Flea treatments

luckat

Cross-posting with Bargains Wanted. The annual fleas have arrived, and it's time to apply Frontline or Advantage, but the vets charge an absolute fortune for this.

I see it's available on Amazon for around $50 for several doses, but I don't want to buy from Amazon while the Humane Society lawsuit is still going on (http://www.hsus.org/in_the_courts/docket/amazon.html). And there's a site called something like nofleausa selling it at around the same price; can't see any bad references to this site, but it's not clear if they ship internationally.

Is there anywhere in Ireland to buy the stuff reliably at a more reasonable rate than the vets charge?

Fatcat

Hi Luckat,
I looked into this a while back but, unfortunately, only vets in Ireland are permitted to sell prescribed flea treatments like Frontline, Advantage etc.
The pet shops aren't allowed to sell them.
You'll have to look to websites in the UK or US if you want to buy online. I know, it's a pain but it's worth ordering online as it saves a good deal of money - especially if you buy from the US with the dollar getting weaker again!

luckat

Apparently there are scammers selling fake treatments, though, which may harm animals. I'd like to be quite confident of a site before ordering from it.

Munster Gal

Be very careful when ordering prescription items online. My SIL works for a pharmaceutical company and part of her job involves buying stuff online and testing it - she encounters ALOT of fake medicines, either not in the correct strength or not the drug at all. The packaging is very well done and it's even sealed in alot of cases. Personally I wouldn't do it unless I knew for sure the site was selling genuine stuff.

sunshinegirl

i use teatree oil and citronella oil, put a drop into hot water then soaked the collar.,then leave to dry, hey presto your own natural flea collar. I havent looked back in a few years,all the chemical ones drove my poor cat mental.

luckat

sunshinegirl wrote: »

i use teatree oil and citronella oil, put a drop into hot water then soaked the collar.,then leave to dry, hey presto your own natural flea collar. I havent looked back in a few years,all the chemical ones drove my poor cat mental.

If this would work I'd do it, but I've never found it works for me.

PurplePrincess

I use this crowd for flea and worm treatments.

http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/

Sigma Force

Some essential oils are toxic to cats, I think tea tree and citronella are safe but if anyone is unsure about any essential oils for pets double check.
Neem oil is great for dealing with parasites smells yuk but mixed with other oils it isn't so bad. There are some dog shampoos that contain it now I believe.

Vets are charging ridiculous amounts for drops like Advantage or Advocate, not sure why they are so expensive their suppliers must be charging a good bit it's ridiculous that it can cost up to around 16 euro for 2 dogs.

Where we live we have to use Advocate regularly because of the long grass etc. but I try not to give it as often as on the pack. Sometimes something like a Stronghold spray can work out cheaper. Depends I guess on the size of the animal.

luckat

PurplePrincess wrote: »

I use this crowd for flea and worm treatments.

http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/

Thanks PurplePrincess, I'll try them.

luckat

I ordered from the British online site, and paid about £51 for six treatments - three for the dog and three for the cat - and a spraycan of Skoosh, a non-poisonous flea spray that traps the fleas and their pupae in a sticky silicon mass.

But since the stuff didn't arrive straightaway, I went to the vet's to get an initial dose. For just *two* doses - one for the cat and one for the dog - it was €27.

Rip-off Republic strikes again.

clofty

Thanks for the link PurplePrincess. I ordered mine yesterday. Pack of 3 frontline flea treatment and 2 x drontal wormers for my 2 cats worked out as €17.00 incl. delivery - the frontline in my vets works out at €9.00 each so I'm a happy camper (once the stuff arrives ok!!).

Thanks again.
Cathy

The Sweeper

Tea tree oil is toxic to cats (probably not fatally in the dosage that would be involved in a home-made flea collar, but remember their noses are far more sensitive than ours and the strong scent could be very upsetting for them).

Remember that Advocate, Advantage and Revolution all treat gastointestinal worms as well as fleas, so even though they're a once-a-month treatment, you are offsetting the price of your worming, especially on kittens from two to six months who should be wormed once a month.

I do agree it's expensive though. Mine are indoor cats so fleas aren't a problem for me, but I still have the three-monthly drontal party that becomes particularly costly when you're dosing five cats; moreso when one of them is a >6kg beastie who needs a higher dose, and even moreso again when another of them is a kitten who's still within his once-a-month dosing period.

They have me bankrupt.

luckat

A friend called over today and I was whinging about the expense of buying the stuff in the vet's - she said "But the vet" (the same one I go to) "told me to buy it online - they can't get it as cheap because of the rules they work under!"

krautmick

Sorry to necro this thread, but is there still no option to buy stuff like Stronghold online in Ireland?

I have four cats. With €8 a shot per month this is €384 a year to keep them all in check for worms and fleas etc. And no, I cannot use tablets, I'd be taking my life into my own hands trying again.

There are UK retailers that do this online, but they want a UK Vet prescription, which is of course no use. What can be done?

Fatcat

I recently bought Frontline for my cats from www.mypetcaresupplies.co.uk
A pack of six Frontline treatments cost £25 (about €32)

krautmick

Thanks, but they don't have any wormers that don't involve taking my life in my own hands. Anything that involves forced swallowing is out of the question, which is why I was looking for Stronghold.