flea kill in cats

RE: flea kill in cats

Aine Seavers — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 10:49:19 GMT

Didier Carlotti Loved fleas-including how evolutionary smart they are-so no surprises for any of us if true resistance ie fat slow fleas now -being seen with Advantage . I myself have not had issues other than heat stressed product poorly transported-but the client compliance with Bravecto just stomps the ground in victory-dogs bald for years with hot burning skin and huge yeast problem with often nasty temperaments from hating sore skin being touched-one year on Bravecto and you see full luxuriant coats and a huge improvement in behaviour. Vets 'educate' Owners ' heal' and Bravecto allows that to happen. Here in Australia-the Fontlines/advantage/advocate/revolution/bravecto etc have always been over the counter and available on line and in pet-shops so welcome to our world.

RE: flea kill in cats

Bob Russell — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:20:57 GMT

I have little doubt that imidacloprid is losing efficacy despite the barrage of papers sent to me by its manufacturer.

When it first came out I considered it a second best to fipronil at the time.

We have moved over to tablets in dogs and moving away from Seresto for a number of reasons including:

We have had complete 'failures' (ie: fleas, flea dirt in the absence of high risk factors).

There are more comprehensive parasite regimen that are easy for compliance.

The recent hike in prices reduce the value for money.

They will soon be changing category so they will not need to be prescribed (something that suggests to me that a product is on its way out!!).

I accept I may just have been unlucky with cases and I live in a very mild part of the UK but this does feel a bit like the fipronil story all over again.

RE: flea kill in cats

Aine Seavers — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 05:01:23 GMT

Are all flea meals equal? c. felis consumes 1.7units to 1.1 unit of the male c. felis ,the female cat flea feeds faster and earlier than the male and both genders feed faster and earlier feeders than dog flea.

A flea feeds within 5 mins of hatching but doesn't really start to consume for 3-6 hrs.

Does the first saliva injected in that 5mins differ in composition to the saliva injected when major feeding begins 3-6hrs later (like colostrum content of first mammalian milk then declines over time) so could the hapten content then differ? This could mean all flea saliva is not allergen equal over time with some being more allergenic or containing a different allergen composition than saliva manufactured at another time.

Once the flea does begin feeding in earnest, does it really need to keep up a constant level or volume of saliva injected back in the dog as it consumes in steady state? - seems a very energy dense/demanding way to do things.

If the first meal in first 5mins was a primer- is the flea waiting until that priming injection has had an effect on the host then begins to feed in earnest 3 hours later -when that initial meal has exerted its host effects allowing an easier feed? Or is the first meal ingested in the actual primer, obtaining nutrients that allow for a more aggressive anticoagulant laden saliva to be then manufactured by the flea, ready for sustained feeding?

If all flea meals are not equal, and if the first short meal post hatch is antigenically different to the larger meals some hours later- then one could theorise that if you have a dog allergic only to the hapten content of the later meal- the product might work in time in that case but not in a patient allergic to the contents of the first post hatch meal and hence why something like Bravecto killing in 8 hours .. I wonder.

As opposed to Frontline which never kills anything anymore or Advantage which does mostly and hence why a fed slow-moving flea is a sign of Advantage failure as the non-repellent but toxic active contact ingredient in it should agitate the flea so can't feed and irritate is so moving and skinny and easily seen on the pet.

Advantage needs hair to disperse, Selamectin impeded by hair, permoxin prefers clean hair and when you pour one product on top of another -what to do you? Advantage allegedly strips out the Frontline so a waste-Frontline affected by ingredients of some flea and tick shampoos-so for me whereas I didn't like Lufeneron oral tablets as I want a dead flea not a sterile one-Bravecto orally for dogs and topical for cats is the way to go.

RE: flea kill in cats

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 23:11:51 GMT

[quote user="Beats"]I am not aware of a flea product for cats that prevents, or indeed significantly deters, an adult flea from biting the cat.[/quote]

I think Seresto deters from biting. I remember watching their promo video of all the fleas and ticks running away from the skin.

RE: flea kill in cats

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 16:49:21 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]On the subject of tablets for cats, anyone used Comfortis tablets yet?[/quote]

Lots.

RE: flea kill in cats

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 14:53:17 GMT

[quote user="Beats"] ....shoving a bravecto tablet down a cats throat that will continue killing fleas for 12 weeks versus giving an owner with crippling rheumatoid arthritis and dementia a box of 3 frontline to apply every 4 weeks having carefully parted the hair...[/quote]Am i behind the times here? I thought Bravecto was only available as a spot-on for cats - are you using the dog product off-licence?

On the subject of tablets for cats, anyone used Comfortis tablets yet?

RE: flea kill in cats

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 14:43:31 GMT

[quote user="Beats"]And nothing to stop you alternating every 2 weeks with frontline...[/quote]Other than it doesn't work of course!

RE: flea kill in cats

Clive Ansell — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 12:40:06 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]The proof of the pudding is in the eating. FAD cases do really well with treatment with Bravecto. This requires a degree of feeding.[/quote]

Agree. I have seen some excellent results with Bravecto. Some long standing cases of cats with FAD in multi households (>20 in some cases) where compliance is generally poor and unaffected animals are either not treated or treated with OTC products, are responding very well to Bravecto where we can persuade the client to use it.

As an aside, I have had a small number of Demodex cases that are responding well to it too (Off label of course)

Good drug.

RE: flea kill in cats

Bob Russell — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 10:42:46 GMT

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. FAD cases do really well with treatment with Bravecto. This requires a degree of feeding.

I don't think it matters that much as long as the fleas die within a 'reasonable' time.

Reduce the population to tiny numbers and the problem also goes away!