Get rid of fleas on cat...frontline didn't work...

[Lusi]

For years my cat was ok with just a supermarket flea collar...
then I started finding the odd flea with the flea comb...and the vet persuaded me to start using Frontline.
DD2 was a few weeks old so instead of spraying I steamed the carpets/furnishings (twice within a week) - I usuallty steam the carpets 3-4 times a year and wash them a couple of times. Frontline did appear to work quite well - but then after 9 months or so I started finding the odd flea on her again - then I found about 6 on her...this was more than I had with a flea collar and about two weeks before her next dose of frontline was due...The problem just seemed to get worse - until I saw a flea on DD2's teddy bear suit...yuk
I went to get more and asked the vet's assistant about it -should I treat the cat earlier etc - she said that they would be dying fleas ...you would never manage to catch a 'healthy' flea with a flea comb. Then I thought about it And decided I was being ripped off...
When the frontline wore off I bought a supermarket flea collar and the fleas disappeared...even to the point were when she lost the collar (last January) I put a normal one her and still no sign of fleas...
A month or so ago I found a couple of fleas on her again and got a new collar (from pets at home)...and the now she is infested... found 30 fleas on her so I put some flea powder down and have steamed all the carpets/furniture etc - flea combing her twice a day and finding about 10 fleas each time...
I know it is my fault for not getting round to getting her a new flea collar sooner...and I also knows she picks them up outside (have combed her before she goes out and then she when she comes back to find small fleas on her)...the collar really isn't working at all ..any suggestions????

[beautifulgirls]

You need to treat the house properly and find a good on pet flea killer - Frontline is usually pretty effective though some people claim there is resistance starting - you may prefer to consider other prescription flea killer spot on treatments instead however like stronghold, advantage or advocate from the vet. You will also need to spray the house. Steaming may help but is not a long term house treatment as some parts of the life cycle may survive the steaming only to hatch and re-infest the cat in time. You need a good spray that has dual action - killing and a flea hormone in it to stop the life cycle being completed by those eggs not affected by the killing agent.
Spraying the house is safe so long as you follow the instructions properly and make sure it is well aired before you let the family back into the rooms.
Fleas do not have to be sick to be found with a flea comb by the way!

[Lusi]

Thanks beautiful girls...that's what made me think the vet was ripping me off.. the flea comb thing...past experience with stray cats etc...
From all I have read steaming will work on all stages but arguably the eggs - and apparently it encourages them to hatch so you have to steam again a few days later... this time I also put flea powder down in some areas as well. Really reluctant to use strong chemicals with young children -especially in their room - where the cat spends a lot of time -have to let it really -poor thing moves round the house trying to get some peace...(used to let it hide in my office - but the hamster is in there now...)

I'm not sure if I got fleas resistant to Frontline or it had got washed off before it was absorbed/not applied it properly (four times!)...do you know if you get one of the other hormone based ones that obviously stay on your cat (like a collar)...
I'm sure she is picking them up somewhere outside and bringing them in - explains their absence in winter..so something that definitely works on the cat is what I need... and preferably one that is not from the vet...object to being told b***ks just to make a sale...(even though they have been very good in the past -they took in a cat I found in a bad way on a Sunday and kept it for a few days to see if its owner turned up before putting it out of its misery...)

[beautifulgirls]

Unfortunately frontline is the only effective preparation in my experience that you do not need to get via a veterinary prescription (it used to be vet prescription only but that changed). The only other option you may have is to ask your vet to write a prescription out for stronghold (they will probably charge a fee to do this though) and obtain it via one of the online pharmacies where it may be cheaper and you are at least not giving money to a vet you dislike. I would also suggest if you are unhappy with your vet to look elsewhere for another practice. We are not all the same and the majority of vets are there for the animal welfare first I promise!

Hope that helps.

