Cat Flea Repellant

[Hippy]

It's that time of year again, and I put these little drops of stuff from the Vet on the back of pussy's neck. It keeps him clear of fleas for a couple of months. Now, does this work by being absorbed into his bloodstream or does the magic work in another way?

[woofgang]

I'm not sure if they all work the same way. if its stuff called frontline, which we use on our dog, it is absorbed into the sebaceous (oil glands) in the skin and sits there being released into the coat with the pet's own natural secretions... clever....

[lisa74656]

It actually goes into the bloodstream. if it stayed in the back of the neck it wouldn't work. the stuff is basically the pill for fleas and when they bite the pet and drink it's blood it is sterilised and so end the fleas lifecycle.

[Hellion]

woofgang and lisa are both right, there are two sorts, the one that sterilises the fleas still means the animal gets bitten and the bites can irritate and get infected so Frontline is best.

[Hippy]

Thanks, Hellion. I was wondering if I was going to remain confused with this one. Wolfgang seemed to confirm my suspicions (although the preparation I used is called "Advantage" its active ingredient is purported to be the same as "Frontline") then Lisa came in with the bloodstram answer that some other people had told me.

It seems to me that puss does not suffer bites with this drops behind the head stuff, but that it either deters the fleas, or as I suspected zaps them with poison when they land on his fur. If he were being bitten I would feel those small raised skin reactions that alerted me to the litlle nasties in the first place. I then saw ONE flea, and as we all know one flea is an infestation!

[lisa74656]

well i was actually talking about frontline that you put on the back of the cats neck as that's what my mum uses on her cats and that's what the vet told her when she asked how it worked. The cat's aren't too bothered by the flea bites but they hate having the frontline put on! it takes 2 people to do one of them!

[Hippy]

Thanks lisa74656, and apologies Woofgang for misspelling your name earlier. I was so intrigued by this stuff that I looked up the active ingredient. I was sure that it was zapping the fleas before they even had a chance to bite. Lisa, my puss react to the bites and you can feel them n his skin, and he has a tendency to scratch, thus risking infection. He does not mind my applying the anti-flea drops, however.

I did some research on the chemical responsible and found this explanation:

Frontline contains Fipronil. It remains effective even after bathing or swimming. Frontline Top Spot kills most fleas before they bite, which is great for pets suffering from flea allergies.

Fipronil, the powerful active ingredient, collects naturally in the hair follicles and oil-producing glands of the skin, where it remains protected from removal by shampooing or swimming. Then it continually reapplies itself to the hair, providing long lasting control for a month or more.

So, there we have it. Case solved; ooh, and a contented happy puss, by the way!