What’s the Best Flea Preventative?
What is a better flea medication to use on cats?
I gave my cat Tabby her flea
medication in March and I used Frontline Plus for
Cats. Just for the heck of it I went into
Google and found some very disturbing blogs that say
permethrin is an ingredient in some other flea
medications and it’s poisonous to cats. There was
also one blog which said that a person’s pet cat
died after using Frontline Plus flea medication.
So, my question to you would be
Doctor, what should we look out for when we buy
Flea medications and shampoos on our own. Thank
you in advance for your insight.
Roopa
Manchester, CT
I find that if you google anything, you can find something disturbing, usually on the first page of results. I discussed this phenomenon recently in an article on NSAIDs. No flea medicine is perfect. Animals (and people) can have adverse reactions to any medicine, treatment, food or natural remedy. However, in the world of flea treatments, some are definitely better than others.
The two most tried-and-true flea preventatives are Frontline (or Frontline Plus) and Advantage. They have been on the market the longest, and millions of doses have been applied. Have animals had adverse reactions to these products? Definitely. In my practice, I have witnessed rare, mild adverse reactions to both, and I have heard tales of more serious reactions. But the reactions are rare.
Compare that with adverse reactions to fleas. I see those daily, and they are often severe.
Other reputable flea preventatives include Revolution and Capstar. Program is effective at preventing flea infestations in the house, although it won’t prevent fleas from biting your pet. ProMeris is a new product that looks promising, but I do not have much experience with it.
Adverse reactions can occur with any product. However, the ones I have listed above are the ones that I consider safest.
The flea preventatives that, in my experience, tend to cause the most problems are generally cheap, knock-off products. I have seen them in grocery stores and some pet stores. The packaging often is similar to higher quality treatments. I recommend that you avoid these products and try to stick to the ones listed above, or one recommended by your veterinarian.
Permethrin is an ingredient in some canine products. Although it is usually safe for dogs, it is toxic to cats. If a permethrin-containing canine product is accidentally applied to a cat, the cat is very likely to suffer adverse effects. Unfortunately, some permethrin-containing products are not labelled very clearly.
Your best bet is to get your flea preventative from a veterinarian or other reputable source. Insist on a high-quality, name brand product. In general, they are safer and more effective.
You have questions. 
My mom wants to get my dog’s flea preventative from the store because it’s cheaper. I have to keep telling her that I don’t trust those brands…
I bought flea medication from a store and found while cheaper it did not work. My dog ended up with fleas and since the medicatiion was supposed to work for 3 mos. I couldn’t put anything else on him. What a mess. I have used Frontline Plus on both my cat and dog ever since (purchased from my vet). So far I’ve had no more fleas and neither animal has had any adverse effects from using it. In my case saving the money sure wasn’t worth it.
its true, store brand flea and tick medications dont work. and watch out for hartz. ive seen bad reactions to hartz. also, flea collars dont work. they only work around the neck, fleas tend to live mostly on the belly. i work at a vet, we sell mostly frontline. it has always worked well and i certainly trust it. we also have a new product called revolution. it covers not only fleas and one kind of tick, but it takes care of heartworm and ear mites too. ill stick with frontline though, because it works against all kinds of ticks.
a not to users though, many people think that frontline repels fleas and ticks. it does not. its also untrue that fleas or ticks need to bite before they die. they only need to come in contact with the pets fur and they will absorb the frontline and die.
its just important to continue use. one application a month is what most products seem to go by.
I have 6 indoor cats. I have tried almost every over the counter flea treatment but,nothing works. What would be the best flea treatment for my cats. one is pregnant so i’m don’t want to hurt her babies. what else can I do for fleas. They just don’t go away. Two are adults and the others are still kittens Please help me!!!
I got a kitten from a neighbor and the kitten was loaded with fleas but too young to use anything safely,…. even with combing I could not get then out. Now my other 6 cats have fleas and I used some Frontline Plus but it didn’t help.
The Frontline plus was over 1 yr old would it have lost itn’s strength or is there such a thing as fleas being resistant to ti?
Also, what is good for getting them out of the carpets? Most everything I have seen says to keep pets off carpets for a length of time… this is nearly impossible as they are indoor cats and I live in a trailer. HELP me PLEASE Thank you in advance
DO NOT EVER USE HARTZ!!! I used it on both of my cats once and they both had very adverse reactions including losing fur around where I put it and being very ill. I have been using Revolution for 2 years and I highly recommend it. I have a private roof deck so my cats are both indoor and outdoor and love to chase all manner of things to bring home to Mummy…….yet I have never seen a flea, tick or even ear mites on them since I started them on Revolution. They also get regular check-ups and the vet always gives them a clean bill of health!
Almost all over the counter & prescription flea treatments contain chemicals that are harmful to both you and your pet (and the Earth). Look for diatomaceous earth powder (or DE). It is completely safe for people and animals but is like tiny shards of glass for fleas. Fleas and their eggs die within hours of coming into contact with DE. Since it’s non-toxic, you can sprinkle it on your carpets, furniture, pets fur, etc. without having to vacuum or brush it off. Also, giving your pet garlic & brewers yeast tablets regularly is very effective. It creates a slight odor on their skin/fur (like when you eat a lot of garlic & your sweat smells garlicky the next day). I can’t really smell it on my cat, but apparently it’s a strong scent to fleas and they hate it.
Angela, what amount of garlic do you give the dog? I have a 25 pound Cavalier who is very allergic to fleas (and it’s been a bad year in PA!) and nothing prescribed or OTC has been effective. I ‘ve decided to try a garlic supplement (human), but don’t know how to determine the dosage . Thanks!