frontline not working

reeree

I paid £15 for frontline for my cat about 3 weeks ago, ive just noticed he's still got fleas, i thought they were supposed to be protected for 5 weeks, hes not an outside cat so i cant understand it, can anyone recommend something that really works, ive always been happy with frontline before but not impressed this time

attentionseeker1

There might be fleas in your house/carpets etc so use something like Indorex to get rid of those

I have also heard Frontline not working as well these days due to resistance so am going to ask my vet for something different- I think it's called Advantage or something? Others on the board will know...

mrtobs

We use frontline as well - must be annoying to have them come back so quickly - would it be worth phoning your vets & asking if there's anything else they would recommend? The Feline Advisory Bureau have some useful info on their website about flea treatments. They recommend/give info on a few of the 'spot on' products that you can get (Advantage, Advocate, Frontline, etc): https://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html

patchwork_cat

Ditto. \the vet receptionist wouldn't believe me and tried to tell me that I must have fleas in the house she was very rude. If you think logically about it if you always treat the cat with a systemic flea product then as soon as a flea bites the cat it is dead.

We noticed that the time that Frontline seemed to work was reducing. Try advantage or Stronghold unfortunatley both of these are script only and therefore not cost effective to buy anywhere other than your vets once you have paid for the script from the vet.

RacyRed

I am having to replace frontline too. My cats and home suddenly erupted with fleas this week, despite all three cats being treated. Fortunately the fleas are dying because I'd already used Indorex everywhere in preparation for the flea season, I'm going to have to do another deep clean and spray though I think.

There is no mistaking where the fleas are coming from, it's the boy, last treated with frontline 2 weeks ago :mad:

Waterfalls

u need to use either frontline combo or another product from ur vets as ordinary frontline only kills adult fleas and allows fleas eggs to be laid and hatched. so will always be a constant battle. also u need to treat the house with either staykill or indorex sprays

patchwork_cat

Frontline does still remain active for a month (provided the fleas have not developed an immunity) it therfore does theoretically kill newly hatching fleas. If you continue to treat the cat as new fleas hatch they will die and on contact. However they are becoming resistant. Frontline combo does stop the larva and eggs from hatching, however they both use Fipronil, so if the flea is immune to this then no good - the combo may be better in that it also has an environmental aspect S-methoprene.

Worryingly I have just come across some articles that cite both these products as involved in colony collapse disorder in bees.

This is one o the reasons I got quite cross when the vets receptionsit was telling me that I should blanket spray my house rather than change from Frontline - I have concerns about doing that as mass use of insecticides is not a good thing if you really don't have an infestation, but an allergic cat.

nanokitten

'fraid that's one reason you need to speak to the vet reather than the receptionist sometimes!
My vet will dispense prescription only medicines without a consult which in the short term works out cheaper than an appointment and internet. If you are already seeing the vet ie at vaccination time, ask for a repeat scipt (prescription) then you can go elsewhere for your meds (not all meds are cheaper on the internet so worth doing your homework).

dieselhead

Vote for advantage here seems to do the job!

One thing I would say though is that we always used to hold the cat when administering it to sort of comfort him, however we have discovered that as his skin is loose what was the back of his neck when held was actually in a different place when put down and he could lick it off, so now its a case of holding him still to apply the spot on!

redcat_2

I have five cats and have been using Frontline since the eldest (age 10) was old enough. I've never had any flea problems until the last month or two.
I was a few days late with the Frontline in October, and ever since then although I have been dosing them all every 4 weeks as usual I have been finding fleas and one of my poor cats has been pulling her fur out near her tail.
The strange thing is that two of my cats have no problems, another one has the odd flea and a few scabs on his spine but doesn't seem to be itching, another has a lot of scabs and a few bald patches and the final cat (her sister) is really badly affected. If it was a flea immunity to Frontine though wouldn't they all be affected? Or has the Frontline maybe stopped working on them all but only the two sisters are allergic enough to flea bites to get scabby and pull fur out?

I Frontlined them again as soon as the 28 days were up from the last dose and that was about a week ago, so I am giving it a few days more to see if the scabs heal and if not it's vets time.

The only reason I'm waiting is because I don't want the vet to just say 'give it a week and see if the Frontline works and the scabs heal'. I want to be able to say 'I've tried that, please try something else'.

paddypaws101

I think there is widespread acceptance that Frontline is no longer effective...but once you have administered it you will need to wait 4 itchy weeks till you can use Advantage or another product.
I think older cats are more susceptable to flea problems...is it a failing immune system?
Lots of people reported bad flea problems last summer ( Me too!! ) Then a mild autumn, followed by a cold snap with lots of central heating on sems to have let the little beggars loose again, argh
One other poster advised 'flea bombs' for the whole house....I was not keen but did a deep hoover and clean with a spray of Indorex, and Skoosh on fave sleeping areas ( non toxic )
Good Luck!