Fleas - what's the current best treatment?

[TheSpottedZebra]

Two oldish cats, Frontline has been working for us for years but has now stopped working it seems. And we've been avoiding changing drugs as we know they're ok with the Front line.

But change we must! What's the current best recco - Advocate?

[TheSpottedZebra]

Polite, but slightly itchy bump.

[cozietoesie]

Have you actually got fleas in the house, now?

[cozietoesie]

PS - have you been worming them separately?

[TheSpottedZebra]

They have frontal for worms. I've actually never seen them have worms !

I don't think we have a flea infestation in the house - certainly I've never seen any stray ones, and we've not had any bites. We have ,out lu wooden floors, and have hoovered v v v v thoroughly in any case.

But the cats are itching and scratching, and one is doing do until he's raw. And when I comb them with a nit comb, I find fleas and can't seem to eradicate them with the front line, which has always done the job before.

[Mincepies76]

My vet has given me Endectrid for my kitty. He's 5 months old but I've been given 6 months worth so I assume it's not just a kitten thing!

[DorynownotFloundering]

Frontline is not effective anymore the fecking fleas are all resistant.

Def ask your vet for their latest recommendation. And get a different worm treatment too,

[RockinHippy]

We use the Program Jab for ours & it's fantastic, you will need to ask around though as not all vets do it they cottoned on that they sell a lot less flea treatments as it works so well

[titchy]

We use Advocate and we're flea free touch wood not cheap though...

[TheSpottedZebra]

The cats don't need to visit the vet tho do they? Can I just ring in? Won't they just try to flog me something £££?
They HATE the car and sulk for days when they go. And they're not due for months.

Is Frontline really not effective anymore?

[TheSpottedZebra]

I've never even heard of Program or Endectrid. I must talk flea infestation more often!

[Mincepies76]

I do healthy pet club via my vet which covers flea-ing and worming. I didn't need to take W to the vets, just needed to tell them his weight.

[RockinHippy]

Program is an injection done by a vet, it sort of inoculates against fleas, as in it sterilises any flea that feeds on your cats - so though they might pick up the odd flea now & again, they can't bread, so no eggs & no infestations ever again

When it first came out it was a once in a lifetime jab, our old cat had it & lived til 20 & it really worked. By the time she died & we took our new cars to be inoculated, the vets had changed it to a twice yearly jab, but we are now on 2.5 years & it's still working. Their last jab lasted over 3 years. It's not cheap(£45 last time) , but it saves a fortune in other flea treatments, hence why not many vets do it now

[cozietoesie]

Something like Indorex spray as well, to top up the hoovering, paying special attention to cracks and edges. (We have old wooden floorboards with some gaps in between and a sharp knife run into any cracks followed by a Hoover up is really useful - in fact it's a good doubler for moth eggs if you have any moth problem because they like to lay there also.) Basically, anywhere where feet are less likely to go.

[Frecklesfrecklesfreckles4]

Oral flea treatments such as Comfortis tablets, given monthly, are a lot more effective against fleas, the speed of kill is much faster than any of the topical treatments and as dead fleas don't lay eggs ,if used regularly ,it eliminates the need for a separate household treatment.
Program sterilises any flea that feeds on the treated animal, but the flea doesn't die(well it will eventually of old age!) so if the animal is allergic to flea saliva it can still get a dermatitis from being repeatedly bitten and even though it certainly helps to control infestations, there may be live fleas about that can still bite humans/ trigger allergic reactions in other household pets. It lost popularity partly for this reason and partly because it is actually more expensive than a lot of the other more effective treatments available and a lot of people don't want an extra trip to the vets twice yearly for an injection.

[cozietoesie]

Strewth, Freckles. Even my old boy's vet wouldn't attempt to give him a pill these days. (He would take one look at her face and be up the back of her tunic!) We have to use spot-ons to retain sanity.

[Frecklesfrecklesfreckles4]

Tablets crushed and mixed with food, or use pill popper ,or failing that see if your local practice has free nurse clinics where they'll tablet the cat for you?
Though agree completely some cats are just un-tablet-able!!!(If you value your fingers!)
Hence it's not a one size fits all , you can know what's ideal but factoring in cat's temperament, risk of infestation, if infested already, if cat/other pet in household has allergic dermatitis..... there's a range of treatment to chose from, whether topical or systemic.
The prescription treatments generally tend to be more effective than those you can buy over the counter.

[SunsetDream]

I'm a bit confused about Indorex - it contains a chemical that is poisonous to cats (from what I've read) so I'm a bit reluctant to use it... I hope I'm wrong!

[juju1000]

As I understand it from fellow cat owners, forums and the cat rescue place where I got my kitty, Frontline does not work anymore, or at least in certain areas cats have become immune. It seems that Advocate is widely agreed to be the best product for getting rid of fleas, and it's a product that you can't get over the counter, you must make an appointment at the vets.

Last year I used Endectrid, and was assured by the vet that it's exactly the same as Advocate, but I found live fleas on my cat three days later. Just tried a new vet, but am not impressed after my first visit there yesterday. On the phone, they told me they have Advocate, but when I got there, they said they only sell Endectrid and insisted that it is the same product, just different branding. I have been trying to find out online if it is indeed the same product, as claimed, but it is difficult to find anything conclusive.

The vet explained that their surgery is owned by CVS and therefore will not sell any other product than Endectrid. I looked up CVS and it seems CVS are buying up local vet surgeries at an alarming rate, basically monopolising local vets surgeries, then implementing schemes that tie people in and squeeze money out of them unnecessarily. Aside from the Endectrid issue, I felt that this vets was unfriendly, barely looked properly at my cat, instantly recommended £300 of dental treatment (vet began the sentence before the teeth were examined, it was badly concealed that he was going to recommend this no matter what he saw). I didn't get time to ask any questions, and I had to prompt the receptionist and the vet to look at the pet passport with all the records in - they would not have taken note of weight, vaccinations etc if I hadn't brought it up. The whole thing doesn't seem right. They push very hard to get you to join a monthly payment scheme, but it isn't insurance. If you show no interest in their scheme, they become dismissive, like they can't be bothered with you. The whole thing feels like a scam, or at best, just very naked profiteering - with profit coming way before care.

I am going to try to find an independent vet - if there are any left...

Has anyone else had experience of CVS vets, or independent vets vs these ones owned by big companies?

And my main query is - is it worth joining these pet health club schemes, or are they a rip off?

[StopLaughingDrRoss]

My boy is on the Healthy pet scheme and I personally think it is wonderful and we'll worth the monthly £10 it costs me..

Flea and worming treatment sorted, annual boosters thrown in and twice yearly check ups.. great!

I've been using Endectrid for a while (previously on Advocate) and it works well for me and my boy does go out a lot. I think it is the same, just repackaged as everything in the box is the same, including the reminder stickers for your calendar Sounds like you may have been unlucky or perhaps it's not effective and I've just been lucky!

Oh - and I think my vet is independent but just signed up to the Healthy Pet Scheme.. I feel very lucky to be registered there as it's award winning as a cat-friendly surgery and all the vets I have seen have given my boy excellent care and have a genuine love of animals.. good luck in finding similar as I think it's really important to develop a rapport with whoever looks after that side of your pet and trust their recommendations.

[StopLaughingDrRoss]

You can find out more about the scheme here so you can get a good measure of it:

www.thehealthypetclub.co.uk/