…… Cat flea meds question

Limner

Deceased
A little skinny tick laden kitten showed up at our place early this spring. Dude begged to adopt him and so now we have a minky brown mostly grown spoiled rotten cat. Problem is, he has fleas. And last month's Advantage treatment didn't touch the varmits. Going on Amazon, all the side effects of all flea meds are scary as all get out. I'm asking for advice. If anything happens to this little hoodlum, the Dude would be crushed!!!
 
Last edited:

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
A little skinny tick laden kitten showed up at our place early this spring. Dude begged to adopt him and so now we have a minky brown mostly grown spoiled rotten cat. Problem is, he Haas fleas. And last month's Advantage treatment didn't touch the varmits. Going on Amazon, all the side effects of all flea meds are scary as all get out. I'm asking for advice. If anything happens to this little hoodlum, the Dude would be crushed!!!

I got mine from my vet.
 

Limner

Deceased

All-in

Contributing Member
I used Bravecto Plus pour on and did not see one flea or tick on the outside or inside cats this summer. Pricey, but I'm a believer. A dose lasts 3 months. Used the Bravecto chews on all our dogs as well and no fleas or ticks on them either. I get it at Budgetpetcare.com. Cheapest place I've found. In addition, if you sign up for an account they give you 10% of order total in credit that can be used on your next purchase up to 20% of order cost. They also have a 10% coupon code, so once you build up some credits you can save 30% on top of the low prices. Shipping takes several weeks, so I believe products ship from overseas.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
Credelio that is what I got from vet. Tiny pill. Put in some soft food crushed. $18.00
Gave to 8 week old kitten. Works in 30 mins. No side effects I saw. You can do a dawn dish soap bath also while it's working.
Months later still working perfect
 

Roger Thornhill

Some irascible old curmudgeon
I never had good luck with the topical meds like Advantage. The cats hated it, and one had a bad reaction, vomiting and wheezing for several hours.

I use nitenpyram (one brand name is Capstar). The generic capsules are available many places; Amazon and eBay have many vendors. I don't bother trying to give the cat a capsule. Instead, I pull one capsule apart, sprinkle the powdered contents on the cat's wet food, and mix in a little. It has no flavor, and cats wolf it right down.

The only weird side effect is intense scratching for several minutes after the cat ingests it. Nitenpyram is a neurotoxin for insects (only), and they go crazy biting the host until they die a few minutes later.

It's good stuff, and it can be given quite often if the flea infestation isn't eliminated right away. It just plain works.
 

Tex88

Veteran Member
Wife says take kitten to the vet to get it looked at and the vet can prescribe proper meds and dosage and tell you what else is needed. Probably needs deworming and vaccinations, and y'all shouldn't just go and try random things off the internet.
 

Elza

Veteran Member
I never had good luck with the topical meds like Advantage. The cats hated it, and one had a bad reaction, vomiting and wheezing for several hours.

I use nitenpyram (one brand name is Capstar). The generic capsules are available many places; Amazon and eBay have many vendors. I don't bother trying to give the cat a capsule. Instead, I pull one capsule apart, sprinkle the powdered contents on the cat's wet food, and mix in a little. It has no flavor, and cats wolf it right down.

The only weird side effect is intense scratching for several minutes after the cat ingests it. Nitenpyram is a neurotoxin for insects (only), and they go crazy biting the host until they die a few minutes later.

It's good stuff, and it can be given quite often if the flea infestation isn't eliminated right away. It just plain works.
I'll second this. The systemic meds work VERY well. I use them on the dogs as well.

Topical meds have never worked for my critters. A waste of money IMO.
 

Elza

Veteran Member
Wife says take kitten to the vet to get it looked at and the vet can prescribe proper meds and dosage and tell you what else is needed. Probably needs deworming and vaccinations, and y'all shouldn't just go and try random things off the internet.
ABSOLUTLY!! There are several things a vet needs to check on kittens.

We are on our second 4-week-old kitten in three months. Both were rescued off the street and both on the verge of death. Thanks to a great vet they are both healthy and happy.
 

Walrus Whisperer

Hope in chains...
Diatomaceous earth. I don't think even if the cat licked it, it wouldnt hurt him.
Sprinkle it on his bedding and anyplace he likes to hang out.
 

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
For just about every critter on the farm we used warm water and mild hand soap for fleas. That took care of the ones on the critter. For getting rid of the ones in the house we used Borax. It got swept into carpets, throw rug to big to be washed in the washer, corners, sofas, overstuffed chairs etc. It was left in place a few days and the house was vacuumed. I mean vacuumed deep into the nooks and corners.

Laundry gets washed and washable throw rugs and cat toys too. The cat carrier gets a good wipe down just in case. The litter box gets emptied and wiped down. All bedding was washed, ours too. Doesn't help if the cat's fleas hop on us and then the ones on the cat are killed and ones catching a ride on us jump back on it.

If the fleas come back? Repeat till gone.
 
Last edited:
Diatomaceous earth. I don't think even if the cat licked it, it wouldnt hurt him.
Sprinkle it on his bedding and anyplace he likes to hang out.
It didn't work for me. Tried numerous times on pets and on floor. Took more than 4 weeks to work. Advantage used to work for me, but not this summer. I had to buy natural spray and had to spray dogs 2x every day. Still took forever to work.
 

zookeeper9

Veteran Member
I use nitenpyram to control an immediate infestation. It works for 24 hours and kills the adult fleas. Then I follow it up with the 30 day treatment Lufenuron, which you can keep on using to keep it under control.

If there is bad infestation I will use the nitenpyram every other day for a week, the every 3rd day for another week.

I buy them from from here: Flea Killer Nitenpyram Bulk Generic Lufenuron Flea Control for Dogs and Cats and get strengths for both the dog and the cats. It is the cheapest place I have found.

Don't forget to treat your house too. I use Enforcer spray which I get at Tractor supply. The bottle says it lasts up to 7 months, but I usually spray 2x a year.
 

Cyclonemom

Veteran Member
If you need immediate relief, we use Capstar in our clinic for those cases that come in and are visibly moving with the pet standing still.

It's OTC, so no prescription is needed.

However. It DOESN'T supply lasting relief. For that, you will need a prescription. Many good products out there. We like Revolution for our barn kitties,, as it also kills ear mites.

If kitty comes indoors, do a major cleaning, wash bedding and curtains with hottest water possible. Vaccuum obsessively and throw out the bag daily.
 

FireDance

TB Fanatic
I used Bravecto Plus pour on and did not see one flea or tick on the outside or inside cats this summer. Pricey, but I'm a believer. A dose lasts 3 months. Used the Bravecto chews on all our dogs as well and no fleas or ticks on them either. I get it at Budgetpetcare.com. Cheapest place I've found. In addition, if you sign up for an account they give you 10% of order total in credit that can be used on your next purchase up to 20% of order cost. They also have a 10% coupon code, so once you build up some credits you can save 30% on top of the low prices. Shipping takes several weeks, so I believe products ship from overseas.
Yes. We switched from Advantage to Bravecta this year because the ticks were so terrible. Love it. I have noticed zero side effects (Frontline used to make them foam at the mouth). Firm believer here. Using it on the dogs also.
 
Top