Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahseben
just found out that at least 5 of my babies are infected by fleas.interested to use the frontline product as it is said to be very effective and with your experience confirming this, i really need to get this product.
which type of frontline did u use ashley? the spray or the liquid? do you know how much does it cost and where could i buy it?
sigh..now im very worried. all this time, the vet always said my babies are fleas-free, now broke the record already  btw, i realized that one of them have red tiny spot on their stomach, something like a rashes spot. have any of you had this problem on your furry babies? i'm afraid if it was due to the flea infection.  |
I notice that many forumers do not read all posts in a thread, only 1 or 2 and then jump in and try something when they see a certain suggestion given without cautions or warnings regarding a certain course of action or solution for a problem.
Sarahseben, check carefully the exact age and weight of your kittens first. Also, check their health in case any are not well or suffering from fever or just recovered from a fever before you attempt any flea/ticks products because you need to consider which method of application is best even though it is from the same brand (they have sprays which may cause your sick kitten to catch a chill and get sicker if not done properly, and there is also the spot-on type), more so if the brand is different (here, some brands are safer for young kittens and pregnant/nursing queens while some are more toxic and leaves more damage which emerge at a later stage).
Some kill the bugs only if the adult fleas suck the blood, but does nothing for the eggs and pupae, some kills on contact ... please read the Cat Owner's Veterinary Handbook (3rd edition with full revision and updates up to 2008) which gives you very good information on how to deal with the situation including the selection of newer products which are much easier, more effective and safer to use compared to conventional methods (like flea shampoo which are messier and not so effective or safe compared the newer technology breakthrough products like Frontline) because the last 10 years has produced a lot of astounding discoveries for cat care. Previously, very little had been known about cats and they were simply treated as if they are little dogs, disregarding their special needs and bad toxicity to products tolerated by dogs.
No cat owner who loves his/her cat should be without the Cat Owner's Veterinary Handbook because not a week goes by without me having to thumb through and refer to it and get information which shockingly many locat vets themselves do not know about and are not aware of where the cat is concerned or are not willing to/do not have the time/have the communication skills to educate you about.
Sarahseben, the red/pink spot/rash is fleas allergy which is mention in the book. If you kitten is older than 8 weeks or 12 weeks, Frontline can be used (you must check the product warning on the particular package available locally - they have spray, spot-on and spot-on combo - because some say 8 weeks, some say 12 weeks). You also need to check the kitten body weight because some malnourished kittens are so small (make sure minimum is 2 kg) because unlike the dog flea products which go by body weight, the cat product is only 1 type ... and you need to be very, very cautious because there is a very big difference between a 1.5 kg little kitten (even though 3 months old) and a 4.5 kg adult cat! Very young and small kittens can suffer overdose very easily with terrible, terrible consequences from toxicity! Their livers and kidneys too young to take the terrible onslaught! Even adult cat livers suffer much because they do not have the poison pathways that human livers have.
And the vets that wrote the Handbook tell you very, very specifically that all fleas products are toxic to the cat! It is FATAL to the fleas but not to your cat at the given dosage ... but it IS toxic and poison to your cat and has bad effects on it and you MUST follow dosage very, very carefully and must NEVER be applied more frequently than what is advised by the manufacturers (Frontline says 3 weeks). But I am sad to say that I have seen some vets telling the customers the wrong advice out of ignorance, saying that it is SAFE, SAFE, SAFE and treating young kittens quite carelessly.
If you cannot get the book, you can read the chapter on Fleas online from the book preview.
Read the chapter carefully to understand how you need to effectively the life cycle of the fleas by repeating the application for 3 months in order to successfully eradicate the problem well. Also stated in the Handbook is what to do to rid your premises of the eggs and pupae lying around in your premises ready to hatch out and re-infect you cat if you do not break the flea life cycle properly. That means you will need to re-apply the following month and the month after.
Frontline destroys the fleas and the eggs on contact but no product destroys the pupae which can survive even 1 year in its well-protected cocoon in your carpet or cracks in the floor and wall. You need to physically remove them or kill them when they finally emerge during right conditions (ie. right humidity and carbon dioxide level, vibrations). If they emerge and hops on to your cat which have been Frontlined, they will be killed.
All the best, friends, and may your cats recover well.