Hello!

After some advice if possible!

It's coming up to the time of the month when my half Bengal boy needs to be flea'd. I've used Frontline on him before, during the summer months and it didn't appear to work, as we still had fleas in the house, even after de-fleaing the house. After speaking to some fellow cat colleagues of mine at work, they use Advocate on their cats. I've used this twice with him over the last 2 months, and each time it has sent him a little loopy, and out of character. I have one pipette of solution left to use, but don't want to use it on him if possible, as he is then out of sorts the day or two after it's been applied to the back of his neck.

We are based in the south of England, UK for any UK Bengal followers for reference.

Interested in some advice.

I use Frontline on Raiden without any side effects and with no fleas. The thing is, you have to take care of the infestation in your house first. Fleas lay eggs that take a while to hatch, so you have to do this multiple times, unless you have a professional come in that can lay down some powerful stuff that will kill the larvae as they hatch. We did this in a house we had vacated so there were no animals who could get poisoned by the stuff. When you do it while you have animals in the, then you have to be more careful. It doesn't take more than a couple of fleas left in your home to start a whole new generation. They are so hard to get rid of. But a one time flea-bomb isn't going to do it.

If he has had an adverse reaction to Advocate I would not use it again as it can get worse each time.

Indorex spray (buy it online not from the vet!) I found was the only effective means to get rid of fleas in the house. Read all the instructions properly before using and it should do the trick.

Cheapest one I found http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/indorex-h ... wwodhk4AMQ

Will he allow you to comb him properly? If so do this regularly and remove all that you find and this will keep it under control until you find something else to try.


Heather

I am not 100% sure on the brands of flea treatment available in the UK.

What I do know is that the drug component of Frontline has been found to be less effective lately... For fleas seem immune to it. I would not use it if it hasn't worked last year. I would also prefer not to use Advocate either if he is sensitive to it.... Maybe talk to your vet see what else is available....

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Lollo

Our vet treats only cats in Sydney and is considered an authority, delivering a lot of research papers. She advised us a few years ago, concerning our previous cats, that it is necessary to change your flea treatment every year or so, as the local fleas simply develop a tolerance for it. Or change even sooner if it becomes ineffective.

She also recommended Comfortis - a tablet given once a month, which we have found very effective. It is only available in Australia in packs for dogs, but in the US it has already been licensed for cats. The Australian authorities just haven't processed it here yet. Some cats have side effects (principally, vomiting) so, if you can buy it, research the potential risks as well. We had no problems with our previous cat, nor with our two Bengals. They get half a tablet of the one for dogs 2.3-4.5kg as they are only 5 months old currently.

It works so well if was a great relief as fleas are very hard to eradicate in Sydney's hot, humid climate. Much of the life cycle is completed out in the garden, where our cats go, so there is no hope of eliminating that. We had a pretty dreadful battle for several months before we found the Comfortis.

As others have said, it seems a bad idea to treat him again with anything which gave him a bad reaction - especially as it seems it's ineffective anyway.

Good luck!

I use Advantage II as we hAve an indoor/outdoor moggie who is Links BFF. I notice it working within 24hrs and works a month at a time...if you get it off amazon it's 10$/month per cat. Obv. Doesn't work on all cats and stuff the same but I've had success with it.

Revolution seems to be the one vets recommend around these parts. I've had 3 different vets recommend it. That said, one of my cats, Serafina, has a severe skin sensitivity to it (and seemingly all flea treatments). She went through this period where she would overgroom to the point of pulling out her hair, or "mowing it down" to a stubble in some places. It was pretty bad. The vet was convinced it was a food allergy or some form of psychological condition, but after we ruled out the food (a long process...) I suspected the flea medication.
I also did some googling of that (problems related to commercial flea medications) and it's not uncommon. We are after all pouring a pretty strong insecticide onto our cat's skin, and then they groom themselves and such.

So anyway... that's just a heads-up. If you see any sorts of changes in behavior or illness that coincides with starting a flea treatment, keep that in mind.

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The little monsters 3

Advocat is without question the best kind of flea treatment you can get in the UK. My vet is a specialist dermatologist and told me the way that advocat works. Essentially the small drop on the back of the neck makes its way across the whole of the body of the cat and this is the reason its leaves them feeling 'out of sorts'. You'll probably find for a about 6-12 hours afterwards they will be a bit twitchy.

The main advantage of Advocat is that fleas are not developing a natural immunity to it in the same way that Frontline users are seeing. This coupled with the fact that Advocat also gets rid of ear mites and things like lung worms means in my eyes its a much better treatment.

Revolution is good and I also heard there is a brand of "shot" that can last 6 - 12 months? Trying to find out more about the shot and maybe avoid the monthly treatments.