<p>I know from previous posts that there are many cat owners on CC. My vet has recommended that my one-year-old cat stay on Revolution year-round to prevent a possible pest infestation. She says that even though he rarely goes outside, he should be prophylactically treated because parasites can enter the home via dirty shoes or other means. I find this hard to believe - we don’t wear shoes in the house, I wash my floors weekly and he never has contact with any other animals. I really can’t imagine how he would contract an infestation, especially in the winter in New England. Revolution is basically a pesticide and I worry that I’m doing more harm than good by giving it to him, perhaps unnecessarily. Is it something that I can only give him during the summer months? Does anyone else administer this type of medication to their cat?</p>
<p>^For a second I thought of cats with guns marching a la Cows with guns. ;)</p>
<p>Gourmetmom, we have two cats who are indoor-outdoor cats for most of the year ( as they age they spend more time indoors in the winter), and we do give them Revolution for about three months out of the year May - August. The box says to give it to them every 30 days, but we usually go about 40 days. The cats have never had big problem with pests (they had fleas once, that is why we started the Revolution). When they are outdoors they spend a lot of time in corn and bean fields, and in deep hedge rows so they are some pretty nasty stuff for bugs. I NEVER give to them in the winter. Oh, and by the way, instead of buying it from the vet, I order it online and pay about 1/3 the price.</p>
<p>r a second I thought of cats with guns marching a la Cows with guns
^^^^
Me too.</p>
<p>I thought * " now we are in for it*" :eek:</p>
<p>I basically have to give my cat Revolution year round as we also have 2 dogs who are indoor/outdoor. She’s 7 years old and very heathy. She has a beautiful, shiny blue/black coat and perfectly round (vs. almond shaped) lime green eyes. She’s also one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever had. Not that Revolution has anything to do with that, lol.</p>
<p>I have an outdoor car and only give him flea/critter meds for 4 months and only because the animals do pick up fleas late in the summer. This one is the offspring of another “barn” cat that lived to be twenty and this one is 10 now. Never had any health issues at all. My old vet who retired told me that cats that are born and bred outside the homes and continue to live predominantly outside the home generally have alot of resistance to critters. Mine does come inside during the winter as did his mom and both the mom was neutered and this one when we got them BTW lest anyone thing we’re proliferating kittens. Neither used a litter box unless deep snow conditions… prefer to go outside for that, also. He only shows up to come inside on the very coldest/snowiest nights and of course to eat on a regular basis and hang out. My new vet told me that they regularly recommend year round use of these things (the heartworm for dogs and the cat things) but really aren’t essential during winter months and it was totally up to me. He says it’s “easier” for people to remember if they have to do it every month instead of stopping and starting…I don’t “forget” and I don’t give those drugs to the dog or the cat except during summer months until the first hard frost.</p>
<p>This cat showed up at my back door early last spring. He’s a neutered purebred - quite beautiful and affectionate - it seemed that someone must have lost him. We tried for about a month to find his owner with no luck, so we adopted him. He had a minor case of fleas and ear mites, and the vet started him on Revolution. Because we have foxes and an occasional coyote in our area, I’m afraid to let him outside without supervision - the kids actually walk him with a harness and lead, and he’s become quite used to it, so he does get fresh air often. He’s not out for long periods, so the likelihood of him catching anything is somewhat low. I think that I’ll use the Revolution in the summer months only - starting in late April or so.</p>
<p>We also have two cats who were getting Revolution just during the summer months. They’re indoor and go outside into their enclosure only. We recently had one into the vets and she told us that we should really have them on Revolution all year long since it prevents heartworms. So, we use it every month now.</p>
<p>I use Advantage for my cats. They are indoor/outdoor cats, but I only use it when we are having a problem with fleas and/or ticks. That is usually the months of Aug., Sept. and Oct. I have read that these type of pest treatments are neurotoxins, so I don’t want to use it any more than I have to. I would not want to keep them on it all year round.</p>
<p>We have had cats forever. In Dallas I had to use the flea treatment year 'round. It was a HUGE problem and not one of our cats ever left the house. I don’t know what the deal was. I did it about every 40 days. In Nashville I don’t see fleas and don’t treat my cats at all. I DO treat the dog, who does go outside. (fingers crossed). The infestations we used to get in Dallas were simply horrible, and my daughter had the same problem in Houston with her indoor cat.</p>
