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Frontline and capstar but still has fleas.

Species: Cat
Breed: domestic long hair
Age: 8-11 years
My cat has fleas. We have treated him with capstar and frontline, given him a flea bath, and combed him. We have bombed our house. And then we have repeated this process 3 times. We switched from frontline to advantage. We just found another flea. What are we doing wrong?

Related Article: Your Pet Has Fleas!


Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

This is a frustrating problem! Both Frontline and Advantage are good products so they should work to treat a flea problem.

Sometimes if there is a severe flea infestation in the house, it can take several months of treatment before we stop seeing live fleas. You can also talk to your vet about using a product called Capstar along with either the Frontline or Advantage to add extra "oomph" to the flea killing process.

Here are some other tips that may help:

-Be sure that you are using the Frontline/Advantage once a month. Any longer and fleas can still survive.
-You need to treat for at least 3 months in a row.
-You need to make sure that ALL animals in your house are being treated.
-Be sure that you don't bathe your cat within 24-48 hours of putting on the product.
-Don't use Frontline or Advantage that you bought online. There have been cases where online pharmacies were selling expired product or even a totally different product.

In my clinic, if an animal is on Advantage and the owner is following all of the directions and is treating all animals in the house, Bayer, the company that makes Advantage will investigate the problem and help you solve it. So, you may want to ask your vet if they can contact Bayer for you.

I hope this helps!
Dr. Marie.

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---


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Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.

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Dr. MarieDr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.

Is an online vet visit just as good as a trip to your veterinarian? No! But, many times, asking an online veterinarian a question can help save you money. While Dr. Marie can't officially diagnose your pet or prescribe medications, she can often advise you on whether a vet visit is necessary. You can also ask Dr. Marie for a second opinion on your pet's condition.