Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   What does Frontline flea medicine smell like? Does it have the same strong chemical smell as Advantage?

   I Advantaged my little ones a month ago, and Lucy was fine with it, but Augie was SO bothered by the smell. He sulked and looked miserable for about 8 hours.

   I hate it, but my kittens are going to have to have flea medicine living in this neighborhood or we'll be infested. They're due for another treatment tomorrow and I just found a flea on Augie.

   The reason I'm asking is that I don't want to waste the doses of Advantage I already have if Frontline's gonna smell just as bad to Augie.

   Also, has anyone tried or does anyone have any information about the brewer's yeast remedy (put 1 tsp brewer's yeast in the cat's food per day to prevent fleas)? If it's safe and it works it might be a good option for me (and it'd be a lot cheaper than Frontline), but I'm a little wary of folk remedies.

   Thank You!

   Posted 1 year ago by Starfish #

2. 

   Hi, Starfish, I can't remember if Frontline smells the same as Advantage or not, I'm afraid. They're probably much of a muchness.

   Most cats enjoy brewers' yeast (unsalted) and it makes their coats shiny but I don't think it would do anything for their fleas...

   Daily combing is usually a good way to help with the flea problem and short-haired cats usually enjoy that too.

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

3. 

   Sorry I can't help you with the Frontline/Advantage question starfish. I've only used Advantage and Revolution on Shadz. Haven't heard about the brewer's yeast remedy before but I did take brewer's yeast tablets to help with breastfeeding when I had the girls. I wonder if it made my hair glossy.

   Posted 1 year ago by Moonshadow_NZ #

4. 

   Oh, I bet it did, MS :)

   Did it help with the fleas as well? ;-)

   Actually, good point, MS, I think Revolution is supposed to be the best of the flea systems, isn't it?

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

5. 

   We use Revolution and the cats tolerate it much better than when we used Frontline. They hated Frontline and it made their fur greasy for a few days. Revolution works really well, doesn't mess up their furr, and no fleas or ticks since we started using it a couple years ago.

   Posted 1 year ago by DancingCatHill #

6. 

   Brewer's yeast won't hurt your babies (check with their vet just to be sure it won't interact with any other meds they take). It might help because it makes them smell unpleasant to the fleas. You shouldn't be able to smell a difference but the fleas will. Of course, a hungry flea is going to bit anyway if they can't find a better smelling 'restaurant', but given the choice of a bad smelling meal vs a good smelling meal, they will hop on some other cat.

   Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

7. 

   I have always used Frontline and had no problem. My biggest concern has always been the dogs. They bring in everything! Sherlock brought home a tick a few weeks ago. Because he is on Frontline it died, but still--ick! Mom uses Revolution and swears by it too. She adopted a boxer with spotted yellow fever--the stuff you get from ticks. She nursed Babette to health and always used Revolution. Advantage I can't use with Lissy--she had a bad reaction to it. Not that I have helped much, but that is my experience.

   Posted 1 year ago by SoxsMom #

8. 

   Brewers yeast is an old fashioned remedy that has been around forever. You need to dust the animal with it. My mother swore that it helped her flea-bitten dog. If you can get the animal to eat, so much the better. It is very healthy, supposedly, but it is an instant emetic to me and most people, I hear tell. I found these online:

   1. You can also dissolve 1/4 cup brewer's yeast into 1 quart of water. Place in spray bottle and spray pet, combing into fur as you do.

   2. The recommended daily dosage is 1 tsp. for an average size cat to 1 tbsp. for a large dog.

   Like I said, this can't hurt, since the stuff is good for one and all.

   Posted 1 year ago by Lily #

9. 

   I used Advantage several years ago on my two little rascals.

   It worked.

   The boys had feline versions of Mohawks for about 8 hours and they were in a snit for the same length of time. Took a few more doses and they were completely flea-free. Each dosage resulted in bad catitude on the part of both lads.

   Not sure if their snit was due to the smell or the interesting coiffure.

   Knowing my two, approaching them with a spray bottle of water and ANYTHING would be a lot less fun than Advantage.

   I will cheerfully risk a temporary buzz-kill on their part of major re-stitching of self on my part.

   Posted 1 year ago by Emma #

10. 

    Thanks everyone!

    I think maybe I'll try the brewer's yeast for a few days and see A) if I can get the little ones to eat it and B) if it keeps the fleas off.

    I love brewer's yeast, by the way, I put it on rice & lentils or a potato with a little butter & some tamari. Yum.

    If the brewer's yeast isn't awesome I'm thinking I'll try to hunt down some revolution next. I haven't seen it in the pet stores around here, but also, I haven't really looked.

    Posted 1 year ago by Starfish #

11. 

    Try the internet, SF. Sometimes the prices are way cheaper than at the vet's.

    Posted 1 year ago by Emma #

12. 

    It you do get them to eat the yeast, it will take more than a few days to take effect. It needs to build up in their system to be effective. Spraying or combing it in would take effect more quickly.

    Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

13. 

    Item on this evening's news: federal EPA regulators are looking into the sharp increase in number of pets being made seriously ill or dying from the use of such topical flea treatments as Frontline and Revolution. Under consideration is forcing manufacturers to remove certain ingredients and/or reduce the strength. Severe neurological complications have become very frequent.
    CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/17/health/main6309079.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesPrimary

    Posted 1 year ago by Marnet #

14. 

    I saw that report tonight! My bet would be that a lot of the deaths come from incorrect dosing, but it's still scary. It also made me wonder if it was more than the smell that was bothering Augie. Maybe the Advantage actually made him feel sick. My poor little guy!

    It's too bad, because Advantage really does work well on fleas. I've used it on cats in the past and had no problems with it.

    I'm moving in about 9 months (time to get out of the city) and I've got my fingers crossed that the neighborhood I find a place in has lots of eucalyptus trees. Where my parents live there are groves of them, and my parents have never found a flea on any of their cats. Something about eucalyptus makes the dirt inhabitable for fleas. I was told why at one point, but can't remember now.

    Posted 1 year ago by Starfish #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.