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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Another Frontline problem...... it's not working!!

34 replies

harassedandherbug · 23/11/2011 14:44

I've always used frontline on previous cats (and dog!), but it's just not working on my cat. She's 1yr old and was treated two weeks ago, and is still flaming scratching! Plus I've found a couple of fleas on the sofa.......

So, do I try a different flea treatment and if so what do you recommend? Also, what can I use to treat the house bearing in mind I'm 36wks preg??

Thank you.

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 23/11/2011 15:31

To be honest I never treat the house just the cat,

Have you tried advocate? it worms them too. You have to get it at the vets.

I have used indorex for the house in the past but dont know if its safe when your pg, if it is asda sell it cheaper than the vets.

But once you have treated the cat any fleas that hatch and jump on the cat wont live very long if your cats flea treatment is up to date. Or maybe I'm just lazy.

SenSationsMad · 23/11/2011 21:56

Not spot on by Bob Martin, as per my thread " bad reaction to flea treatment"

Original poster
harassedandherbug · 24/11/2011 15:03

I saw that SenSations, hope your cat is ok now. I've actually heard of this before, it's quite a well known issue on the MSE site unfortunately. I don't know how they get away with it!

OP posts:
missmakesstuff · 26/11/2011 09:22

See my thread Op, I feel your pain! I might ring frontline and hassle them for every bite I have, except that it would take till the end of time, I have so many..

I think all the sprays etc are safe enough, vets usually carry them, we got our acclaim from them. I t didn't smell overly bad - maybe get someone else to do the spraying and go shopping out for a few hours after? We aired the house an hour or two after, no smell or anything.

Our vet has just said we can use Advocate on top of using the Frontline a week ago, as it hasn't worked. Lots of people say this is good.

Caught11 · 26/11/2011 21:46

I used to use frontline on our cat,during a vets visit I mentioned that I had noticed some dirty bits in her fur, the vet said yes the fronline doesnt work, the dirty bits were flea eggs and got a pescription for Advocate, havent had any problems since then 2 years plus.

Dee03 · 26/11/2011 22:54

I've always used frontline on my cats and dogs but it's not working lately and vet advised to change to advocate but it's very expensive....

MrsvWoolf · 27/11/2011 16:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Southsearocks · 29/11/2011 16:31

Ah, in exactly that situation right now! Tried Frontline twice in two weeks and then after getting bitten more times than I care to mention I took Catty to the vet. Sure enough he was infested and so is our house. The vet put Stronghold on him and I've just sprayed the house with Acclaim so fingers crossed it works this time! I had a flea on me earlier and saw one on the skirting board as I was spraying the stairs (so I sprayed it into oblivion!).

I have always used Frontline effectively but this time it didn't work. The vet said she has phoned Frontline about this problem several times and keeps being told that people aren't applying it in the right way. Hmmm...

Eurgh! How about that - I was just about to press send when one appeared on the screen of my iPad. I hate them with a passion! Angry

stinkyfluffycat · 29/11/2011 16:34

Stronghold - it actually works and kills fleas, unlike Frontline which in our case was just a waste of thirty quid. worries that the only advice threads she ever answers confidently are flea related

smokeandglitter · 13/12/2011 21:38

If it still doesnt go away after using Stronghold instead of Frontline then I'd do a mixture of treating the house (Wilkos does house spray, but I'd check whether it's ok if you're expecting) and also bath the cat in flea shampoo. We had a kitten in our house who had horrific amounts of fleas, we did all three things and it took over a month for them to go but finally they did. :) After shampooing/rinsing, we'd comb her through and flush said fleas/eggs down the loo. If you can't face the bathing, do try the combing and flushing still. They're just easier to see in wet fur.

crazycrackernanna · 17/12/2011 10:13

Maybe someone could give me a bit of advice,please Smile

My kitten is 10 weeks,and we have had her about 3 and a half weeks. She was wormed and flea-ed when we got her,and obviously hasn't been out yet (has had jabs),and I do not have another cat.

I know I have to reworm her monthly (I understand),but I have noticed she has started scratching behind her ears a lot more. I have not seen any fleas,and I looked in her fur...but am a novice so don't really know what I am looking for tbh.

Could she have fleas?If so...where the bloody hell from? Shock

We don't have any other animals....but it is an old house and I know we get the odd mouse (not seen but heard) Could that where the bloody fleas have come from?

