Customer Reviews

Advantage Once-A-Month Topical Flea Treatment for Cats Over 9 Lbs (4 Applications)

5 star:		(307)
4 star:		(80)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

My cats have fleas! Or, at least, they had fleas. I have used over-the-counter, less expensive items (flea powders, flea collars, etc.) up to and including other topical products like this one, and nothing worked. The flea collars were less than worthless - they actually caused patches of fur to fall out on at least one cat. The powder was unwieldy, and the other topical applications (save one) did not work at all.

I must give credit where credit is due - I have used Frontline before for my cats, and have been very satisfied with the results from that one. However, I decided to try Advantage this time, as I'd heard good things about it, and it was on sale at a discount when I needed it. I couldn't be more pleased. Unlike most other topical applications where the flea substance is put on the shoulder blades of the cats and stinks (STINKS!), this has no easily discernable smell.

This is a good thing. Also, the cats seemed to settle down from their scratching and biting at fleas within just a few minutes. Last night was the first night in weeks that the cats have all rested peacefully. There were no signs of flea-dirt left in their usual sleeping spaces last night. I am very pleased indeed.

My cats are also happy. While I still have an appreciation for Frontline, I am happy to have Advantage as a viable alternative.

The cats give this a sixteen-paw salute! (Four cats, four paws each, you know...)

Black fleas on a black cat in warm, humid weather means just one thing: long, sleepless nights with itchy legs and bites on any other exposed area of skin. This is especially so when said cat is a bit smoochy by nature and likes to get "cosy".

Advantage has done wonders and I have seen the fleas drop off in a mass exodus on a Biblical scale. Unlike some other reviewers, I found that the pesky little b****rs stayed off the cat for the entire month.

After a few applications, actually, I found a marked reduction in the numbers of resident fleas in the house. It seemed that said smoochy cat had become a flea killing machine in his own right.

Excellent product that I have had no trouble with at all, (except for getting the cat to stay still long enough to get it on him). I have been surprised at the negative experiences some have had with the product.

Ordered Advantage for Cats over 9 pounds in the 6 pack size. Amazon had the best price I could find. Bayer makes this product which is very effective for immediately kills adult fleas (as opposed to othe products that only kill the eggs). However, it appears that Bayer has, and continues, to spend a lot of time and resources to make sure that no one any where sells this product below a certain price they want which I've documented going up every month and is rapidly approaching $10 a month per treatment (per cat). I have 5 rescued cats so the price adds up to $50 per month to treat them for fleas. Every source I could find that sold this product at bargin prices has been forced to cease selling it. This use to be called price fixing. Nevertheless, the product works very well. As soon as I can find another product that will kill adult fleas for less money than the outrageous price of Bayer's Advantage, I will switch. My order arrived very fast and was well packaged. I will use this merchant again. The 5 star rating is for the retail merchant, Amazon and the effectiveness of the product.

If you're looking for a flea product that effectively kills fleas and keeps new ones from hopping on driving your cat crazy, this is the product for you.

Here's what I like about it:
1) it's been around longer than some of the products everyone's touting now. That's important to me because I'm a bit leery of the ones that just came out; I'd like to have a few years behind something, a few years in which the manufacturer can spot new problems, a few years in which consumers can rave or rant about the product. To me, while nothing is 100% guaranteed, that means that my cats are less likely to have reactions that I can't predict.

2) it's a simple product. It kills fleas. Period. It doesn't battle every insect or parasite known in the veterinary community. If I need something that kills worms, I'll find a separate product and check its safety and efficacy first. Ditto all the stuff my cats aren't likely ever to need: tick protection, etc. My vet kept touting Frontline Plus because of the tick prevention aspect, and I just kept saying, why should I spent $20 more for something my cat doesn't need? I haven't even seen a tick in my area in 30 years!

3) my cats react well to Advantage, but they scratch and get greasy with Frontline.

4) the cost of this product is very reasonable. If I'm cash poor, I get the size for larger cats and split the doses, but that's not something the manufacturer recommends. I checked, however, and the ingredient is the same and in the same concentration, so I take the risk on myself. So far, no adverse reactions when I split the larger dose.

5) this is the only product that works the length of time it's supposed to. I get a minimum of one month of protection from each tiny tube, and sometimes two doses per cat is all I need for the late spring/summer flea nightmare.

We've had cats my whole life, and have tried every product out there. Thank goodness, there are finally several excellent products on the market now! I would rate the top three as Advantage, Frontline, and Program, when it comes to cats (the latter being a med you can put in their food, if you have a cat with extra sensitive skin that cannot tolerate topicals [one of my cats had a reaction to the Frontline Plus a few years ago]). At this time, we use Advantage on all our pets.But KittyLuv57 brings up a good point in her review . . . fleas do develop a resistence to these meds, especially if you live in an area where you neighbors all use this same medication on their pets. Darwinian ''Survival of the Fittest'' comes in to play, and the only fleas that survive in a neighborhood with heavy Advantage use will have done so because they are stronger than the larger population killed off. And when the survivors lay eggs, the next generation will selectively have those traits that allowed their progenitors to resist the medication.Fear not, though, because the result is not an onslaught of SuperFleas! Generational resistence develops only against the one medication used most in your area. If you've used Advantage for several years, then switch to one of the other top three for a while, and you should have excellent results. Eventually you'll see a resistence develop to that medication, and you'll know it's time to switch back to Advantage.The top brands all work equally well, except when generational resistence develops in your backyard ~ so if one brand fails you this year, it doesn't mean your product is not a good product, it just means you're facing the Darwinian Flea Paradox, and you need to switch brands for a while, sometimes just one year will do the trick. And if your neighbors are all avid warriors in the fight against fleas, you might need to try more than one different brand because the fleas in your backyard may be resistent to more than one brand. So don't give up! Flea control IS possible.But for the record, our feline family prefers Advantage . . . great results and no allergic reactions.