[Lusi]

I do still like my vet really (and vets in general)..like I said they have been very good in the past with the stray I found (I only phoned to see if someone had reported it missing - obviously old and might just have got confused ...and they collected it out of hours and looked after it for nothing) and they were really kind to me when I had to have my old cat put to sleep...they do care.
It is just what the Vet's assistant told me...really annoyed me - what I really needed was some proper advice...hmmm
Think I will give Frontline a go again (from somewhere else) and talk to the Vet again when she has her injections in November ...or maybe sooner - just found a sore on her tummy - might just be a scrape from somewhere - but it does look sore - if it isn't better in a week I will be heading in there anyway..
Thanks again and sorry if I offended you...

[beautifulgirls]

No offense taken - sadly not all vets seem as animal orientated as the majority of us would like them to be. Hope the frontline does the job for your cat

[musicposy]

We had trouble with Frontline not working. I went to the vet and said it wasn't working; he didn't believe me. He gave me spray as well and we were putting more and more on the cat, the vet was virtually dousing him in it. He started getting really ill every time he was Frontlined and yet we still had fleas everywhere. I would comb the cat and get 20 or more fleas off at a time.

In the end I got really cross with the vet (who still wouldn't believe it wasn't working) and said I wasn't prepared to keep making him ill for a day or even 2 every time, especially as he was still crawling with fleas, and I wanted something different. Hw now has a program injection every 6 months and things are much better. It's not perfect - it doesn't kill the fleas, just stops them breeding, so they eventually die. I wish there was a perfect solution, as we do still see the odd flea but things are very much better. I wouldn't use frontline again.

But then, this is just my experience and the vet said no one else had had this trouble.

[jancolls]

Frontline doesn't always work, have you thought of trying Frontline Combo?

It doesn't need a vet prescription, but you do need to get it from a vet surgery. You may be able to get it cheaper online, but you will need a prescription if buying it that way. Vets will not normally prescribe the Combo, unless they have seen the pet, but as yours has, that shouldn't be a problem.

The difference with Combo, is it actually interferes both with the eggs hatching out and the female's ability to breed [basically its a flea contraceptive!]. It has to be used about 2x a year I think. My 16 year old female is a real flea trap and it works marvellously with her.

[beautifulgirls]

Frontline combo has the same "killing" ingredient as normal frontline, the only difference being the hormonal part that you mention. IF there was frontline resistance then the combo is not likely to do the job either in my opinion as you still need something to kill the active population on a pet. You actually do need to apply the frontline combo monthly if you are choosing to use it - every 6 months is not frequent enough. (dogs would be every 2 months however)
The 6 monthly treatment you may be thinking about is the program injectable for cats - this is a flea hormone treatment and only works to prevent fleas breeding, it does not kill them. It should be used alongside another product for killing fleas for proper control of the full life cycle.

[slinksta]

Hi Guys

Hoping someone might have some advice for me?!? I have 2 cats, 1 shorthair (Cristal)
and 1 longhair (Remy) I have recently frontlined both the cats and used acclaim around the house but im still finding fleas on Remy the longhaired cat, they dont go out so they cant be picking them up from outside, im at my wits end!!!!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

frontline combo worked for us when the ordinary frontline stopped working. We do apply it every month all year round.

[autumnscoming]

i havnt really found a good soloution for the cats but for fleas in the house the best soloution we have ued is the flea bomb thing where you take the lid off runs for it!!!! as it sprays out all the stuff them leave for about 2 hours it really worked as we seemed to have fleas everywhere a while back spot on drops are useless they shouldnt be allowed to get away with flogging the stuff i think its water in them!!! grr

[slinksta]

Thanks so much guys think ill get one of the collars each for the girls n see how they work as the acclaim seems to have worked thru out the house, thanks again much appreciated

[Lusi]

My sister recommended an Armitage brand flea collar (her long haired cat has a flea allergy and it is working for her). It is one of the ones that kills fleas rather than repels them.
I got one and also flea comb daily ..I do still find the odd flea on her but they are obviously not living on her...(only small, no flea dirt and none fat with egg filled tummies)and as I said I think she mainly picks them up outside somewhere...
However I did find some fleas in the house recently...I have a deep plastic tub of baby toys under the window sill in our bedroom. DD2 doesn't really play with them now -so they have been undisturbed for a few months and I decided to tidy them up - as I got towards the bottom I noticed about 15 fleas jumping about. I think the flea dirt and eggs must have fallen off the cat when she was sitting on the window sill and they were waiting for movement etc to emerge from their pupa...
I also have flea powder and the flea collar trimming in my vacuum cleaner bag...
I do feel like I'm winning at last...

