Flea Medication for Cats

Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
My cat has fleas pretty badly. We already gave him a flea bath, and that did get rid of a lot of them, but he's still got quite a few, and there are tons, and tons, and TONS of eggs.

Frontline and Advantage seem to be the best brands of the ointment that you put on their backs, but the price is very scary. Very, very scary.

I did find the correct dosage for cheaper on 1800petmeds, but the free shipping with take 5-9 days, and getting shipping any sooner will make it cost the same as at Petsmart.

Does something like this have coupons? Or could I call around various local vets and see if they can hook me up with a few samples or a discount?
02/27/2012
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Contributor: Chilipepper Chilipepper
First thing - DO NOT USE HERTZ! That stuff will make your cat freak the fuck out. I don't know why they're allowed to still produce pet items, as they either never work or they screw with a pet's nervous system.

Secondly, there's hardly ever any 'free samples' (vets will charge you in office on top of the visiting fee) and I've never been able to find coupons for Advantage or Frontline. You could try the local Humane Society, you might be able to get it a dollar or two cheaper.

Having lived in Florida (flea and ticks year-round, and residing with three dogs), I say the investment is worth it to keep your baby happy and healthy. Having to take your baby to the vet due to complications caused by fleas makes it even more expensive than just getting the medication.
02/27/2012
Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
Quote:
Originally posted by Chilipepper
First thing - DO NOT USE HERTZ! That stuff will make your cat freak the fuck out. I don't know why they're allowed to still produce pet items, as they either never work or they screw with a pet's nervous system.

Secondly, ... more
Ugh. We got the Hartz flea bath because that was ALL the store had other than some brand we'd never heard of. It helped a little, but typically, I don't use Hartz for ANY of my animals. When we were getting bird food, we were always finding weevils in the food, or it didn't offer the kind of food we needed for hamsters. And in general, their shit sucks balls.

Yeah, I don't mind the investment, it's just that right now. It's and investment that will be the choice between me eating for the next two weeks or not. That's what worries me

There is a vet in the area that sells a single month treatment for $25. I'll call my humane society, but it's pretty far away, so it's probably not going to be worth the few dollars savings.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Chilipepper Chilipepper
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Ugh. We got the Hartz flea bath because that was ALL the store had other than some brand we'd never heard of. It helped a little, but typically, I don't use Hartz for ANY of my animals. When we were getting bird food, we were always ... more
Hartz, thanks for the correction.

If you can find a pet shampoo with pennyroyal and marigold in it, it might help.

And, yeah, I do understand about the expense (it's still difficult to outfit three dogs with flea solutions). I do wish you a lot of luck in your search - maybe the vet can help out. *fingers cross*
02/27/2012
Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
Quote:
Originally posted by Chilipepper
Hartz, thanks for the correction.

If you can find a pet shampoo with pennyroyal and marigold in it, it might help.

And, yeah, I do understand about the expense (it's still difficult to outfit three dogs with flea solutions). I do ... more
Thank you!

I found a few natural remedies I might want to try like a lemon spray or using neem oil.

I also read a lot of reviews that says that Zodiac is a very good brand, and it's very nice on the pocket book.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
I'm on my phone so forgive any typos.

For just fleas, I would recommend Advantage as a veterinarian. It is a very safe and effective product. Few things, there are different Advantage products on the market, plain, Advantage II, Advantix. For you it sounds like plain old Advantage should be enough. You don't need to pay for other ingredients. I did a quick search and found prices around $34 including shopping (that was Amazon). You may find cheaper if you search.

Depending on agree and health of your cat, a single flea shampoo bath should be fine. I generally don't recommend them but one time shouldn't be an issue. While you're waiting for the Advantage, you can get a flea comb and constantly brush out the fleas. If you have other pets you may want to separate them until the flea issue is addressed.

In general, fleas are more a nuisance than health risk. However, little kittens or sick cats can get debilitated by massive infestations. There are also potentially secondary health issues such as tapeworms. Cats can get them by eating fleas when grooming and completing the tapeworm lifecycle. Hope this helps.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Kindred Kindred
Quote:
Originally posted by wrecklesswords
Thank you!

I found a few natural remedies I might want to try like a lemon spray or using neem oil.

I also read a lot of reviews that says that Zodiac is a very good brand, and it's very nice on the pocket book.
I'm not familiar with Zodiac so I looked yo their spot on. It contains an egg hatch inhibitor only. It will stop eggs from hatching but does nothing for the adult fleas. I'm not sure if their other products are different.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
There is this stuff at Walmart called PetArmor. It is roughly $25-30 for three month supply and that is what I used to get raid of my flea problem. My cats had fleas horrible to the point of hair loss. This stuff worked well for us. You can purchase it at Walmart and Target as far as I know.
02/27/2012
Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
Quote:
Originally posted by Beck
There is this stuff at Walmart called PetArmor. It is roughly $25-30 for three month supply and that is what I used to get raid of my flea problem. My cats had fleas horrible to the point of hair loss. This stuff worked well for us. You can purchase ... more
I saw that brand, but I wasn't at all familiar with it, so I was unsure about it.

@Kindred, I haven't been able to find just plain Advantage anywhere. All I can find is Advantage II. He got one flea bath, which I think did help because he has had less "egg discharge" as I'm going to call it since he was bathed, but it's still very bad. I even found an un-cocooned larvae on him last night.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Gary Gary
One thing I have found over the years, different animals respond differently to these kinds of things. Something may work well on one, and then cause an allergic reaction on another. (I used to have 4 cats so there was always one).

Another thing that I have not yet tried, a friend of mine who is a dog groomer recommend using Eucalyptus. He said the fleas can't stand it, and that it is the key ingredient in most natural remedies. Worth looking in to.
02/27/2012
Contributor: wrecklesswords wrecklesswords
Quote:
Originally posted by Gary
One thing I have found over the years, different animals respond differently to these kinds of things. Something may work well on one, and then cause an allergic reaction on another. (I used to have 4 cats so there was always one).

Another ... more
I actually read some of the ingredients in the natural treatments and even found a home remedy that said to combine neem and eucalyptus or lemon and eucalyptus.
02/27/2012
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
I was told by a rescuer that a lot of the OTC products can cause irritation and burns, so I've only used Advantage on my cats. It's a bit pricey (although as Kindred pointed out you can find a better price on Amazon than stores or vet offices) but it works and has caused no irritation to any of my cats.
02/27/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
I use Frontline Plus on my poodle (I don't have any cats), they're safe and very effective, and appears to be the most popular brand out there. You can order them online at PetCareRx.com, I usually get my $10.00 off (+ free shipping) coupons in the Sunday ads. You can try this site to get discounts plus free shipping codes for ordering at PetCareRx.com. I've checked their regular price on Frontline Plus for Cats: $43.99 for a 3 months supply.
02/27/2012
Contributor: jmex83 jmex83
We've always used Advantage on our pets or frontline
02/27/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Quote:
Originally posted by Rossie
I use Frontline Plus on my poodle (I don't have any cats), they're safe and very effective, and appears to be the most popular brand out there. You can order them online at PetCareRx.com, I usually get my $10.00 off (+ free shipping) coupons ... more
Are you a Costco member? They're selling Frontline Plus for Cats 3 months supply at $36.49.
02/28/2012