My cat's flea treatment isn't working. Can I switch brands safely?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Maine Coon | Male | neutered | 4 years and 7 months old
Can I use advantage flea treatment one week after giving ectoline on my cats. I've tri d another cheaper brand in the last week also but nothing seems to be working. They became resistant to frontline a couple of years ago and ectoline was started one year ago effectively but now has stopped working too
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on August 7th, 2017
I would not use the Advantage so close to applying another treatment. Wait at least 3 weeks since previous treatment. It may still be killing the fleas on the cat, but if fleas are still in the environment, new ones are jumping onto the cats. I would recommend treating the environment to help get rid of fleas more effectively. It will take at least 4 months to get rid of fleas if you are treating ONLY the pets. Make sure all pets are treated as well. Here are some articles for more info. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A
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Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on June 9th, 2018
I have found oral preventives to be more effective that topicals and equally as safe. The most important thing when treating fleas however is to break the flea life cycle by inactivating the eggs and larvae which comprise 95% of the flea burden (only 5% are active adults at any one time) - you will continue to see live fleas as they hatch and before they are killed by treatment. I recommend disposing of as much bedding etc as possible and spraying all sleeping areas and resting places with an insecticidal household flea spray such as acclaim or indorex in order to inactivate the eggs
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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