Advice needed-- indoor cats

[MerryBlooms]

Do you have your strictly indoor cat/s on Frontline or Revolution?

[HopeHoops]

1. No. The Hartz stuff is the same substance at a lower concentration and cost.

It's just as effective. Even my vet (who has a Frontline sign on the counter) told me there's no benefit for going with the more expensive shit. I've used it for decades and it works great. No sense spending the extra money.

The only reason you need it for indoor cats is because dogs go outside and fleas spend 90% of their time off of the host critter. Baking soda is the best thing to use on carpets. It dehydrates the eggs, larva and pupa as well as the expensive "flea powder" stuff. I'm old-school on a lot of levels and that's one of them. Why spend the extra money?

[MerryBlooms]

3. We live on the second floor of the condo and our cats have NEVER been exposed

to a dog or community lawn, yet our vet insists our boys need to be poisoned monthly. Our cats groom each other and I do not want them ingesting that shit. *sigh I am looking for a new vet for the new year. I really love the staff, but I don't like the vet. The same time I fret on the boys' health and feel guilty. It was $136ish for Harry's well kitty check and shots. It's not the cost that bugs me, it's the vet.

[HopeHoops]

13. Yeah, $136 is a little pricy. Fleas travel on any available host, including humans.

You only need to treat twice (4 week intervals) and Hartz works just fine.

[Flaxbee]

19. Wow - the Hartz stuff sent one of my cats into shock; she

started shaking and we washed her immediately but still had to take her to the emergency vet... and my other cat lost a dime-size divot of fur from the application spot. Never used it again. That was about a decade ago, so perhaps the formulation has changed.

I buy Advantage from the UK - same thing as what they sell here, only much much much cheaper. $18 for 4 applications, plus about $1.50 shipping. I have used it for many months, and it works beautifully.

The estimated shipment time is much longer than the actual shipment time - it only takes about 10 days to get to me from the UK.

Check this out: http://www.amazon.com/Advantage-Cats-Rabbits-Over-9Lbs/dp/B0052RTAT8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1352868462&sr=8-4&keywords=advantage+for+cats+over+9+lbs

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. No, they don't go outside and aren't exposed to fleas.

The only time I've had to deal with fleas on a cat was many years ago when we took in a stray kitten.

[MerryBlooms]

4. The vet's push is heartworm.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. My vet has never even mentioned heartworm with regard to my cats.

I just found this article: http://www.heartwormsociety.org/veterinary-resources/feline-guidelines.html

It says:

Monthly heartworm preventives are a safe and effective option for cats living in areas where heartworm infection is considered endemic in dogs and exposure to infective mosquitoes is possible. Many cats live more sheltered lives than do most dogs and are often confined indoors. Unless the home environment provides an effective barrier to the entrance of mosquitoes, these so-called “indoor” cats may also be at risk. In one retrospective study, approximately 25% of cats diagnosed with adult heartworms were considered indoor cats. Caregivers should be advised objectively of the potential risk of heartworm infection in their community and for their cat’s living conditions. When monthly heartworm prevention is elected, it should at least be administered within 30 days following the estimated seasonal onset of transmission and continued within 30 days after that period has ended. Administering a preventive year-round also has merit due to the following reasons: 1) activity against some common intestinal parasites and in the case of selamectin and topical moxidectin/imidacloprid, external parasites, 2) increased compliance, and 3) retroactive efficacy as a safeguard for inadvertent missed doses.

So I guess it depends on whether you live in an area where heartworm is endemic in dogs and your cats are likely to bitten by the mosquitoes that carry it (even if the cats live exclusively indoors).

[MerryBlooms]

6. :*( aw shit, I guess they need the poison.

These are my first cats. I had no idea:
1) they were as set in their ways as they are
2) were so high cost
3) would totally steal my heart

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Maybe you could ask your vet (or your new vet) a few questions.

