Fleas are the most commonly seen external parasite in cats. Many products are available to prevent and control fleas in cats and often cat owners are confused about which flea medication might be best for their cat.
Frontline Plus® Flea Medication for Cats
Frontline Plus® is one of the most commonly recommended feline flea medications. Frontline Plus® is a topical liquid medication which should be applied to the skin between the shoulder blades or on the back of the neck once monthly.
Frontline Plus® is effective in controlling both fleas and ticks for cats. However, Frontline Plus® does not help prevent heartworms or intestinal parasites in cats.
There are other products marketed within the Frontline® family also. It is worth mentioning that Frontline Plus® contains an active ingredient which makes Frontline Plus® effective in killing flea eggs and flea larvae, which in turns helps break the life cycle of the flea resulting in prevention of re-infection of the cat as fleas in different stages of the life cycle mature. Frontline Top Spot® and Frontline Spray® lack this active ingredient and, while effective in killing adult fleas, have no effect on flea eggs or larvae.
Promeris® Flea Medicine for Cats
Promeris® flea medicine in cats is also a topical liquid medication which is recommended to be used monthly for the prevention of fleas. Promeris® is effective only in the control of fleas in cats and has no effect in preventing ticks, heartworms or other parasites in cats.
Revolution® Flea Medication for Cats
Revolution® for cats is another topical spot-on monthly flea preventive medication commonly used for cats. Revolution® is effective in preventing and controlling fleas. Revolution for cats also prevents heartworms, roundworms, hookworms and ear mites.
Revolution® is not effective in controlling ticks on cats.
Advantage® and Advantage Multi® Flea Medicine for Cats
Advantage® and Advantage Multi® are also topical liquid medications which are applied to the skin of a cat. Advantage® and Advantage Multi® are both recommended to be applied on a monthly basis. Advantage® and Advantage Multi®, though the names are similar, are actually two separate and very different medications.
Advantage® for cats is effective in killing, preventing and controlling fleas as well as in killing lice. Advantage Multi®, on the other hand, contains an additional active ingredient which makes Advantage Multi® effective against heartworms, roundworms, hookworms, ear mites and fleas.
Deciding on the Best Flea Medication for a Cat
The choice of flea medicine for a cat will depend on the cat owner's preference. Many cat owners feel that preventing heartworms together with fleas is an important criteria to choosing a flea medication for their cat. However, others feel that adequate tick control is more important. In most cases, the choice will likely be influenced by what types of parasites pose the highest risk for the individual cat.
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