Is it safe for cats to try using Advantage a week after using Frontline?

Question

We bathed our cats twice with flea killing shampoo...We moved out and bombed the house...we used Bio spot (a cheaper version of Frontline)...then when that didnt work, we dished out over $100 bucks on Fronline...That STILL didnt work! Is it worth trying Advantage? And is it safe after just using Frontline?

Answer 1

i would be hesitant to try advantage after treating with the other medication. call a vet to see if you can get a straight answer. i would be afraid to overmedicate my pet and cause irritation or sickness. is there a phone number for advantage that you can call and get customer service? try it.

Answer 2

Stop, already, before you poison your cats.

Don't use any flea collar, dip, shampoo, powder, spray or whatever that you buy over the counter at a pet, grocery, or feed store. They either don't work or they contain chemicals that are toxic to cats.

Frontline and Advantage are licensed for sale by vets only. If you bought them someplace else, especially online, you probably got counterfeit from China or India. The packaging looks exactly like the real thing, but analysis of what's inside showed it was everything from plain water to sheep dip.

Many people feel Advantage is a little better than Frontline. It does kill fleas faster, sometimes within half an hour.

Wait at least three weeks after the most recent application of flea stuff, then apply Advantage. Get it from a vet and follow directions exactly. Don't decide that if a little is good, a lot is better.

Answer 3

Advantage and Frontline only affect the nervous system of fleas. They are harmless to the cat or dog nervous system. They do not get absorbed into the bloodstream. It is safe to apply the Advantage, though I suspect you just haven't given the Frontline enough time to do it's job. It will not repel the newly hatching fleas that are still in the environment, and there could be tens of thousands of them. It can take up to 24 hours to kill adult fleas, but they will die. Treat your carpets with borax powder or an insect growth spray that kills eggs, use the Frontline or Advantage every 2 weeks for a few doses to keep application heavy, and be patient. IF you are treating all the pets in the household, and they aren't going outside to pick up more fleas, you will get rid of them in a couple of months. Be patient. Biospot is very toxic to cats--so it Hartz. Don't use them, they are NOT the same as Advantage or Frontline. Advantix for dogs is not an "off brand", but rather it is Advantage with a tick insecticide added, and is NOT safe for cats. Not all fleas carry tapeworms, so you don't have to automatically deworm. Watch the stools for segments being passed.

Answer 4

You need to wait at least one month before dosing your kitty again. I'm sure you cut down on the fleas but you need to find the source.

Remove ALL bedding from the house - animal beds and people beds

Wash and dry all bedding

Spray people beds with alchohol - 1tbls alchohol to 6oz water

spray all pet areas with alchohol mix (fleas hate this)

use flea killer carpet cleaner, let sit on carpet for 2 hours then vaccume up

bomb the house montly and use frontline ONLY montly

Frontline and Advantage are good, the off brands and cheap stuff don't do much. Advantix is an off brand and I find it doesn't work. I lost a dog using over the counter cheap stuff.
Advantage works great, Frontline works good

I also suggest you worm you kitty - if fleas are that bad, so are the worms. Have your cat examined by your vet and ask the vet for any further ideas.

Answer 5

Bio Spot is NOT a cheaper version of Frontline. Bio Spot contains permethrin, which is just the same stuff they put in flea shampoo.

House bombs are not effective when simply used as labeled. (The insecticide in them is not always terribly effective against fleas either!) You are MUCH better off thorougly vacuuming - all rugs, all crevices, under all furniture, all fabric furniture, under all furniture cushions, and washing all bedding, and then using a handheld house spray such as Vet Kem House Treatment to lightly spray directly on carpets and horizontal fabric surfaces (including under furniture! but not your bed), and along crevices. If I were you I would not treat at all with additional insecticide now, though, as your house is still full of the bomb chemical. The problem is the hatching pupae.

The fleas you have may be resistant to Frontline (rare especially if you haven't been using it), or there just may be so many pupated fleas (pupae are untouchable by any insecticide!) in your home hatching out, that they overwhelm it. If your cats are very healthy I think they will probably be fine if you use Advantage on them now, but realize that you do still need to vacuum (removes much of the larvae, eggs, and pupae in your home that are reinfesting your cats) and possibly spray areas where a bomb does not go (bombs are just spray cans -- they don't really penetrate underneath anything or into crevices where fleas hide).

Ideally you should check with your vet, who'll be the one dealing with any adverse events, but I really don't think there would be any. Advantage is really pretty darn safe stuff. But why should you believe me? I'm not a vet.

Good luck!

Answer 6

NO... it isn't safe and I am surprised that your pets haven't had any seizures yet. Would it help you to explain the cycle of a flea? Ok...they hatch from a cocoon...mature into a adult at one week...lay eggs every hour of their life for about a year to two. The eggs hatch into a larva and eat until about three weeks and wrap up into a cocoon stage...cycle repeats! The flea can not be killed in the cocoon stage unless you want to burn down you home. NO sprays, bombs, powders, NOTHING can kill them if they are not hatched from the cocoon. What makes them hatch? Vibration, heat, and all sorts of things. A few tips?? Don't waste so much money on all that stuff...The only thing I found effective was to treat my pets with frontlinePlus, use a flea comb everyday for two months...then they start dying down (flea comb your pet and dip it into a hot cup of water to get the fleas off and flush it down the tolit when you are done each time)...and Vacuum everyday...using a new vacuum bag...once you are done remove it and place it into a plastic shopping bag and tie it up and remove it from the house. I had moved into a house infested with fleas (I rent) and my nine cats and me went through hell! I tried all of that stuff and some of my cats started having seizures because I was poisoning us with pesticdes...I got my information from the vets on the cycle of a fleas life. I started the frontlineplus and just the flea comb with nothing else(only vacuuming)...In 3months they were greatly reduced and in 6 months gone! But be careful because others can bring you fleas on their clothes and A warning about frontlinePlus...For about two weeks it paralizes the fleas that bite and they die from the lack of food...but the next two weeks it only inhibits the eggs from hatching and don't affect the flea until it is freshly applied. Baths with flea killing products only puts more pesticieds into your pets blood stream and dryes out their skin...It really don't affect the fleas. Nor do flea collars...Sorry about the spelling because spell check won't work.....Fleas are a parisite and easy to get, but hell to get rid of! Good luck. PS: a good cheaper online sorce to buy your flea meds at a cheaper rate than what the vets charge or petco...petshed.com...same meds cheaper cost...I use it!

Answer 7

You're going to be poisoning your cats with all that flea stuff!!!!

Those are pesticides and you've already given at least three exposures to your cats. Consult a vet as to what to do next, or you'll find you're going to be causing permanent liver and kidney damage to your pets with all this.

The vet should know which is the best way to go at this point. Do a phone consultation with them.

Answer 8

no ..if you have used frontline you must wait a good four weeks before using advantage on your cat..

Answer 9

To be safe you should ask your vet - not unqualified strangers on the internet.