Why do they sell this shit flea treatment?

[LanguidLobster]

I genuinely don't get it, cat was elderly and died this week (nodules, anaemia etc) but the anaemia was probably caused by me as I got frontline and indorex for the fleas.

I didn't realise frontline was rubbish. Why are they allowed to sell it?

What makes you say Frontline causes cancer ? Is it the one you can only get from the vets, and also Indorex is for the home only and not for direct spraying of the cat.

It didn’t use to be rubbish. Anyway, for the last 10 years I have bought flea treatment from my vet.

Sorry about your cat.

I agree that useless flea treatments shouldn't be permitted to be on sale in the EU.

It's not your fault.

I didn't know this could happen either

It isn't useless. It is just an older product and therefore some fleas have developed resistance to the active ingredient. If you still have flea problems, then ask for an alternative. But that isn't needed for all cases.

Why do you think it was the frontline that caused anaemia? A heavy flea burden can do that. Plus, in an older cat there are many other causes, such as advanced kidney failure.

No I'm sorry, it was 'spot on'

They shouldn't sell it if it doesn't work. Vets said today that it didn't. I'm tormented now that she could be alive

What makes you say Frontline causes cancer ?

She didn’t?

Presumably she means the frontline was ineffective, so her elderly cat had a pretty severe flea infestation which resulted in anaemia.

Did you get it from the vet? A good vet should use a product which is effective in the local area. Fleas do eventually become resistant. My vet knows which ones don’t work on the local flea population- which also means they change it every so often.

Frontline isn’t necessarily crap, it may just be your fleas were resistant.

Sorry really I meant spot-on. Don't know anything about frontline and sorry to inadvertently cast a slur on them! There aren't any other cats in our street so I got a bit puzzled that she'd picked up some fleas and grabbed something from pet store on the way home.

I didn't realise this would escalate into anaemia. Cannot understand why it's sold if it's useless

indorex works amazingly but if you used spot on then the fleas would still be on your cat even if you'd used the indorex in the house.
frontline doesn't seem to work anymore anyway. we use advantage and i only found d out about advantage thanks to reading something on mumsnet.
I'm sorry about your cat

It's the cheap ones they sell in the supermarket which don't work at all (Bob Martins).

Cats can pick up fleas from other animals ( birds, hedgehogs etc) not just other cats, or simply from the environment.Flea eggs sit around dormant until a suitable host wanders past.
A few fleas wouldn't cause anaemia in a healthy adult cat, they'd need to be absolutely crawling in them for weeks.
Your cat maybe had some other, underlying health problem, or possibly even unheated something toxic while out and about.
Please don't blame yourself.
I think Bob Martin's is the one that has been linked to deaths. The only problem with spot on that I have heard of is fleas becoming resistant, which happens with most insecticides eventually.

Best flea treatment is from your vet. You should also treat your house, as fleas love to live in your carpets, cat bedding etc. Cats get reinfected with fleas as soon as new eggs hatch. It can take a while to completely get rid of them.

Cats pick up fleas, from other and other wildlife, especially squirrels and hedgehogs. At this time of year, they are everywhere.

"Spot-on" is just a term meaning a product that is dripped onto the back of the neck. Many different drugs/brands can be classed as a "spot-on". Generally, you get what you pay for - buy a decent spot-on product from your vet, and it will control fleas. Buy a cheap product from the supermarket and it probably won't work.

I got new kittens almost exactly a year ago. They had fleas, which I treated with Bob Martins from the supermarket. I keep reading here that it doesn't work, but a year later (and to my astonishment, as they are both hunter killers) they both remain flea-free.

Honestly, I know you are grieving, and looking for something to blame, but your cat would have had to have a massive flea burden to cause anaemia. Your house would be alive with them. It is far more likely that the anaemia was completely unrelated and was due to a separate age related condition. And not your fault, in any way, shape or form.

That's amazing Hirples - maybe it just depend on how mega resistant (or not) the local flea population is. Our cats had fleas not long after they'd arrived with us and Bob Martin's did nada. With the more expensive treatments they've been fine.

I’m not going to talk about bob martins specifically as they have better lawyers than me :)

But generically, buying otc you are taking a chance. A chance on whether the dose is strong enough to be effective, a chance that you manage to get the right ingredient fo effectiveness. There is also a chance that you may pick up something harmful- until fairly recently some pet store preparations contained permethrin, which can cause death in cats.

Occasionally you may be lucky, but chances are you will waste your money.

Yeah, NewModel, as I said I am astonished they're still flea-free, but we live rurally (they came from a nearby town) and the local cat population is low (a neighbour has one, and a couple of ferals visit from time to time) so that may be the explanation. Encounters with the other cats are mainly hissing and growling from a distance, rather than up close and personal. Previous outdoor cat, not much of a hunter, only picked up fleas once in the decade she was with us, but I thought the kittens would be at more risk because of their murderous habits. Glad they're clear so far!

I'm probably grieving and casting around for something to blame.

I do feel I was rubbish though and the OTC treatment (bob martin) didn't help. And yes I am to blame for that part as I didn't cotton on quickly enough.

I'd like anyone else to go straight to the vets and not experience this if they have this happen. I was an idiot. Not sure about the poisoning or nodules but I didn't react quickly enough about the fleas.

I'm sure you bought the flea treatment in good faith, LanguidLobster. So sorry for your loss. Our beautiful girl died three months ago and we still think of her all the time.

Sorry Model. I'll calm down shortly, it's only been 2 days and still feels a bit raw

Frontline worked great for us until suddenly last August. After yrs of reading MN threads about how Frontline (fipronil) was useless. I read that the active ingredient in Bob Martin also is fipronil, so would work in same places.

I'm sure fipronil still works in other places, where the fleas don't yet have resistance. So expensive & inconvenient we only can have prescription control drops, now.

LanguidLobster you don't have to apologise. You're understandably in shock.