<p>My vet recommends Advantage and we do it only during the warmer months when fleas and ticks are outside. We live near Boston.</p>
<p>Yes, it can be useful but … I’ve found that some vets do a couple of things that aren’t done with people. They tend to stand back and say “You can do this” and they tend to pressure you to the maximum care. A human’s doctor says, “This makes sense,” but since we can’t ask pets - and some pet owners can be “insane” about their animals - they tell you the maximum and then let you decide. Which means you are pressured to do the maximum. Some vets treat animals like they’re luxury cars that need to be maintained to a high spec level. That drives them to saying your pet needs year round protection, etc. </p>
<p>Truth is animals will develop problems based on their age, heredity (which we rarely can evaluate), chance and whatever happens by accident. I see little additional value in protecting an indoor cat with Revolution or Advantage during the winter.</p>
<p>Both of my adopted cats came with a free box of Revolution (I suspect Pfizer flooded local shelters and vet offices with these freebies because it wants you to get hooked on it). Neither cat is using it because they have never set their paw outside. The dog who roams the yard most of the day does not get any flea treatments either, because, knock on wood, in his 11 years of life he never had them. My pets get regular fecal tests for parasites, and so far, they have been clean.</p>
<p>In all our years of having many cats, we have never given them flea/tick treatments. And, we’ve never had a cat have fleas or ticks. The cats have free run of our screened in back porch, but do not go outside. We have a 12 year old dog who is basically an indoor dog that goes outside to do his thing and for walks. He is treated year 'round.</p>
<p>I have used Advantage for my pets , never year round…for some reason , there have been literally no fleas on any of our pets for years. I have not treated them for about 4 yrs at all
I hate to think this way , but a lot of times, vets seem to recommend a lot of " extras " that can run up the bill …I am having our new dog spayed next week and cannot believe the charge now !
It has been about 10 yrs since I have a pet spayed ,since we mostly have had males</p>
<p>To be clear, we’ve also brought in feral cats and they tend to be flea-infested. Even in winter. Fleas, etc. stay dormant or in egg form and then come to life in the heat. First thing we do when bringing in a stray is flea treat and isolate for a day. Then grab the beast and comb it out to make sure. If you find little black dots, then you’ve found what you don’t want to find. But a house cat isn’t at all likely to pick up fleas unless it’s somehow best buddies with a feral. We all know how unlikely that is.</p>
<p>Another cat owner here (now saddled with 3 cats!) I have never given my indoor cats Advantage or Revolution or anything for “critters.”</p>
<p>And I agree about the vets “pushing” this stuff on us. Does any cat owner out there treat their STRICTLY INDOOR cat for heartworm? (We live in MI) We did it for a few years, mainly because our vet scared us into doing it - but last summer I refused to do it. The cats hate the medicine, and it’s expensive. What is the REAL likelihood that they will be bitten by an infected mosquito while in the house??</p>
<p>
I worked in an animal hospital for several years, and it was standard practice to recommend that dogs receive Sentinel monthly and cats receive Revolution monthly for precisely that reason. It should be noted that this is in the South, though, where protection against worms is essentially a requirement. I second lololu’s suggestion of buying online, as it is MUCH cheaper.</p>
<p>Advantage and especially Frontline Plus are also good for fleas/ticks, but they don’t have the protection against worms.</p>
<p>So, warbler, do you have cats and do you keep them on revolution all year round then?</p>
<p>We trust our vet is doing what’s best for our cats by suggesting year round treatment and since they do go outdoors safely, we prefer to have them protected. I’ve seen too many sad shows about pets with heartworm.</p>
<p>Living in Texas may be the reason why I feel I should treat my indoor cat year round. The dogs do bring in fleas from time to time, and they all make frequent contact once in the house. The last time I took Kitty to the vet, they found “a” flea on her. My impression of Revolution is that when the flea bites the animal, the medication prevents the flea from reproducing.</p>
<p>We also have a lot of mosquitos in Texas in the warm months. I guess I just feel like I’d rather be safe than sorry. Heartworm is a horrible thing, and basically preventable. But I do admit that many of these posts give me pause.</p>
<p>It may well have to do with where you live. I’m in a very dry area and my vet has never suggested Frontline/Advantage for my indoor cats. Not a lot of fleas around here . . . too dry. However, when I took in a stray kitten it did turn out to be loaded with fleas, so I dosed it and my cats with Frontline (I think it was Frontline) just in case. It made their fur feel different . . . a little more oily. But it killed all the fleas.</p>