reaction to flea meds?

I recently applied frontline plus to my cat(last week) she immediatley began drooling, panting heavy, with rapid breathing. I washed it off her right away and she seems fine. Still tons of fleas though. I have 2 questions really. 1- has anyone else ever had this problem and 2-can I use something else right away or do I need to wait the 30 days? Please, any advice would be great.

Please don't quote I may be wrong but I believe I have seen sprays out there for fleas for cats and dogs maybe if there are sprays out there that would be something you could use.:shrug:

1. i have never heard of that reaction
2. there are LOTS of other medicines you can use for flea control!
3. i am also unsure about the wait...perhaps a quick call to the vet?


sorry i couldnt help more

That is a common reaction to Hartz.. but not to frontline. Frontline is a high quality brand. Some users on here are opposed to chemical flea treatments, but I am not one of them. I suggest that you just give her a bath using baby shampoo and then flea comb her. You still need to wait the 30 days before applying any type of flea treatment. You can't know how much was absorbed and how much was washed off, and you could accidentally poison the cat by reapplying too much. Vacuum and steam clean all your carpeting. Wash all linens. That will help a bunch.

If you ever have a problem in the future like that, you did the right thing by washing it right off. Use dish detergent like Dawn brand. Try a new brand, like Advantage. Look at the active ingredients.


I use Frontline Spray:Fipronil
Frontline plus has:Fipronil and S-methoprene
Advantage uses:Imidacloprid


I buy stuff from
http://www.petcarerx.com/pcrx/ProductPages/Cats/CategoryPages/Flea-Tick.aspx

And I'd recommend looking around there. If you decide to try something new from there, I can give you some coupon codes. I have a whole bunch of them for free shipping and 10$ off so much money.

I can't believe I haven't written about this sooner. Last summer, both Layla and Millie got fleas :frustrated:
I went to see the vet after having tried a flea powder from the pet store that did nothing but make us all sneeze. Vet gave us one of the treatments that you place a drop of on the back of the cat's neck- sorry, I can't remember the brand, but it could have been one of those mentioned. Layla was fine and flea-free in a few days. Millie on the other hand, was a mess. She was extremely lethargic, wouldn't move for hours, just sat and stared at the floor, and her inner eyelids closed over. The only way I can describe it is that she looked drugged/stoned. I called the vet and explained the situation and he said it would wear off, and that the dosage may have been to high for her. Well nice to know after the fact!!! I wish I had known the side effects beforehand, I thought it was a harmless drug (if there is such a thing) but I was really worried she wouldn't make it (yes it really looked that bad). :sad:
She's fine now, btw. :)
So bottom line is (in my opinion)- yes reactions are possible, use small doses esp. for a smallish cat, ask your vet about side effects and time limits for other doses/treatments, keep a close eye on kitty for reactions, if your cat does have a reaction, don't use the same product again (even in smaller dose). Just my :2cents: from my experience.

The drop between the shoulder blades back of neck is either Advantage or newer Revolution. Costs about $10 a dose from vet (a small tube). They say do it once/month but once every 2 or 3 is okay. Works well to keep ear mites out too.:thumbs up

And yes, the right dose amount for the age/weight is important. Check with your vet.

I found the cheap regular flea collars don't work as well and chafe the cat's neck

The drop between the shoulder blades back of neck is either Advantage or newer Revolution. Costs about $10 a dose from vet (a small tube). They say do it once/month but once every 2 or 3 is okay. Works well to keep ear mites out too.:thumbs up

And yes, the right dose amount for the age/weight is important. Check with your vet.

I found the cheap regular flea collars don't work as well and chafe the cat's neck

Yes wolfcat- it was Revolution! The vet also thought there may have been some way for Millie to ingest a small amount of the medication. So it's important that it be given in a spot the cat can't reach (ie- back of the neck or as you said shoulder blades). For Layla it was a-ok, we followed the directions, I think it was only two doses, and she was flea-less and happy :cat:

I use Revolution on my three cats and have never had a reaction. I would not use any store bought items.

Maybe somebody will have a more natural way to rid your kitty of the fleas.

I just did a google on frontline and it has tick control in it. Here in Canada there are no drops approved for tick control on cats as the ingredient to control them has not been approved yet. The tick control ingredient used in the dog drops can kill a cat. I wonder if you should try a different drop that doesn't contain tick control? (only purchase from the vet).

Revolution I believe is the only chemical one that is not a pesticide... all the others can cause reactions like that on cats and people. I use revolution normally and don't have a problem, once when I had to use advantage instead, we had one reaction like that and another whose fur fell out at the spot where it was applied. I pay about $55 for 6 'months' supply... (which here last me one month!!!! :rolleyes:)