# Revolution Flea and Worm Protection - Is it necessary?



## hechicera (Mar 31, 2008)

Hello All, 

First cat owner here and still learning.

With regards to Flea treatments - I want to use Reveolution because it's so easy and it does the fleas and worms in one go. But my vet says that I need to use this once a month. This was before I decided that my cat would be an indoor cat. My question is this... Is once a month necessary for indoor cats. He is the only animal in the house. I worry because I don't want to over medicate him unncessarily. 

Thanks guys.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I don't use anything on my cats. They're all indoor. Some members do treat their indoor cats during the summer months, but I don't. I know fleas can come in through windows and be carried in by humans, but there's no risk of that in my house.


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## HersheysKiss (Apr 12, 2007)

I don't use anything on my indoor cats either. I've had cats for almost 25 years and have only had one case of fleas but they were brought in by the dog and that was a long time ago.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Personally, I don't think Revolution is necessary for an indoor cat. I do think it's over medicating.
As for a monthly flea treatment, in general, it depends on where you live. If you have very bad fleas year round, then it's not a bad idea. But I would use a flea only treatment like Advantage. 
I live in So. Cal and we have pretty bad fleas in the Summer. My cats (and I) live on the fourth floor of a building but, even so, sometimes they still get fleas. I probably bring a hitchhiker home on me. :roll: Luckily (or unluckily) they love me, so I usually know we have them before my cats do and I'll treat them. I actually split one dose between the two of them and that's always gotten me through the Summer. 
But, I'd recommend not risking that (do as I say, not as I do  ) It's probably a better idea to treat them through the flea season to be on the safe side.


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## hechicera (Mar 31, 2008)

Thanks for that marie. So fleas are more common in the summer are they? Had no idea, good to know. I deduced with my awesome logic powers 8) that fleas would want a warm home during the winter and so that's when they are more likely to latch on to animals during the colder months hehe.

The other reason why I am questioning the once a month treatment is because I'm assuming that the Revolution Product is stronger than other products given that it does both the fleas and worms. I don't want to give kitty "strong" or "heavy" medications if he doesn't need it. 

Maybe I should do it every three months? or stick with the once a month schedule but use a weaker product? or not use at all? 

Looking forward to your opinions.


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## hechicera (Mar 31, 2008)

hey thanks nanook! where I live it's only unbearably hot for like three weeks of the year and I've never had fleas in my home nor have I heard of anyone having fleas in their home actually.

So taken all that into account + responses so far I'll be thinking about buying advantag and using that maybe once every 3-4 months just to be on the safe side - what do you guys think??

How do cats get worms by the way? Should I think buy worming medication and use this once a year... is it even necessary given kitty is an indoor cat - his diet is made up of ziwipeak canned food and raw.

Do cats get worms from off raw food?


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

I don't know anything about raw feeding, but my understanding is that cats can get worms from eating infected insects or prey, or sharing a litter box with an infected cat. (I'm sure there are other ways too.) :?


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## mstx (Mar 4, 2008)

I have Munchkin on Revolution and I keep it on her every month. Thats mainly bc my parents have 3 outside cats and we go over there once a week so i am sure we bring home hitchhikers :roll: I also give her a bath once every 2 months with flea shampoo which she doesnt mind too much.


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## Kittys Mom (May 7, 2004)

I also don't use any flea protection...ever. All the kids got treated once, when I found Tre, he had been a stray. I brought him home with me and found out the next day that he had fleas.

To be safe, I treated the whole household of cats. That was the only time I bothered with it. They are indoor only and I've never had a flea come into the house on me or through a window.

For worms, I just keep an eye on the litter and on the butts. Any signs of worms, we go in to the vet for treatment. So far, we've only had one episode. Thomas was an outdoor kitten who hunted with his mommy. When I got him, he had worms. That was the only time that I've seen them (that was enough! BLECH!).


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

If your cats are indoors, it's very unlikely they will get any parasites. I don't think fresh (frozen)raw meat is a problem. They do get tapeworms from swallowing fleas, so, as long as they don't get fleas...  
I would never treat for worms or parasites as a routine (one of the reasons I don't like Revolution in most cases). I don't like the idea of constantly "deworming" my cat whether he needs it or not. If you're at all concerned or suspect something just have a fecal run.
Although my cats don't go outside, they have gotten the occasional bird that's made it's way inside  so I tend to do a fecal when they have their annual exam and they've never had anything.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

I don't use anything on my cat or dog - even though the cat does go out on a harness. 

And as an FYI - Revolution doesn't get tapeworms so IF the cat did have fleas with or without the topicals you'd still need another medication for the tapeworms.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

> Revolution doesn't get tapeworms so IF the cat did have fleas with or without the topicals you'd still need another medication for the tapeworms.


Good point.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I have one word for you folks who don't think it's necessary for indoor cats: mosquitoes. Well, make it two words: mosquitoes, heartworms. If you don't use it for the fleas, I think it's a good idea to aat least use something for heartworm protection. Either Revolution or Heartgard. Ask yourself if you've ever seen a mosquito indoors. Even with screens, I have. And Revolution protects against ticks and ear mites, too, does it not?

