My friends just told me if I have more than one cat I don't need to flea treat them both monthly?

[EachandEveryone]

Is that right she also said I don't have to take my vets word as law. She has four Siamese and takes it in turns to put the drops on the neck she said especially as my big girl hardly goes out and my youngbone is only four months. Which renders the £15 a month I pay for each of them a waste as it covers the three in one Breadline drops and annual booster for the big one. She's had cats all her life. She never does them in Winter. Is she right? I won't tell me what she said about the £25 each pet plan insurance I'm paying.

If you only treat one then the untreated one will just reinfect the treated one. Does she have the same attitude to worming treatment?

As for insurance, it is completely irresponsible to have an uninsured pet unless you are able to pay thousands out at the drop of a hat.

The whole point of a vet is they are an expert - if they give you advice, listen to it. Does she also make a habit of ignoring her doctor?

She doesn't sound like a responsible cat owner to me.

She never goes to the doctors ever in fact she doesn't really go far appart from work but that's her life whatever works for you. Her cats are her life. They have a special catproof garden is that why she is so
Lax about it?? She said £25 each at their age is far too much she only pays £16 for her kitten.

While I don't agree with her about about fleaing, worming and insurance, I do agree the vet's word isn't law. Yes they are the expert but I now listen to their advice and make my own choice about my cat's treatment. Recently my vet has recommended treatment that I don't feel is in Harry's best interest so I have gone against their advice.

Im new to this its only just been a year she told me my insurance will keep going up so i shouldnt start at £25.

I wonder if its her breeder saying about the treatment she said something about the chemicals been too much for them every month.

I don't flea treat mine in the winter, and they've never had fleas. Fleas aren't active in winter months.

However I don't understand her logic at all about not flea treating all the cats? It would just mean that some of the cats would have fleas some of the time?

Did she explain her thinking?

I would say that there is a cheaper but just as good option to Petplan (and I used to work for them so I know my stuff).

Check out the price on Sainsbury's pet insurance. It's actually provided by PetPlan....same cover, same team, same management team, same claims team. Cheaper price.

I also agree that the vets word isn't law. In the same way that sometimes my GP might get things wrong sometimes, and I know my own body, vets can get things wrong sometimes.

In the same way I know my own body...I know my cats. Much better than the vet does. That being said they're the expert so most of the time I would take their advice.

However an example...I took two of my cats in the other day in a large cat basket. The vet said I should bring them in seperate baskets as travelling together will stress them out. Actually, they adore each other and are much more stressed when seperate and both cry for the whole journey...when they're together they will curl up and be calmer.

Insurance does seem very expensive - until one of them comes home after a coming together with a car or a fight, and you have massive vets bills. Or one develops a long term condition that needs drugs for life at about £100 per month.

Someone I know didn't have lifetime cover on her cats, she now pays more every month for the regular drugs for one of hers than it would cost her to have had both insured with lifetime cover & a high annual cover.

I pay £23 a month with Petplan for Harry and I'm so glad I do. His vets fees are nearly £4K over the last 18 months! We've got a high excess because of his age but it's still better than paying the full amount! The payments have only gone up a couple of pounds a year as well.

DM had her last dog insured with Sainsburys and, while we couldn't fault them paying out, she had to cancel when the premiums went up to nearly £100 a month. That put me off going with them to be honest.

Mine are both less than one though so £25 each will it go up every year for them as well?

What about the £15 a month i pay for their three in one monthly treatment does that sound an ok price? So for two kittens i psy £80 a month is everyone else paying about the same?

I'm a bit lax about flora treating and working but mine are indoor cats, ego only go into and enclosed garden. They get done probably every 2-3 months. £25 insurance for one cat does sound a bit steep though. I only pay £28 for both of mine.

Dread to think what my premiums will be next year as the pair of them have run up 10k in beets bills this year!

I have never had pet insurance. My cat lived to be 14 and never needed the vet until he died, but i think putting some money aside each money into a savings account is a good idea, then if they don't need it, you spend it when they die, rather than giving it to an insurance company! I actually think Frontline is really toxic stuff, although i did use it frequently because we moved into an urban area and suddenly my cat had fleas on a regular basis Never had them before that.

If I could access £10000 instantly I wouldn't insure my cats. But I'm not working at the moment.
Flea treat every month if you don't want the house infested.
Worm 3 monthly.

In terms of flea treatment - we don't bother to deflea in winter either - there is just no need to do it. Our vet sells packs of 6 broadline doses for about £50 (less than £9 a dose) so not really convinced your £15 monthly plan sounds good value.
Regarding insurance (and I know I'm in a minority here) I've never bothered with it. I've had 8 cats over the last 30 years (3 at present) and wouldn't have been better off with any one of them individually being insured, let alone considering the savings I've made across the eight.

My worry with not having insurance is what do you do if your pet sustains a serious injury? If you can afford to summon up thousands then fine. But I would be ashamed and devastated to have to consider pts for financial reasons.
Avoid frontline. Is broad line the same?

Wolfiefan Yes Broadline is the same as Frontline in terms of the flea treatment (and I agree - it is rubbish).

Broadline is excellent stuff- and treats worms as well as fleas, without having to wrestle a worming tablet down them.

it's not just the fleas- Omar, my big boy, gets terrible flea dermatitis and had a big bald patch on his back until I realised why. I felt terrible.

And this years, after having my cats for four years and no vet trips- Boo had an abcess, which developed into a life threatening lung infection. The two months later he was diagnosed with diabetes. all totally out of the blue. Without a) a friend in a million and b) insurance I would be desperate...

I am in an urban area another cat friend tells me it's a notorious part of town for giant fleas even though she lives a 15 minute walk away in the posher part they aren't as bad there and we are in a flat and next doors cats share the landing and let's just say they are out a lot. My girl goes out for up to an hour a day and the baby isn't old enough yet. I really thought Broadline was a good one but I'm really not experienced it's what the vet told me. It's cheaper online but it says I need a prescription.

Is he Omar from The Wire?

There does appear to be issues in some geographical areas with frontline/broadline flea treatment. Our vet changed their recommendation from Advocate to Broadline earlier this year Two months later we had the worst flea infestation we have ever had. Returned to vet swapped unused broadline for Advocate (and was also refunded for the used doses). Within two weeks back under control. (Also had to spray the entire house twice..)

I think broadline is the dame manufacturer and active ingredient as frontline. You want advocate or similar.

Would it upset them to change though? And then what do you do re worms

Is he Omar from The Wire?

That is who he was named after- but alas he has turned out more of a Bunk. Or a Prop Joe