Cheap way to treat cat fleas?

[me again]

We currently have 4 cats with a flea problem. The flea products cost a fortune!

Most come in a pack of 3, Advantage comes in a pack of four, which is one month supply for us. Its about $50! We tried Petmed, the one advertised on TV, about the same price as Petco, Petsmart. This is the first year we've had such a flea problem, have to treat it, but certainly can't afford $50 a month! Also, it doesn't even last a month, about 3 weeks, and we treated the house, too.

Any cheaper places to buy flea treatment, or cheaper treatments? Thanks!

 

[katerkat]

I don't have much advice on how to actually do it - but I do have some advice on what to avoid. DO NOT USE HARTZ FLEA PRODUCTS. There was a DISer on the Community Board who lost one cat due to these products and almost lost a second. I used the liquid stuff (like Frontline, etc) on my one cat and he lost all the hair in a circle around where I applied the medication. He had Frontline previously with no reaction. These aren't isolated incidents - there's a whole website dedicated to Hartz - http://www.hartzvictims.org/index.php. I was looking for a cheap fix too and trust me, Hartz isn't worth it!!

 

[mousehouselover]

What ever you do, DO NOT APPLY PYRETHRINS TO A CAT!!!!!!!! The Hartz and other brand flea products that you can buy at Wal-Mart and grocery stores have pytherins in them and they are toxic to cats. We lost a feline patient at work this week to pytherin toxicity from an over the counter treatment that the owner applied twice.

I personally would (and have) suck it up, buy Frontline since it controls fleas for up to three months and purchase either Knockout spray by Virbac or Otho's Home Defense spray and apply every where, esp under furniture and along baseboards. If your kitties go outside, I actually recommend getting Revolution and using that since it controls heartworms, intestinal parasites and ear mites as well as fleas.

My favorite site to shop for things is www.kvvet.com They have no shipping charges on many of their items and they are really nice to work with. Their current price for a four pack of Advantage is $36.

HTH!

 

[luv2nascar]

Also had a problem with the cheap stuff bought at he store. My cat had a bad reaction had to go to vet overnight almost $300 later and we were just glad he was still with us. Don't go this route. Talk to your vet.

Our vet had a pill for $2 bucks that killed all fleas currently on them. It does prevent fleas - you need frontline for that. You have to pay there is no cheaper way.

 

[zumbergc]

Just an FYI.

My cats have known allergies and sensitivities.

My one cat has lost the circle of hair at the application site from revolution.
Talking w/ our vet a small percentage of cats will have this reaction.
So, if your cat does have that reaction. Read the box of the flea control, they aren't all the same. Some give you 24 hours, some 48 to wash it off.
If your pet has an allergic reaction, like the circle hair loss, you can bath the cat and get the stuff off of your cat. Of course call your vet, if there is a reaction.

Now I'm not talking about the pyrethine stuff other people mentioned, that can kill your cat, same with the hertz flea stuff. Read the directions very closely and make sure its not in the stuff you apply to floor or anything to get rid of the fleas.

Sorry about your flea problems, best bet is to keep them on the flea control.
I will say some areas have more fleas in the area and on the ground. so if you just moved into a new place, some areas just have more fleas.

Since my cats are now allergic to most of the flea applications.

They have sprays and such, according to the vet they are not as affective as the ones on the back of the neck. Since you have a current flea issue, you want the more effective drops, vs less affective sprays or collars.
She also mentioned collars aren't as good as the sprays.
Just be careful, if you use a spray that it is made for a cat, and not dog, again the pyrethrane stuff can be in it and kill your cats.

Connie

 

[me again]

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll stick with Advantage since it come 4 to a package. We have a pet Warehouse near here, Advantage is about $34 for a 4 pack, I don't think it will come any cheaper than that.

It is epxensive with so many cats but I won't risk their health for a few bucks. The website about Hartz products had some pitiful pictures, my kitties are worth more than the few dollars I might have saved!

 

[crzykid]

Its not cheap.
We just found ticks on our dog this afternoon. It cost 50 for the frontline and it only has 3 treatments in the box.

BTW
Does anyone know how long it takes for that stuff to work. DH pulled the ones he saw off before we put the frontline on her. I dont want ticks in my house but I cant leave her outside all night. Can someone give me some advise?

 

[Chickysmom]

don't forget to treat their environment as well.....outside/inside

those little buggers are so hard to get rid of!

 

[Hef4545]

I would also say to stay away from Hartz. My experience was with my dog. He got so sick from it but fortunately recovered.
I'm sure you know Fleas are difficult to control. My tip for you is to put moth flakes in your vacuum bag. It does not smell bad when you vacuum and it was a big help to me when I had a problem with them in the house.

 

[hsmamato2]

I buy larger size frontline,and split between my 2 smaller sized cats equally-so 3 dose package = 6...... it costs about $30 a box around here-
also- frontline doesn't help much for ticks,once they bite,it'll die, but my outdoor cats must stay out in summer due to ticks,they just crawl with them,and if they come in, the ticks end up on my couches before they bite the cats!
But it keeps the vermin count way down- so we use it,also, don't forget a good old fashioned flea bath- cheap and effective- a bottle of flea shampoo is cheap-
if you have fleas in your house, FIRST you must get rid of them- carpet bombs,etc. I know it's awful but it's the only way-otherwise you'll have them year round forever-
I also like the natural flea powder at Walmart- i also scrub the cats with that-they hate the smell,but I like it!

