Revolution or Frontline Plus...thoughts?

[wallycat]

I found a flea on my baby-girl this afternoon :eek: :eek: :eek:

Last year we used Revolution.
I had some Frontline Plus so applied that to all 5 kitties.

ANyone have opinions/thoughts about which is better and safer to use?
I have heard rumor that there is an injection that lasts for 6 months...any truth to this?

Oh I hate spring and summer for so many reasons :o :o :(

[wallycat]

Bumping up for weekday crowd.
If anyone has used both for their cat and found one better, can you post a comment please.

TIA :)

[greysangel]

i'm not sure if one is safer than the other, but our vet recommends frontline and we don't buy it from them.

[LakeMartinGal]

There is a shot... I think for cats, too, but I only know about dogs. If your pet is outside a lot, thought, the medicine you put on every month is more reliable. We use Frontline Plus, because it gets the ticks and flea eggs... Here is an article from the "Drs. Foster and Smith" website. Maybe this will help.
http://www.vetcentric.com/magazine/magazineArticle.cfm?ARTICLEID=917

[Meganator]

When I was using Frontline, it was fine for quite a while, then my cat started scratching the back of her neck until she had a bald spot. So my vet recommened Revolution...I am having the same problem. So, no answers to your question, but I am interested to see other responses. My cat spends a lot of time outdoors in the summer, so I have to use something.

Editing to add that I read the information at the link above which states that "there can be some irritation and or transient hairloss at the site of administration" - maybe I shouldn't worry so much about it? Also, I think it was Advantage, not Frontline that I used first. I've never had a flea problem with either one.

[mcgeiger]

Parasite preventions sold through your vet should be safe. The OTC at pet stores can be variably safe. Make sure you are using one for the right species (cats in particular, as they can die from Advantix), and the right dose (don't give your puppy the same pill as your 100 lb lab!).

If I remember correctly, our internal med people here usually recommend selemectin (Revolution) for cats, as it does fleas and some internal parasite. I'll double check this when I get home.

I think the injection you are referring to is Proheart 6, which is for canine heartworms, and is no longer available due to some bad reactions.

[wallycat]

Thanks again for all the input.

I guess it sounds like either Frontline Plus or Revolution are fine to use.
Maybe I can switch off or see who has the cheaper prices ...man this stuff is expensive when you have 5 kitties :D :D

[Valerie226]

I currently have an indoor-outdoor cat like my previous kitties. He spends much more time "in"than out and has minimal contact with other kitties. In this area the main concern is fleas and here there is a period (most years) from november until late march when fleas are not an issue. I've been successful skipping Revolution during those months. (If he gets boarded, it's during summer when he is on revolution) I don't like to load on more meds than necessary. I'm thinking revolution does ear mites too. Ticks are not an issue in this area.

[testkitchen45]

Bumping this up b/c my two new kitten adoptees have a few fleas! :eek: I've never had fleas in my home, and don't intend to start now. Please help, vets or cat owners! :o We're on Day 2 of kittens, and have kept them confined to the laundry room so they'll know where the main litterbox is. Once we saw a flea yesterday (we've seen a couple in their fur), we really wanted to keep them out of the main house! We've supervised them on the kitchen floor also, b/c it's tile & they're so cooped up in the laundry room, and I have a vet appt. in just over an hour. I figured that after the vet appt (I think the vet'll apply Frontline & maybe say to wait 24 hours--thoughts on this? That vet, not my usual vet, doesn't use Revolution.), I would vacuum the tile floor, vacuum the kitchen rug under the tile, change the litter, & wash the kitty bed, & the fleas would never have the chance to get entrenched. Gross stuff to follow; be warned if you're having breakfast . . . I did find, however, two worm casings on my kitchen floor :eek: :eek: , about 1/2 of 1 mm wide, and 3/4" long--the vet said those are tapeworm casings from fleas! Cr*p!!! Yes, I will be *boiling* my entire kitchen, thank you very much! Thank goodness we've all been hand-washing after handling the kittens, just in case. Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone who's had experience dealing with these issues. I did find a prior post saying that Rev. wasn't as good as F'line in dealing with tapeworms. When I had a big kitty who went outdoors, we had him on Revolution & never saw even one flea on him or in our home. I figure the kitty-rescue lady, who has a lot of animals, probably has fleas in her home, but of course she denies it (we had an amiable conversation about what to do, and she maintains that her home, w/ all its animals, is flea-free; oh, well). Thoughts or advice? Oh--the vet who's examined the cats already said that they're 9 weeks old, not 7 weeks. Thank you (and I hope I didn't spoil anyone's breakfast!).