Should I de-flea her again anyway? And if yes...are the Spot On thing in the supermarket ok for kittens?

Thankyou muchly for any help Smile

babysaurus · 26/12/2011 23:00

After several years, and lots of money, wasted spent on Frontline, we discovered Stronghold and have had no further problems. You can also get sillicone gel to spray where they sleep which encases and subsequently kills any eggs / fleas.

BertieBotts · 26/12/2011 23:06

My cat is flea allergic and the vet has recommended Advocate. I know that he's probably on commission to do this, but actually it really seems to keep them under control. We don't seem to get them in the house so he must have been reacting to even a small amount of fleas before. The thing with advocate is that it kills fleas at every stage of their life cycle, including eggs, which is probably what's happened with your kitten, crazy - if just one egg had survived then she could potentially be re-infected.

What you need to look for, part the fur and look for tiny black dots about the size of a printed full stop. Take them out with a finger (or comb them out) and place on damp kitchen paper. If they turn red, they are flea droppings (hardened digested blood, lovely!) if not they're probably just specks of actual dirt. Good places to look are behind or just below the ears, or often in the armpits for kittens.

LynetteScavo · 26/12/2011 23:24

I used Frontline recently because I was given a load by someone who's cat had died. Bloody useless stuff.

Have gone back to http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/cats/flea-and-tick/Advantage_80_for_Large_Cats_and_Pet_Rabbits.html Advantage (My vet charged me £16 Hmm Took a few days, but the cats and the DC (yes, they were getting bitten despite Frontline and flea collars) are now flea free. Well worth the money.

Dee03 · 26/12/2011 23:32

I'm having the same problem. Use frontline on my 4 cats and have done for years but lately it hasnt been working. Vet told me that animals do become ammune to it and to try Advocate... Trouble is it's bloody expensive and you have to use it monthly!! I have 2 dogs too!!!
First week in dec I frontlined all cats and used advocate on both dogs.....at a cost of £50 ( I got 1 frontline free)....
Yesterday I noticed a flea on one of the dogs .....bloody great Sad
Used my last advocate on him (brought a 3 pack) but really he's not due until around the 2nd jan.......and I really can't afford advocate on all of them...would cost me £70 a month !!
Sad

LoopyLoopsHootyHoots · 26/12/2011 23:34

FL stopped working for us too. Stronghold was done 2 weeks ago. Just found a flea. Has it not worked? How long can they live in the house? Do I need to spray the house, do you think?

sleepevader · 26/12/2011 23:39

Stronghold and indorex (2 cans from Internet I'd sane as 1 from vet)

Solved our problem and a friends major infestation ( 8mths she has had problems and now resolving itself)

MyLittleFluffball · 27/12/2011 02:29

Advocate, in my experience, is great and very effective.

crazycrackernanna, don't use Spot On, as someone further upthread mentioned it can cause severe and bad reactions in cats, let alone kittens.

BertieBotts · 27/12/2011 10:21

My vet said you should use Advocate bi-monthly, we just use monthly because if our cat gets fleas it leads to skin problems which can't be very nice for him, and are expensive to treat.

SantaIsAnAnagramOfSatan · 27/12/2011 10:30

i've just looked up advocate and whilst expensive it looks impressive.

BluddyMoFo · 27/12/2011 10:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BluddyMoFo · 27/12/2011 10:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ByTheSea · 27/12/2011 11:01

Advocate worked for us after we had been eaten alive and Frontline didn't work.

JenniferEight · 27/12/2011 11:01

We've found Frontline and fipronil don't work for a while now, so we went for Advocate and it knocked out the problem within a few days. Literally killed every sign of fleas in the house and on the cat.

I am so angry that people are still selling frontline and fipro-spot. Both are ineffective and frankly a complete waste of money.

JenniferEight · 27/12/2011 11:03

We didn't need to treat the house despite legions of flea eggs left behind every time she got up from a sleep.

They stopped within days of using advocate on her. Any remaining eggs that hatch in the house will leap onto the cat and be killed.

Remember fleas cannot survive on human blood, they may try once a cat leaves the house/dies, but it will only last a few weeks before they all just cark it.

Flea sprays for the house are usually unnecessary. And most are very toxic. They will sort an acute problem though.