 

[eh24fan]

Call an exterminator and get your house done and sometimes they have this stuff they can put in your yard to help keep the population down as well. My uncle swears by adding brewers yeast to their food each day. We had a major problem about 6 years ago and it took ALL of that to get them gone. Plus treating the cats with the stuff from the vet. It was terrible. Good luck...they are hard to get rid of once they are in the house.

 

[Muushka]

This thread reminds me that it is time to put Borax on all the areas that the cats sleep. Carpeting especially. Also, we have a flea comb. It has tiny teeth and boy does that thing work great. They love it when I do the head and neck area, but I get swipped at when I do some areas. The base of the tail n their backs is the fleas favorite hiding place.

I am not fond of the powerful sprays for the house and liquids applied to the cats. Borax and flea combs do us just fine, and both cats go outdoors.

 

[AmyinKY]

Also, you must wait 48 hours after bathing an animal before applying frontline. If you apply before the 48 hours, the product can not "adhere" to the skin due to the natural oils on the skin not being "in balance". Due to the high cost of Frontline, I would hate for you to apply it too soon and waste you money.

Amy

 

[rockyroad]

Its not cheap.
We just found ticks on our dog this afternoon. It cost 50 for the frontline and it only has 3 treatments in the box.

BTW
Does anyone know how long it takes for that stuff to work. DH pulled the ones he saw off before we put the frontline on her. I dont want ticks in my house but I cant leave her outside all night. Can someone give me some advise?

I believe that it takes 48 hours for the frontline to kill ticks.

We live in an area in which the ticks in the environment are uncontrollable. We have to keep our dogs confined to be able to control the situation. We use frontline and spray the area in which the dog is kept.

We have a huge dog pen that is unusable because it has not been possible to control the ticks there. In the past, before frontline, we had to dip weekly and spray weekly and they still got ticks.

They cannot come into the house.

After a hard frost the dogs can have the run of the yard.

Be careful, we have lost dogs to Tick Paralysis.
You may see the dog walking in an uncoordinated way and then in a bit he may seem to be ok. This happened with one of our dogs and he died. Another started having convulsions and stayed in the vets, including the emergency center, for a week. It cost a fortune...

We have been told that pine trees "make ticks".
However, at our home, the ticks were here before our pine trees.
Apparenlty the ticks were present before out house was built here and decided to stay.
It is also possible that ticks can be present in pine bark mulch.

 

[me again]

Thanks for the suggestions and warnings!

I will try the moth flakes in the vacumn bag and the borax for the carpet. But for the cats I will use Frontline Plus. I did find a good deal at Petco with an online coupon, for a pack fo 12 it came to $159, had $200 in Paypal, Petco takes Paypal so used that to pay for it. 12 doese comes to 3 month's supply each for four cats and I'm sure I'll go through that during the summer.

Lets' face it, pets are expensive, that is, if you take care of them right, like we do! But its worth it, I wouldn't want them to suffer to save a few bucks.

 

[aynt79]

The cheapest place I've found flea medication is www.dog.com (they have cat stuff as well dog). They carry all the major brands.

I just looked and you can get 2 packages of the 6 month supply for Frontline Plus for $111.96 with free shipping.

 

[ImprovGal]

I ended up with a bad flea infestation 11 years ago when I adopted a shelter kitten who came with some hitchhikers. Fortunately, I was able to totally get rid of the fleas but it took a lot of effort.
Sent the cats out for an overnight at the vets for a flea dip. While they were gone, brought in an exterminator to bomb the apartment. I swept diatomaceous earth into all carpeting (when eggs hatch it cuts the bugs' exoskeletons). 2 weeks later, i sprayed down all furniture with flea spray and repeated the diatomaceous earth.

Throughout this period, i flea combed my cats every day, dunking any hitchhikers into a bowl of dish detergent/water. My cats also were put on the flea treatment called Program. (I don't think Frontline was around back then.) Within a few months, no more fleas were found, although I think I kept dosing the Program a few more months as preventative.

 

[me again]

The cheapest place I've found flea medication is www.dog.com (they have cat stuff as well dog). They carry all the major brands.

I just looked and you can get 2 packages of the 6 month supply for Frontline Plus for $111.96 with free shipping.

Thanks, I wish I had this website before I ordered it from Petco. Spent $159 for the same thing Too late to cancel the order, but will keep it in mind for future. Thanks!

 

[Order66]

The pill you can give your cats is called capstar. It will kill all the fleas on them in 24 hours. Our clinic charges 4 dollars a pill, of course this depends on the practice and location.

Frontline plus will control fleas up to 12 weeks but it wans in those last 2 or 3 weeks. I only apply it every 8 weeks on my dogs.

 

[me again]

The cheapest place I've found flea medication is www.dog.com (they have cat stuff as well dog). They carry all the major brands.

I just looked and you can get 2 packages of the 6 month supply for Frontline Plus for $111.96 with free shipping.

Wow--thanks! I had already ordered it through Petco for $159 but was able to cancel it (ordered it last night, still hadn't processed) and ordered it through Dog.com for $111.96--a savings of $47!!! Also they ship Fed Ex 2 day for free, Petco was 4-6 days (after they get around to processing the order).

Thanks a bunch--you saved me $47!!!