Is heartworm common among dogs in year area? Are there a lot of heartworm-carrying mosquitoes in your area? Like I said, my vet has never even mentioned having my cats take heartworm medicine, and we do have mosquitoes around here (though I don't know what kind they are). Once in awhile mosquitoes get in the house, but I do try to keep the cats from clawing holes in the screens.

Maybe they need the medicine, maybe not. A little more research might be needed.

[MerryBlooms]

11. She's telling me that one indoor cat in two years tested positive for heartworm-

but I shouldn't risk my cats. I am miffed and yet feeling guilty...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. I guess I'd feel the same way.

I'd feel terrible if my cats got sick because I didn't do something the vet advised. But I understand why you're apprehensive about the treatment, too.

I have a somewhat similar dilemma: One of my cats has had several bouts of urinary tract inflammation, which was dangerous and painful for him (and expensive for me). So the vet prescribed a kind of cat food that has the correct pH balance and is supposed to help prevent this problem. Unfortunately it also has a lot of crap in it, like corn gluten. I complained to the vet that I'm trading one problem for another one - cats aren't supposed to be eating corn, and I don't want him to get fat and/or diabetic. But I also don't want him to keep having these urinary tract problems, either. The prescription food isn't available in a corn gluten-free version, so now I'm buying the more expensive canned version which has less crap in it.

I'd do damn near anything for those cats.

[MerryBlooms]

15. Yep, same situation

Harry won't eat any super market canned food, cooked fish, liver, turkey or canned tuna. I'm heading to the pet store tomorrow for the spendy stuff. The one thing he will eat on occasion is a couple of bloody slices off a raw steak, but even then, it's not a sure-in.

I hate cats.

[TuxedoKat]

22. FYI

Here is an article on this situation. There are so many good cat foods out there, maybe at the pet store they could recommend one that is comparable but without gluten and cheaper too. Fortunately none of my cats has this problem, although because of one cat I had that had kidney issues I do feed all my cats wet cat food twice a day and bought one of those filtered water bowls to encourage them to drink more water. Especially as one of my cats only likes to drink fresh water out of the sink usually, he does drink from the filtered bowl too. Drinking more water is supposed to help with urinary problems too. You can also mix a little water in with the wet cat food to get more water into your cat(s) as well.

http://askville.amazon.com/Attention-Cat-Lovers-sister-cat-urinary-problems-recommend-food-low-PH/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=7061043

Here is a water bowl. This companies' bowls seemed to get the best reviews. I have a bigger one that they make but wish I'd gotten this smaller size instead as the bigger one takes up alot of floor space. You need to buy filters too, and clean and replace them weekly.

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Pet-Stainless-Fountain-Raindrop/dp/B0037NKDSG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1352904111&sr=8-5&keywords=cat+water+bowl

I liked your last comment -- I'd do damn near anything too for my cats!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. Thanks for the info. I'm saving the article, will research the other foods.

We do have a water fountain, and just I've lately found a corn-free dry food, Mysong Uretic, at a specialty pet store that is supposed to be OK for urinary tract problems. The canned prescription food I've been getting costs about the same as the better non-prescription brands so we will stick with that.

[BlueMan Votes]

20. my vet told me that dogs can be treated for heartworm...

but for cats- it's fatal.

[Lokey]

8. Depending on your vet..

My indoor guy doesn't even get all the shots they used to give. I worry about that a little because I have taken him out in the yard a couple of times and some cats will come up to the screen. Do the kitties have fleas? If not then I probably wouldn't do anything. Spray the yard if you have grass and if they aren't around other animals-then don't worry about it.

[MerryBlooms]

10. My kitties do not go in the grass areas and have never been in contact with any other

animal- direct or indirect. They've only ever been in our screened deck with us- never even alone. They've never had a flea. The vet seems to be worried about a mosquito biting them inside.

[Lokey]

12. I would have to say

that not one of our cats over the years ever had the heartworm meds even our few that were indoor/outdoor. Now the dog gets it however. I would probably look at the side effects and the cost first. My vet has never even mentioned it. Perhaps its more common in cats now?