My summertime regimen is a dose of Revolution at the beginning of the season, then a dose of Frontline Plus after a couple months, and another dose toward the end. Interspersed with this is two or three doses of Heartgard at appropriate intervals. I don't observe one-month intervals religiously because the protection actually lasts longer than a month. My vet told me that one of them (forget which) at one time was marketed for three-month protection.

And as for the heartworms, if you get the Heartgard in them before the larvae matures, you're going to be OK. And the larvae takes six months or so on average to mature. So I suppose you could hit them with a dose at the end of the season and still be protected, though I don't wait that long.

As for prophylactic deworming, I think that's a reasonable thing to do as well. At least for roundworms. It's very difficult to entirely rid a cat of roundworms, as they encyst in the muscle tissue and come out after long intervals. It's easy to tell when a cat has tapeworms, but the other worm species need a fecal exam to tell (unless it's really obvious, like once I found a live one in some vomit.)


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Another good point, Tim. We have VERY few mosquitoes here so it's not much of concern for me. However, if I lived in an area that had them, and they tended to get in the house, I would definitely consider treating them with Heartgard.


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## My3babies (Sep 27, 2007)

coaster said:


> I have one word for you folks who don't think it's necessary for indoor cats: mosquitoes. Well, make it two words: mosquitoes, heartworms. If you don't use it for the fleas, I think it's a good idea to aat least use something for heartworm protection. Either Revolution or Heartgard.


This might be a really dumb question, but how does Revolution protect against mosquitoes? And how does a cat get heartworms from mosquitoes? I know that they do, but I have never understood how.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Not a dumb question at all!
This explains it pretty well. YUCK!
http://www.dr-dan.com/heartwor1.htm


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Thanks, nanook. Ya beat me to it.


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## My3babies (Sep 27, 2007)

Thanks Coaster and Nanook! 

Coaster, when do you start your rotation and when do you end it? Is it necessary to treat year round?


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I don't treat year round, no. I suppose about now is when I would give the first topical, alternating every other month, with the last one given early October. I start Heartgard in June, or not later than 30 days after I see the first mosquito, and give the last dose in October. So I guess that's about six months on the outside. Some may do longer, some less; I guess it depends on what you assess as the risk and how much risk you want to take.


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## hechicera (Mar 31, 2008)

Coaster - thank you for the info on mosquitos - will keep this in mind. Heartworms sound so nasty


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

They're not as dangerous to a cat as to a dog -- unless they're improperly treated, that is. Heartworms can't replicate in cats; I don't remember exactly why. I think they're sterile in cats. But if you try to kill an adult heartworm, then when it dies it can clog up a blood vessel, causing death. At least that's the way I understand it; I might not have the facts exactly correct--I don't have time to look it up right now. Heartworms in cats are usually treated by just alleviating the symptoms. But still they're best prevented, not treated.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

actually they aren't treated in cats at all. they usually die off on their own in a few years, but the symptoms (if any present) like coughing or wheezing are usually treated with steroids as needed.

They can do damage while they are present and CAN be fatal but not at all as severe as in dogs where they continue to multiply.


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Unfortunately, even a single worm can grow large enough to block the pulmonary artery and kill the cat. If there are symptoms at all (most cats have none), the first one may be sudden death, although some cats develop respiratory symptoms or chronic vomiting first. Baby heartworms (microfilaria) take 6 months to develop into adults, and live about 2 years.

The *good* news is that heartworm larvae can only reproduce in mosquitoes when the temperature is consistently above 55 degrees F 24/7 for at least 2 weeks (probably 4). That makes for a short season in a lot of places, in which case you'd only need the preventative for a few months (starting 4 weeks after the temps warmed up, until 4 weeks after the temps drop in the fall. However, in places like Florida, you'd need to treat year-round.

When I lived in California I put the dog, but not the cats, on heartworm pills. We don't have much heartworm here in Colorado; if we did, it would be a tough call whether to give them anything at all, or maybe just treat them for the few months it's possible to transmit it.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Hey, thanks for posting that 55-degree thing!! Didn't know that.....and now the heartworm season in Wisconsin has been reduced to a couple days in August!! :lol:


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

drjean wrote: 


> When I lived in California I put the dog, but not the cats, on heartworm pills.


Just curious why you chose not to treat the cats. I don't treat my cats but I'm actually torn every Summer whether to or not and I'd love to know your reasoning on this.
I used to have screens so my thinking was, the likelihood of an infected mosquito actually getting in and then biting my cats (and not me first :roll: ) was incredibly slim. But now, I don't have screens anymore, so I wonder...


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

drjean said:


> However, in places like Florida, you'd need to treat year-round.


I can vouch for this personally. Year-round flea paradise, even for indoor-only cats. :x


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

I didn't treat the cats because a local vet, who knew fleas like the back of her hand, said that because the cats all slept with the dog, the medicine would transfer to them, as well as get into the carpet everywhere he went. He was a one-dog extermination factory!


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

The heartworm medication?


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## sophiecat (Mar 22, 2008)

this is a rally helpful interesting thread. 

i have just flea'd and wormed my catty but maybe i needn't worry as she never goes outside??? :? 

i couldn't bare to have a fea on her or a worm even worse - 8O


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