[clairea]

I'm so confused:confused: How did the worm casings come from fleas? In any event, I am sorry you are having to deal with that, hopefully you and your vet can get it cleared up quickly.

We use frontline on the dogs, and whenever I need to put something on the cats that is usually what I get as well (force of habit I think). Maybe I will try Revolution on the cats next time.

There is a pill for dogs called "Capstar", but I don't know if you can give it to cats. When I have taken in strays that are sometimes badly infested with fleas the vet has given them this. My understanding is it kills all of the existing fleas very quickly (within hours I think), then you can start with regular treatment. I'm not sure what the side effects are, and I don't know if you would want to use this unless it was a really serious flea problem - maybe one of the vets can tell us.

[wallycat]

Most products should not be used on cats till they are at least 8 weeks old I think.

The Revolution takes care of ear mites and round worm, so that is the one we use. If your babies will be indoor, once they are treated, unless you bring fleas in from the yard, you should be OK.

[testkitchen45]

I'm so confused:confused: How did the worm casings come from fleas?

I think fleas carry tapeworms. Nice, huh?

Funny. I'm not hungry for breakfast any more. :eek:

[cminmd]

How gross! I am so sorry this happened. My guess is that the rescue lady does not have a flea problem in her home, but that the kitties when rescued were infested with fleas. Someone gave them the initial flea killing treatment which killed all the live fleas and got rid of most of the eggs, but a few survived and have now hatched. My vet always lectures me on flea control being a two step process- clearing the initial infestation then reattacking the 2nd generation. Luckily, the initial cleaning seemed to be pretty effective as you only have a few- so rewash kitties in flea killing shampoo, flea bomb the laundry room and you should be good to go.

About the worm casing- yuck!!! I have never had a problem with parasites (knock on wood!), but we were warned about it after we adopted our cat Sabrina via a pet rescue. She and her sisters were feral barncat babies eating God-knows what. I think you first need to use a dewormer then start the maintence after she has been treated. Also, don't worry about what your vet carries in the office. It is very easy for them to call in a Revolution/Frontline perscription into an online pharmacy for you. I use VetCentric, but their are a ton of places that will send you the right meds for your animal. You order online or on the phone and it shows up in your mailbox in just a few days. If I order Monday I usually have it by Friday. I would also call your pediatrician and ask what you need to be on the lookout for to make sure your kids don't get infected. Good luck!

[TKay]

We've had a couple of really bad flea infestations over the years. We treated the cat (for one) and the dogs (for another) with Advantage and the problem cleared up really quickly. Since we only have one dog now, we just use it occasionally or if we notice her scratching. Seems to do the trick.
Good luck. This stuff can be so gross!

[testkitchen45]

Thanks, all. My vet gave me Advantage for the kittens; I guess it works faster than Frontline and can be used on smaller animals. He also gave the kittens a shot for the internal parasites; they actually tested negative, plus I haven't seen anything else, so I think the other kittens in the litter (the rescue person brought them all by on her way someplace else) must have had something. I'm washing all the rugs in the few rooms where the cats have been, and will vacuum the floor carefully, & vacuum the kitchen under-table rug several times. I think (hope) that should do it. Advantage gets repeated twice more, at 21-28 day intervals, but I think that'll be just precautionary, as the cats won't go outdoors. I'm a little scared of whether any eggs somewhere (on the animals? surviving a wash?) could hatch; I know Advantage would kill the resulting flea but hope my washing/vacuuming gets rid of any future problems. Yuck!

[sparrowgrass]

Be sure to take your vacuum cleaner bags out of the house after you finish vacuuming--those fleas you vacuum up can get out. Put them in a plastic bag and take them to the trash can. You should vacuum every other day for a week or so, just to make sure. (If you want to avoid wasting bags, take it out of the vacuum cleaner, put it in a ziplock and put it in the freezer.)

I buy my Frontline from Australia--no prescription needed, and the cost is much less. I have been using a place called Pets Megastore for about 4 years now, and it has saved me a ton of money. They have other brands of flea and tick control, as well as wormers, heart worm meds and other pet meds.

It is exactly the same as the stuff sold in this country, made in the same factory.

(I have no stock in this company--I wish I did, because I have recommended it to many people.)

http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/