[MerryBlooms]

16. I honestly don't think it's more common

She claims one cat in the almost two years I've been going there... out of how many hundreds.

[Rob H.]

9. I don't have my indoor kitty on a flea preventive

She only goes outside for about 20 minutes a day (if that) with me outside with her. I did have her treated once, but only because the place I was going to board her while I was out of town insisted on it. They really slathered in on even though she's a relatively small cat--I never boarded her there again and haven't had her treated again, either.

[fleur-de-lisa]

17. Revolution . . .

causes less skin irritation.

[Kali]

18. I would decline the treatment and find another vet.

I noticed in the last decade that vets (or at least their office staff) are really starting to pressure with guilt trips and I won't put up with that shit. Find an older country vet that has common sense, experience and cheap hobbies.

[MerryBlooms]

21. It really has become a high-pressure guilt trip.

I really liked this office when we first started going-- it's all so disappointing.

[Kali]

24. they have high bills/overhead/lifestyle issues

hence advising an older, smaller, established practice - and if you find a country vet, they tend to be more practical and less into every latest bit of bs to milk guilty urban pet owners of their money. (the downside will be they don't have the latest info or technology either, but look where that is going. any treatment you can receive as a human patient is available for pets - and the insane medical bills to go with it, a realistic vet is going to help the awful decision to make between humane euthanasia and going broke doing extraordinary medical procedures, the greedy ones are going to push the guilt)

[TwilightGardener]

25. My indoor cats are on Frontline (though I have forgotten for a couple

months now, need to get some). Even if they don't go anywhere where they would be exposed (like the vet), someone else can bring fleas or flea eggs in and infest them. Or mice can get in. I have dogs that go outside and go to the groomer, so I just do all of them with Frontline. Yes, it is $$.

[davsand]

26. Chaucer kitty is indoors only. I have treated him once over the years.

Fleas can travel on just about anything, so it is not out of the realm of possibility that a strictly indoor cat could get fleas. Having SAID that, I will also say that my main reason for treating him was because we had an incident a few years ago when fleas got brought home in a sleeping bag from a slumber party. I thought we'd caught it before they got in the house, but evidently, we didn't, because mr kitty was scratching something fierce and I was finding flea dirt on him. I got him either Frontline or the other kind (can't remember the name off the top of my head) and treated him. A few days later he jaundiced and was vomiting up blood. After an nighttime trip to the ER Vet, and over $900 in vet bills, nobody was ever willing to admit that the flea treatment might have played a role in it. All I know is my cat almost died.

After that, I have really negative feelings about treating the cat for anything that he's not directly threatened by. Applying a pesticide to my cat makes me feel really squeemish, even IF the vets swears it is "safe." (Hell--they allow humans to eat Nutrasweet and GMO foods and we all know that stuff is not terribly safe. If that crap being fed to humans is gonna pass muster for the regulatory folks IMO, anything for a veterinary application evidently is not vetted too closely.)

YMMV.



Laura

[MerryBlooms]

27. omg, how awful.

I'm so happy he made it through.

[davsand]

28. He did come through it, and he's a fat and sassy Senior Citizen now.

Vet put him on "Fat Kitty Food" a year ago because he got up around 17 or 18 pounds. Lest you think I am a horrible cat mommy, however, I want to stress that he is a REALLY big cat along with being chubby. He can stand on his hind legs and wrap his paws around a door knob--I've watched him do it... He's THAT big.

He still plays and runs around some, and he's very "chatty." He loves his nip and the occasional nibble of smoked salmon with a passion, and he's got a catnip stuffed toy that he carries from room to room like a dog would. Every morning he wakes me up sometime around 5 or 6 AM by gently patting my face with his paw. If that doesn't get a response then he sticks his nose in my ear and purrs.

He's just a big old sweetie, and he rules the household. Can't imagine life without him. THAT is why I came in here to talk about what happened with that flea treatment. I think MOST people care for their dogs and cats--a lot like family--and I just hate the thought of somebody's vet cajoling them into possibly poisoning their loved one.


Laura