effective and safe (you can buy sprays like that and spray them on the dog directly with no ill effects). For ticks, I've had pretty good success with garlic. I was feeding raw for a while, so I would just grind up a bunch of garlic with the veggie mixture I made him, now I just put a chopped up clove with his breakfast and dinner. It's not perfect, but ticks are attracted to the smell our the carbon we exhale, and this seems to change the attractiveness of Jimmy. When I had my foster and did not feed him raw, he attracted ticks like no one's business. As soon as I started mixing the veggie mixture into his kibble, he became much less attractive (we hike in tick country a least once a week).

[andtckrtoo]

Stupid trigger finger!! Sorry for the double post!

[jesvetmed]

Please avoid the Hartz brand like the plague. Its known to cause many troubles in cats and dogs, even while used correctly.

As an ER vet, I can tell you that any "over the counter" product are the ones I see cause terrible reactions in cats, and sometimes dogs too. I've never seen a seizing pet that had been treated with Advantage or Frontline (appropriately). It's always the cheap store brands. Please do not use them! AND... they don't really work.

Frontline Plus for dogs works against ticks.
Advantage makes "Advantix" that works against fleas and ticks, but this is toxic to cats if you have them in the house with the dog.

There are new ones on the market -- don't know a lot about them all yet. Revolution is nice for dogs or cats b/c it works to prevent heartworm if that is an issue in your area, and handles normal GI parasites, also.

Just remember, always ask your vet before trying to use any product on your cat that is labeled for your dog. It is NOT always safe.

Good luck! Fleas are awful.

[Tuckervill]

In my neck o' the woods, it's Frontline that has stopped working. Advantage is working GREAT. I have switched to Advantix for my dogs, because it's summer time.

I did a lot of studyin' before I got our flea problem under control. You have to use something that kills the eggs AND the larva and the adult fleas. Anything with an Insect Growth Regulator works (it has to kill the eggs!). We were forced to spray our yard every 10 days for about a month with heavy duty chemicals, while at the same time washing everything in the house over and over again, including the dogs and cats.

Bad flea problems cannot be solved with "natural products" unless you don't have anything else to do in your life but apply them over and over.

Karen

[Eden]

nix on the garlic for cats too - it destroys their red blood cells and causes them to become anemic. Yeah it does take pretty large quantities to be severely harmful, but still a little poison is still poison...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Gee, all this makes me doubly glad my cats are indoors only. :o

[Blueberry]

Gee, all this makes me doubly glad my cats are indoors only. :o

Mine *is* indoor only. My flea-treated dog must be bringing them in. My vet is recommending we try Revolution and Capstar (every 2-3 days for 10 days).

CA

[Norse]

We have ticks all over the State, including our neighborhood. For some reason, they have increased their numbers this year and they carry some very nasty diseases. Our vet has always recommended Frontline Plus, which is what we use. Knock on wood, our dog - who gets frequent walks and hiking outings - has never had a tick on her. Just walking around our area our neighbor said her tiny terrier acquired 2 ticks. Oh, our pup has never had fleas either.

[Norse]

Another one to avoid like the plague is bioSpot. This stuff is awful. We lost one of our cats to it - seizures, ... and then a coma that he did not recover from. Drs. Foster and Smith gleefully sells this stuff and they hold themselves out as vets recommending that it is safe. I think that is disgusting. I tried a one woman campaign to get them to stop carrying this product but the company could not have cared less. It's cheap and therefore a lot of people buy it. Not only is it harmful to pets, but the emergency vet that saw our poor kitty said that it can also harm babies or small children if they touch or rub a pet that just had it applied. Its active ingredient is some inexpensive, harmful chemical

Unless we go out with them (with harnesses) our cats do not go out anymore and we don't use anything on them, just the dog. Pay more for the Frontline or Advantage, don't go for the cheap crap.

[Tuckervill]

If you use Advantage, you can use it on both dogs and cats, which is great, because....you can buy the super large dog size and treat about 3 cats with it for only a few dollars more. A single dose for one cat is about $12. The large dog size is about $15 at my vet.

You have to measure it out right, though!

Karen

[emily_in_nc]

No flea problems here in the woods, but we do have many, many ticks of all sorts (deer, lone star, and dog). My DH even ended up with ehrlichiosis last summer after a lone star tick bite! We use Frontline Plus on Paisley and used it on Pepper before her. Never a single bad reaction whatsoever.

[Blueberry]

If you use Advantage, you can use it on both dogs and cats, which is great, because....you can buy the super large dog size and treat about 3 cats with it for only a few dollars more. A single dose for one cat is about $12. The large dog size is about $15 at my vet.

You have to measure it out right, though!

Karen

Be careful with this. My mom's vet was doing this, and, despite careful measuring, had several cats die from it. I wouldn't mess with it - not sure if they changed the formula, or what....:confused::confused: