Advantage II Small Cat

All four of my cats have been inside cats from the start and yet got fleas! There have been no recent vet visits to blame either! Right from the start of treating my cats for their flea, the box of ADVANTAGE II, itself, presented a problem. It had a strange date, the ONLY date on it which I could find. Today is July 26, 2018), and on the box was V-03/2015. I was taken aback! The manufacture took place in March of 2015? Or was that an expiration date? WHAT did V-03/2015 MEAN? No explanation was found on the box nor in the instructions! I was concerned. I do not like being concerned about something which WILL enter my cats' blood stream! So I went to Bayer's site and discovered that all of us should not be concerned that there is no expiration date. OK. Then why in the past did this same brand have expiration dates on their boxes? So this is a "forever" poison which people could use on their cats in 2084? THAT is kind of scary if you think about it. You may be too young to remember DDT scares and the incomprehensible half-life of it. I was not able to get the two different weight recommended doses for two of my cats in the "small" category AND the doses for the two cats in the "large" category to begin treatment on the same day. And I wanted everything to start on the same day if possible AND when a vet would be on-call for any emergencies. And yes, emergencies happen with this flea killer according to some people. Advantage can take a few days to begin working once you begin treatment. Meanwhile, your animals are suffering. So I bought Capstar after a LOT of research which says Capstar gives relief within about six hours for cats and a shorter amount of time for dogs. Capstar is an oral, well, let's face it, insecticide. One can actually dose every twenty-four hours for at least a semi-permanent approach. But I don't see me getting a pill down four animals every single day for although easy at first, cats catch on quickly when you are coming at them with a pill, don't they? And eggs and larvae are NOT killed with this product. Remember that fighting fleas is an uphill battle of long-term treatment. BUT Capstar has filled in until our beginning the monthly treatments begin and within FOUR hours, our four cats were finally at PEACE with their bodies again. I do not exaggerate one bit! They were at peace with all they had gone through, within four hours! Again, I made sure a vet was on-call before application and during the wait-time of four to six hours. Before Capstar, there had been hair being pulled off (not out, exactly) by one, one running around crazy, one who developed an ultra sensitive back and could not stand to be patted or touched on his back anymore, and the fourth had begun gnawing his feet going in a pitiful way. Not one of the cats acted the SAME way toward the fleas and THAT threw my "diagnosis" of what in the world was going on. Was it the new snacks or a newly added brand to the multiple brands of wet cat food they eat? This misery occurred with our cats occurred within a week or two before I figured out it was FLEAS, not the change in food nor in our environment, causing stress. Our routine had changed due to husband's surgery and the installation of a somewhat noisy stair lift (probably a monster in their eyes, at least until they became used to it). I thought maybe all of that had stressed the cats or they were reflecting MY stress. After all, not two of the cats were behaving in the same way and I was homebound looking after my husband after his heart surgery and couldn't get FOUR cats to the vet by myself! Within four hours of EASY dosing with Capstar, my cats were again, themselves. Oh, my gosh! We had our cats back!!!! Those tiny pills and an index finger to the back of the mouth to a rolled over, sleepy cat were easy to administer. Just get them when they are asleep and roll them over before they know what is going on! All four seemed much relieved so quickly and, therefore, so was I. All of us piled in the bed last night with them not a one twitching, scratching or jerking around. PEACE at last! No fear for me getting bitten either! And Capstar instructions say that at that point, after about six hours max, there are no LIVE fleas at all on your pet. And it certainly seemed that way. It was a great night with them at last. My cats are indoor cats, completely. But ONE pregnant female flea, waiting on our doorstep or brought in by a worker, may have been the culprit which started this nightmare. This summer has been wet and warm. Fleas love that. Now, here's what I know from a similar infestation about seven years ago and from current research this time: VACUUM, VACUUM, VACUUM your floors and furniture for weeks! Vacuum every day and dispose of what you have vacuumed immediately. Eggs can live in your upholstery or carpets for months waiting for the right conditions to hatch many months after you thought you had everything under control! That is why treating with a monthly treatment FOR MONTHS and months will be necessary EVEN WITH INDOOR CATS. Only after about six or seven months last time did I stop the monthly treatments. I did NOT want to be putting poison on my cats' skins unnecessarily, but nor did I want the nasty flea critters back from OLD EGGS! I consider ourselves very luck to have had seven or more years flea-less! THAT is quite a victory! We live in a wildlife filled area. And flea types WILL change host species if they have to. That may have had something to do with the new fleas. Wash pet bedding (that means your spreads too!) very, very regularly. A substitute is putting something like a spread in the dryer every day or so for at least a week or so to kill the eggs AFTER you begin with the monthly treatment. There may be a few live fleas left somewher in your home and so you must be diligent. Look, this is a war! And with resistance to the insecticides used in these flea products apparently mounting, you have to look at this as if it is an emergency to get under control. And when you think you have it under control, do not stop with the vacuuming, the washing, and the monthly treatments for at least six months or so, I found. I think some people want the easy way out. Well, who doesn't, really? But getting rid of fleas cannot be approached in a "easy way out," amount of effort. This will take EFFORT and PERSISTENCE, in capital letters! Advantage II is a great product, but WE have to do our part too. Merely squeezing a liquid at the base of our cats' skulls is only a PART of the battle. Remember those eggs are laying in wait to hatch and begin the cycle all over again. Fleas cost SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much misery for my cats! HUNDREDS of dollars will be spent by the time this war is over! Poison on my cats. ENDLESS work for me vacuuming and washing bedding and so on. And we are older and pretty darned infirm, but I am forced to vacuum and vacuum and vacuum ad infinitum! And we spend our retirement money and watch, most unfortunately, as our fur babies suffered. Get the CAPSTAR for IMMEDIATE relief for your cats (OR dogs!) and then get the Bayer Advantage II IN THE PROPER size for your kitty and begin the war which can be won! Capstar's instructions say it can be used with other flea treatments, but I am wary of that! You will have to hit this on all sides, especially at first! Just read, read, read all the instructions for safe usage of any of these products and be cautious upon application and for hours afterward. But boy am I pleased with the Capstar for the immediacy of its relief! Seeing our fur babies suffer is so sad for us. Unfortunately, it took me two weeks to figure out that it was FLEAS causing our cats' odd behaviors like jerking around, having very ultra sensitive backs, biting fur off (not actually out) , and excessive licking of feet. Each cat had it own timing for reacting to the fleas as one cat would react a certain way and another cat was reacting in a different way. Two cats started reactions a week before the other two finally succumbed to symptoms! And so, I thought there were different causes of their behaviors or their behaviors were reactions to the new stress in this home. Oh, if you cannot SEE the fleas on your cat but suspect them: dampen your hand with water and rub it lightly over the fur near where the tail starts. If you see tiny black specks, kind of like black pepper, those are minute bits are, well, flea excrement, from your cat being bitten. That is how I figured out what was going on! And while you are in "that" area, be on the look-out for tapeworms as are a different story. Fleas carry tapeworms! Just HOPE with all your might that you never see tiny, rice-like THINGS near your cats' under tail area! The fleas WILL lose this fight. I guarantee that! We are off to a good start with Capstar and Advantage II and the vacuuming of floors and upholstery and washing of bedding. We got by with seven years flea free for our ALWAYS indoor cats! And yet, here we go again! And I am a clean freak....so yes, it CAN happen in a very well kept, clean home! Keep at it. Take it seriously and work at it! It is a multi-pronged attck which will be needed but you have no choice! Two products: Capstar and Advantage II. One used first for IMMEDIATE relief (can dose every twenty-four hours for a while if necessary) and then the other for monthly applied treatments. I do NOT mix the products out of fear but read the Capstar info. The most important thing is that the products CANNOT do it all alone! You are going to have to work yourself bozo too!

Great buy, helps my 4 cat apartment stay flea free. I get it on autoship every month and they haven't had any fleas this spring! I think this is one of the best flea meds I've gotten them. I've tried Vectra, Pet Armor, and another two I can't remember the names of, but this one has been the best. I love the Revolution flea treatment but it's so expensive for 4 cats. This has saved us!

This is a good product. Worked very well for my cat. This only one I buy

This is the first time using this medicine on my 2 cats. I was previously using revolution but it is prescription and I moved so I didn’t want to pay more money to see a vet and get another prescription set up. Revolution has always kept out cats flea free and happy the entire year we used it. Before i begin here’s our current flea status: infested. Both cats are itching continually, have mounds on their skins, and fleas bite me and my husband often. Fleas hatch every 3 days so at this point I do believe we have eggs all over and lots of bugs. So far - it’s been one week since dose 1... here’s my update: Both cats liked this med WAY better - they both hated the smell of revolution and would act like it was burning or irritating - not with advantage. Cat 1: got sick. To be more specific... she wanted to lay down by herself and was acting sleepy and irritable. (9lb cat and gave 9lb+ meds) (maybe the dose was just very high and she was on the tail end?) Cat 2: literally had an amazing response and wasn’t upset. (7lb cat gave 5-9lb meds) I ended up calling the vet because I wasn’t sure if cat 1 was being lethargic. The vet said she sounds fine because she was still grooming herself and awake with no other signs. The next day my cat was back to normal. The effectiveness after 1 week: Seemed to help and they have less fleas, their scabs/mounds are clearing up on their skin and we aren’t getting bit as often. But there are still fleas for sure - on both cats (not surprised - flea meds usually are most effective after continual use as eggs hatch in your carpets and on furniture etc.). We are not going to wait the full month before administering again (we ended up retreating 1 week later). I’ll come back and update my review on how that goes. Keep in mind flea meds like this will not eradicate house fleas. You will need to bomb or treat your living space as well. We haven’t gotten to that point yet. 2nd week: We gave a second dose after a full week passed. Neither cats had a bad reaction and neither got ill. Fleas are better but still biting us. Drastically less itching on the cats as well so it is working. We are going to wait 2 weeks to give the 3rd dose. I think at this point we had so many fleas... we have to work hard to get rid of the problem. I also just sprayed the carpets with dish soap water. 4th week (3 treatments in we JUST administered the 3rd dose on this update): Cats are way less itchy - I started combing them and I’m not finding very many fleas but still finding adult fleas. & few eggs around the house. Unfortunately our cats just started showing symptoms of worms as well - that happens when cats swallow fleas. So we got meds for that as well. Hopefully by the end of the box (1 more treatment) we can treat one time monthly and call it good. We will administer the last dose again in 2 weeks. Final update: we ended up getting an exterminator to spray our carpets. So unfortunate but the issue kept trickling and all I could think was that the cats were being treated but our environment hadn’t been. After getting our carpets treated, following vacuum guidelines - and continuing treatment of our cats... the issue is over! Yay! We are now treating monthly. I notice by the time the month has almost hit its end... they get a little itchy - stops within a few days after their meds. We have zero issues with biting now.

This works good at protecting my cats from parasites. They can play in the backyard safely. They don’t like the treatment, a liquid feeling on the back irritates them. But once the stuff dries, the little gremlins are happy and healthy.

This is a great buy. Easy to apply if done correctly and it keeps the fleas away. I have ordered a second time because it works and love that it comes with multiple!

Works great! Fast and effective.

I don't know whh this dolid not work for my 4 month old kitten. I got my kitten from a shelter and she came with fleas. Very infested, but this seemed to not help her at all. I had yo take ger to a vet and purchase a different one and it worked. Advantage II did not have a smell at all. I will not buy this again after my experience with it