If you're cat is an indoor cat, yes this product will work well for you. But if your cats go outside like mine, FORGET IT! Yes Advantage kills fleas that are on your pet immediately. But it does not keep them flea free for 30 days, like they advertise. I've tried Advantage on my cats a few times. The fleas that were on my cats did die within 12 hours. But within ONE WEEK they were biting and scratching again like before. I'm picking fleas off of them after only a week and a half. If the product wasn't so expensive, it might be worth the money. But don't waste your money, because it only works well for a few days. Frontline works a lot better.

I love this product. Living in Florida with two cats who can go in and out at will can be problematic 9 months out of the year. Within 12 hours, Advantage has killed all the fleas on my cats and I don't ever get an infestation problem in the house. The application lasts about a month and I don't see a flea on them during that time. On a side note, I tried one of the less expensive Advantage-like remedies, and my cat became ill for a few days. In other words, I don't recommend trying to save a few dollars when Advantage works like a charm.

My cats have fleas! Or, at least, they had fleas. I have used over-the-counter, less expensive items (flea powders, flea collars, etc.) up to and including other topical products like this one, and nothing worked. The flea collars were less than worthless - they actually caused patches of fur to fall out on at least one cat. The powder was unwieldy, and the other topical applications (save one) did not work at all.

I must give credit where credit is due - I have used Frontline before for my cats, and have been very satisfied with the results from that one. However, I decided to try Advantage this time, as I'd heard good things about it, and it was on sale at a discount when I needed it. I couldn't be more pleased. Unlike most other topical applications where the flea substance is put on the shoulder blades of the cats and stinks (STINKS!), this has no easily discernable smell.

This is a good thing. Also, the cats seemed to settle down from their scratching and biting at fleas within just a few minutes. Last night was the first night in weeks that the cats have all rested peacefully. There were no signs of flea-dirt left in their usual sleeping spaces last night. I am very pleased indeed.

My cats are also happy. While I still have an appreciation for Frontline, I am happy to have Advantage as a viable alternative.

The cats give this a sixteen-paw salute! (Four cats, four paws each, you know...)

I put this on my cat 4 times over a 4 month period. (He is a healthy 3 year old) Each time, he reacted more negatively than the time before. Last dose, he acted as if it was stinging him, and he was aggressive and in a bad mood for 2 days. I looked up information regarding counterfeit flea meds and although the vials do have the right wording--the epa # on the vials is one of two epa #'s that have been counterfeited. I am not taking anymore chances with the last two vials. I am throwing it out. Guess I will have to buy from a more reputable source in order to feel safe about this.

My 15 year old cat recently died of what the biopsy said was most likely lung cancer, a very aggressive form that had metastasized to his abdomen & who knows where else. He had had pyrethrin based flea shampoos over the years, as well as Advantage, Frontline, and over-the-counter topical flea treatments over the course of his life. (Although I never used the topical liquids on a regular basis, because I always worried about the exposure I would get myself just from petting my cats.)

I never thought these topical neck treatments were very effective at killing the fleas long term - I always had better results with flea shampoos. One time I also treated my cats with the Advantage multi that's also supposed to kill worms, but I don't think it even worked because one cat still had tapeworms a couple months later. I finally insisted the vet treat her with the old fashioned tapeworm pill, and that DID work.

I've been researching the main ingredients in Advantage and Frontline, and both have been implicated in the colony collapse disorder of honeybees. Imidacloprid, the main ingredient in Advantage, is also used as an agricultural pesticide for crops. It is a neurotoxin for insects, but they think it may also have the same effect on honeybees. It has been banned in several European countries because of its effect on bees.

EPA reports showed imidacloprid caused thyroid lesions in the lab rats it was tested on. (Well guess what, a couple years ago my cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism!) I also read on another site that in pet animals, the metabolic by-product of imidacloprid is worse than the absorption of the main ingredient itself.

I wish vets would stop recommending these toxic pesticides to kill fleas. Think about it - anything you put on your pet's skin will get absorbed into its blood, where it will then have to be filtered by the liver and kidneys. I've read other sites that say the LONG TERM health effects of the pesticides in these topical flea treatments can cause cancer, thyroid problems, liver and kidney damage, depression, etc.

Would you repel mosquitoes by spraying a can of Raid on yourself? Of course not! So why do we put agricultural pesticides directly on our pet's skin?

My other cat (age 12), who has had only maybe 2 flea baths in her whole life because she hates water, has also been treated off and on with these topical flea liquids over the years. Her most recent senior bloodwork showed the beginnings of kidney problems. The vet said it's nothing to worry about yet, but I'll need to keep an eye on it.

There are better ways to kill fleas - simple rubbing alcohol kills fleas! I've also read giving them a bath in Dawn dish liquid works, as well as other all-natural shampoos you can buy made of cedar and peppermint oil, although I've never tried those myself. But I do know that rubbing alcohol works. Or try and find a groomer or vet who will give them a flea bath. At least flea shampoo can be rinsed out of their fur.

Yes, it might be more work and effort to kill fleas this way, but it's totally worth it if you don't have to treat a cat for thyroid problems for the rest of its life, or if your pet doesn't die of cancer before its time! I will NEVER use any of these products again.

(BTW, I've always fed my cats healthy food made with no by-products, so any health problems they have were most likely NOT caused by the food they ate. That's assuming all was well at the factory where the food was made of course!)