Mumsnet Talk

Bloody cat has fleas. We've been using Frontline but its obviously having no effect whatsoever.

The only other thing our vets sell is Stronghold (flea treatment combined with a worming treatment-does anyone have any experience of it? Does it work?

Meanwhile I'm trying the constant hoovering to stop it from becoming a big problem

I've found Frontline useless against ticks, no point using it at all on the cats in my opinion. However, I do think it works for fleas......how long have you been using it for, could the fleas have a hold already in your carpets/cat bed etc?

We started using Stronghold recently as our poor dog has a skin problem... her next flea drops were due and the vet no longer has frontline, so it was an accident really.

Seems ok so far - but I didn't realise it has a worming treatment combined... her worming tablets are up to date so will this mean she's overdosed??

I use Advantage on the cats to kill the adults and Akklaim spray on the house to get rid of the ggs and larvae. I never use Frontline, I have found it to be useless.

maybe you need to get that spray form the vets, and do your house? It's really pricey but, that, combined with regular grooming of cat, (try even picking them off cat when you see them) will help.

Like onlyaphase said, if they have taken hold in bedding.rugs etc... they need spraying. Be careful what you carry from one room to the next. Yrs back me and ex dh has infestation, and had to have the place sprayed, nd we ended up sleeping/living in one room only for a few days. Making sure we ditched clothes outside the door etc...

You have to have a plan of attack.

Agree Frontline is shite. The only thing that works for our cats is good ole fashioned flea collars.

I wonder if the fleas have become immune to whatever is in Frontline?

So I've just checked the worming protection in Stronghold vs. the worming protection in Drontal.

Stronghold is for adult heartworms, Drontal for roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and whipworms.
I'm ok then? Does anybody know please... getting a little nervous now.

Advocate(?) is v good.

Eurgh! Why do I itch when reading and talking about fleas.

We don't have an infestation (yet?!) but the cat is scratching like mad and we have found some fleas. We've been using Frontline every month/6 weeks for ages (due to bad experience last year) so hoped she would be covered but obviously not.

Last years bad experience was that we went away on holiday for a week, the cat went to my Mums for the week but we didn't realise that she had fleas at this point. We returned home late at night after day of flying/driving only to find hundreds of fleas had hatched in our absence but as no animal/human had been around for the week as soon as we walked through the door they were on us quick as a flash .

Resolved that with every anti-flea approach going!

Astronomy -if the vet provided it then surely they would have been aware??

The stuff you do the house with is the key. it stops the breeding cycle - years back when I had a house bunny and they didn't make flea treatments suitable for using on bunnies, I just treated the house and it was sorted. Fleas can lay their eggs in floorboards, anything - they are double hard bastards. If you're infested, it's got to be the spray - even if the adults can't feed off the cats, they'll just live in the house feeding off everyone else. Which is just minging.

That's very true Norbert - didn't think of that ... getting all worked up for nothing. Doh!

Right, I think I've been convinced -I'll spray treat the house even though its not a big problem yet and try Stronghold.

Unfortunately our vet doesn't sell Advocate. I've heard from someone else that its better than Frintline

Good luck fleas are just awful, it is a horrible feeling knowing they're there.

You don't need to treat the house.

Fleas CANNOT live from human blood.

Cats (unless they stay in all the time) will bring in new fleas anyway.

Treating the cats is key - sorry Stayfrosty!!

Bunnies don't tend to mix with other bunnies.

Cats go everywhere.

Program works very well, you can now buy it online, no script - petmeds do it at a good price.

Frontline is useless now, I think the fleas are resistant...you will continue to find fleas as the eggs in the house hatch and jump onto the cat, but this will gradually stop as they all become infertile due to the program.

Honestly - there's no need to spray unless you want them gone NOW. A couple of months of program (and yes, continue using the frontline as well if you like) will sort it.

Fair dos

btw, I saw Tesco pharmacy stocks flea treatments in now. Frontline and other stuff (didn't notice what). But definitely the proper stuff, not the Bob Martin shite that you get in Pets at Home that doesn't work.

sorry but you do have to treat the house ime. big can of spray. evebn when the cats are clear, the little bastards can still hatch out of carpets, and jump on board.

jumente -that was partly my thinking with the daily hoovering, to remove them as they hatch but obviously I've got the added problem of the Frontline not working. I'll look into Program.

Also, because of where we live the cat has access to lots of long grass with goodness knows what creatures lurking so is obviously picking them up from all around.

you can also get flea treatments online much cheaper if you google.

Do you get frontline from the vets? Internet (cheaper) frontline is weaker and doesn't work. We use frontline combo from the vets and (touch wood) it seems to be OK.

Frontline is crap... have you tried Advocate?
oh someones mentioned it already... I had a cat with a severe flea allergy, tried them all... Advocate was the only one that worked.

Stronghold is much, much better than Frontline. One of our old cats was a total fleabag, Frontline didn't touch them, but have used Stronghold ever since and never had a problem, even though our cats are out and about all the time and catch all sorts of wildlife.

No we get it from the vets so it should be strong enough.

how do you know the internet frontline is any different?

why would they make a whole different range for the internet?

RSPCA told me when we bought the cats. She said that only vets are allowed to sell the strong stuff. Everywhere else is a different strength.