[Tula1]

I have had the same problem with Frontline, I now have Advocate, but
how long do I have to wait before I use it. I last used Frontline 1 week ago.

[BONEMAMA]

I too have just had a problem with fleas for the very first time. I have a 11 yr old female cat using Frontline Plus for over 8 years now. No problems until now. I called the vet & they said i can't use it again for a month it can be toxic. They recommended COMFORTIS. it's a pill i ground in her food & it worked well. Has anyone else had any help with this method? Wondering can i use this every month instead of a topical. Thanx for any help

[JavaQ]

You must deworm the cats as tapeworms are in the flea lifecycle

[pinlot5]

Never seen Frontline Combo. In what country? This first poster isn't buying Frontline Plus, which destroys eggs also. And why just Frontline (the original product) is cheaper. I use Comfortis with great success. Crush in food.

[pinlot5]

Comfortis is great success. Crushed in food. I give less than packet says. And extend further than one monthly. Never see a flea!

[unlucky83]

Someone just messaged me about this post ...I'm original poster - this was 10yrs ago!!!
I did get on top of the problem by regular flea combing, and also regularly cleaning the cat flap and around the flap/door mat and outside. Flea eggs fall off the cat and hatch in their surroundings - going through the flap must cause them to dislodge more . So not sure they were coming in from outside - more being picked up in that area. I also gave her the odd Johnson's 4 fleas tablet -they kill the fleas on the cat. I left it for 10 mins or so then flea combed. It definitely had an effect on the fleas - at first they became more lively, irritating to the cat - which is why I also flea combed to remove them but they were easier to catch with the comb. Also regular hoovering helped. Got to flea combing once a week and never seeing a flea.
Then she got them again...took me a while to work out what was going on. We had a stray cat that was coming in through the flap at night, bringing fleas in the house. Got a chip controlled flap and started daily flea combing again and was winning the battle.
But then she got a gut obstruction and needed a major operation. Obviously she wasn't keen on being 'handled' whilst healing so got Brevecto 3 month spot on from vet. Which worked. She was on that for a few years, worked no more fleas and got it as part of a health plan -which I kept going as she then needed dental work, then a lump removal and I got a discount on treatment.
I haven't used Brevecto since May - she had another lump removed from near her shoulder blades , then had a reaction to something in the area and I wanted her to heal first.
She's 16 now...so goes out less - less likely to pick them up and is also less tolerant to being 'messed' with. She doesn't really like having a spot on put on - but I can't see her wanting daily flea combing either. I do have to regularly brush her, she's not so good at grooming herself any more, and I do have a quick check that she doesn't have signs of fleas. If I do see anything I'll treat her straight away (I have one here ready).
I am sure that fleas became resistant to Frontline ....the one I used was supposed to stop fleas breeding - one of the reasons I was annoyed. I was originally told I wouldn't need to treat the environment and then I would when it had stopped working....as well as all the other nonsense.
I also think we need to think about the long term implications and about treating our cats/pets regularly, whether they have fleas or not, as we are likely to see more resistance developing.
You kill off all the susceptible fleas the only ones that are left are the ones that are resistant. And they have less competition. You change treatment, it kills off the ones resistant to the previous chemical but then you get ones resistant to the new treatment. And the risk is that they are still resistant to the previous treatment. (They might lose that as there is no genetic advantage to keeping it, if it isn't used any more -but they might not).
We could end up with fleas that are resistant to multiple treatments and with no effective treatment for real infestations. Natural selection and a short life cycle. The same process as is happening with antibiotic resistance...
And it is in the financial interest of the manufacturers and the vets to keep us treating monthly - a real money spinner for them.

[pinlot5]

I've used that Johnson product. Same ingredients as Capstar. An excellent immed. Flea kill solution but says only kills adult fleas. Leaving eggs to grow into adult. I used Frontline Plus for many yrs. then thought I noticed an immunity/resistance. Changed to Comfortis WITH FOOD.Works a dream.