Worm/flea treatment different at vet's?

[ILikePaperHats]

Hi I've just got 2 kittens, never owned cats before, and was wondering is it better to get the worm/flea treatment at the vet's or would it be ok to get it from Pets At Home for example, as I expect it would be a lot cheaper. Is there much difference between the treatment at the vet's and that at a pet shop? I was surprised that the vet didn't do it themselves but just gave me the stuff to treat them myself at home!

I get vet strength stuff. Some is prescription only and I prefer to use that as some over the counter stuff isn't effective. Yes you need to do it yourself as you're supposed to flea treat monthly and then worm every 3 months (depending on age of cat as kittens may need worming more often when they are very young)

When you sign them up at a vet it might be worth asking if they have a monthly payment scheme, ours covers flea and worm treatments, annual vaccinations and regular health checks.

Sorry, just seen you have signed up, still worth asking about the scheme, it makes it easier to budget.

If they will be allowed out I would stick to prescription strength.
Fleas are a pita but super fleas are on the increase!
(Idk what a super flea is but if you saw my vets face when he talks about them you'd be scared too )

Thanks everyone, I will stick to vet treatment for now then. I am paying monthly into a vet plan for the first year but was thinking I'd stop paying that after a year once the cats have had their neutering, injections and micro chip and then just pay for insurance.

Remember they get annual boosters and regular flea/worm treatment too so depending on cost it might be worthwhile keeping the monthly payment

I pay for healthy pet club too.
The flea and worm treatments are included as is a six month health check.
It offers a discount on vet treatment and spaying and crucially free claw trimming.
My old lady cat looks adorable but can eviscerate anything in a five meter radius of you try her claws or teeth.

Do you have to visit the vet monthly for the worm/flea treatment or can they give you a few months' worth at a time? I don't really want to keep traipsing to the vet's just for this!

You need to go there but you dont need to take the cats with you. Alternatively you could ask for a prescription and buy online but they will charge you for the prescription

Is it necessary for cats to have an annual booster after the first one or two ? Sorry for all the questions - new cat owner!

They get 2 as kittens and then annual boosters. Will they be outdoor cats?

You might need the boosters to be under the terms of the cat insurance you take out

Have you researched having kittens at all?

See what flea stuff the vet recommends. Costco sell the exact stuff we were buying off the vet for less than half the price. They have never mentioned prescription flea medicine, I didn't know people got prescriptions for flea medicine. I have been told that a lot of the flea medicine that you get from big chain pet shops is rubbish and not worth bothering with.

We buy the worming tablets from the vets, DH gives them to our cat.

Stronghold plus, advocate and others are prescription only. What do you buy from Costco @12345FishAlive ?

They will need annual boosters if they ever need to go into a cattery e.g. if you go away on holiday.

@dementedoixie it's Effipro 50mg. We'd been buying it off the vet for almost a year before we noticed that Costco sell it.

Sorry, stupid phone. That tag above was for @dementedpixie

Most over the counter products are fipronil based which has been around since 1987 and has a flea kill time of between 24 and 48 hours. Advantage is also an over the counter product been around since 1991 flea kill time is around 24 hours. All these products have to be reapplied every 4 weeks
Veterinary products like Bravecto ( launches for cats in 2016) have a flea kill time of around 4 hours and has to be reapplied every 4 months.