£106 to flea and worming two cats!

[Sportacus17]

Hi all, I have been to the vets today with one of my cats and bought the long acting (three months) dual flea and warmer spot on for both of my cats. It came to £106! I’ve just told my dad about this and he is saying he just buys frontline on Amazon… Cost about £5 a month per cat.

I was under the impression that frontline didn’t really work anymore? Or is that just something that vets say?

What do others use? If I have to pay I will pay, I really do not want fleas in the house… I did look into buying Felpreva online but the vets would charge me for the prescription, per cat…. So it doesn’t end up any cheaper!

obligatory furball pics

We use frontline and advocate because they treat different problems.

I use nexgard combo which is about £10 per dose

Nexgard here too, for both flea and worming. It’s £15 a month but that is a health plan with the vets that also includes their yearly vaccs and health checks.

Frontline didn’t work in our house! Total flea infestation! That was a few years ago now and I hadn’t heard frontline was starting not to work then.

Assuming you don’t have other problems with your vet, they won’t be deliberately trying to fleece you. Often drugs are for sale online for far cheaper than they can get them in wholesale. Some of that is because the online sellers can bulkbuy and get a big discount from wholesalers. You need to be careful though - some of it will be because the products don’t work well (frontline) or because they are not storing them or transporting them in line with medical guidelines. A friend’s pet needed a very expensive drug. Found it for sale much cheaper online. Their vet said we’ll buy it at that price ourselves as it’s much cheaper than our wholesaler. But when the practice looked into it, the transport (for a drug that needs to be stored below 5C) was through the post with an ice pack in a Jiffy bag. Whereas the vet’s wholesalers transport on a refrigerated lorry. The vets would not be legally able to buy and sell as the product cannot be guaranteed to work under those conditions.

Frontline doesn’t work. I stopped using it years ago and I certainly wouldn’t be buying what is effectively medication off Amazon. There are plenty of other options, but please stick with going via the vet!

Photos just loaded. They’re gorgeous 🐾

What I have done in the past is get a prescription from the vet for spot on treatment (I think the last one was Advantage), then use that prescription to buy it from online suppliers like pet drugs online at a much lower cost.

However, I have stopped treating the cats for fleas on a precautionary basis. Not only is it expensive, it turns out it's incredibly bad for the environment. You wouldn't think this powerful insecticide would get into the water supply from cats in the same way as it does from dogs, but apparently it can even from washing bedding that they've been lying on. A recent study looked at blue tits that had lined their nests with cat fur containing massive levels of insecticide, and all their chicks were dying 😢

So nowadays I just treat mine when there are visible signs of fleas.

That looks quite good actually. Do you need a prescription from your vet? Mine charges £30 per cat (no idea how long it can be used for).

I also use Nexguard combo, plus indorex spray for the house every six months or so.

I think you do but comes as a 3 pack so maybe could get a prescription for 1 cat? The website I clicked on does repeat orders so maybe once you have the prescription you don’t need it again?

I read that too and our vet is very much in the camp that flea treatment is over prescribed and they are becoming resistant. We use stronghold and I am reluctant to give it up as we live in an area with a lot of cats, foxes and squirrels and our cat is outside a lot. Not sure if she hunts (she only brings in worms) but I don't want to take the risk. She did once come in with a half dead flea on her back paw and I freaked out but it seemed to be a hitch-hiker and it was quickly dispatched and I never found any others.

I can't remember my parents ever treating our old family cat back in the 80s and I don't remember ever having a flea problem in the house.

Even paying for a printed prescription, it works out much cheaper for me to buy flea treatment online. Try pricing it up.

We don’t flea treat - my oldest is 9 and we’ve never had a single flea.

The research nowadays is showing that treating “just in case” is causing more issues than it’s solving. I know that route isn’t for everyone but it’s saved us thousands (we have three cats and a dog).

Yes I paid the same for my two small dogs . Shocking price and I think it’s safe to assume most won’t now flea and worm purchase from a vet .

My dogs treatment was rising in price so I’ve joined the vets pet plan. Much cheaper, vaccinations and check ups included.

Frontline doesn't work IME , we do an annual plan with the vet it cost about £100 for a year's worth of deflea and deworm, he has bravecto and I can't remember the name of the dewormer. We did use to pay for a prescription and buy from animed but with the annual price the difference was negligible because the first of just prescriptions had gone up

I pay £17.50 pcm for each cat and Felpreva and vaccinations are included.

Mine hunt, vigorously and I am as concerned about the worms and other parasites as the fleas. They are devil's to medicate in any way and three monthly is helpful. Felpreva seems better tolerated than advocate which had our old boy run a mile as soon as the lid came off.

When the hunting slows down as they get older, I think the drops can be knocked off a bit.

It depends on circumstances. We have a large garden visited by hedgehogs and foxes. There are often fleas about. If we were urban and their territory was perfectly landscaped "handkerchiefs" I'd worry less.

We use Bravecto which lasts three months and a separate worming tablet. It's costs us just over £50 every three months.

I never really flea/worm mine. If their coat condition is looking a little rough I give a dose from the vets but that’s pretty much once every 2-3 yrs.

They are absolutely thriving and I’ve never seen a flea. These vet pharmacies companies are laughing all the way to the bank.

Beautiful cats OP.

Had real problems last year with the dogs and fleas, frontline really didn’t do anything, the flea treatment from the vets fixed the problem in less than a week, we then used it for another three months and have kept the last prescription fo4 future use should it reoccur, but yes it is very expensive

I’ve also stopped routinely treating for fleas. I don’t like the idea of the pesticides going into the environment from my cats, and I also work on the principle that I don’t routinely treat the DC for head lice. So far I’ve seen no fleas and it’s been months since I used treatment. I do still treat for worms as I worry about them ingesting them from rodent.

Yep. Should be between £10 and £16 per cat. Depends on the size/weight of the cat. Find another vet, you've been ripped off.

Credelio tablets, monthly, was the only thing that worked for mine last year. I have them ready for the first sign of fleas this year. They are around £8 each. (ETA 4 to 7kg weight bracket)

I never use prevention only treatment, frontline is a more effective as a prevention than a treatment.

We do too, costs £15 per month as part of a vet plan so injections and money off and treatment included in that.