# Applying Advantage?



## Markz2k (May 13, 2005)

Hi all, first time poster and recent kitty adopter. Have a question for the experts. Noticed the cat (Gloria, that was her name at the shelter, and haven't thought of a better one yet.) was starting to scratch herself on the cheek/neck area, so figured she might be getting fleas. They did use frontline on her at the shelter, and she's been indoors since I got her home 4 weeks ago today. I ordered Advantage from petco.com, and got it today. I applied it following the directions, but I'm not siure I really got the applicator deep enough into her fur, I tried parting the fur as best I could to apply direct to the skin, but it seems it went on the skin, and soaked into the fur. Here's a picture:
http://members.cox.net/markz2003/IMG_0896.JPG

I havent' tried to wash/clean it yet, want to make sure the stuff gets in and starts working. The package doesn't say anything about cleaning fur. She hasn't tried to clean it either, but she can't reach that area.

So, what do I do? Leave it? Clean it off? Don't say give her a bath, I'm not brave enough for that. 

The other issue is when I took her to the vet for the free health screening, they said she had tapeworms. They gave her some drontal, and gave me another 1.5 tablets to give her 3 weeks later. I tried to give them to her, and was not succesful. I got the pills in her throat, but she spit them back out. I tried mashing them into wet food, but they don't really crush into small particles, so she could easily see them, and refused to eat. I just gave up, and I'm hoping that the first treatment was enough. Haven't seen any rice grains on her butt, so I hope so.

I've been readng this and other cat forums for 4+ weeks now, and have learned a lot. It's been 20 years since I had my last cat, decided it was time for another. Here's another pic; guess she doesn't want her face photographed. 
http://members.cox.net/markz2003/IMG_0863.JPG

Thanks for any help.


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## jazzo (Apr 19, 2005)

do you know for sure if she has fleas?, have you seen any??


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## Markz2k (May 13, 2005)

jazzo said:


> do you know for sure if she has fleas?, have you seen any??


No, I haven't seen any, but don't really know exactly what to look for either. She really did almost no scratching the first 3 weeks or so. She started to scratch a little last week, and some more this week. (And some more when I put a collar on her earlier this week.)

I figured it had been over a month since the frontline was applied, so she was probably due anyway.

The Advantage kind of stinks, too. Naturally, this will be one of the nights she wants to sleep next to me for the whole night.


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## spacemonkey (Aug 12, 2004)

Her fur will dry on its own, I wouldn't bother with it. We had to apply Frontline to all four cats yesterday, their fur looked like that for most of the afternoon.


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## Ianthe (Jun 7, 2004)

Her fur will dry on its own...that greasy look is normal...just leave it alone, it'll be fine.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Ask the vet to sell you another Drontal and ask them if they will pill the cat for you in the office. Many will do it for no extra charge if you buy the med from them.


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## jazzo (Apr 19, 2005)

I think if she had fleas, you would be seeing them a bit. Put down a white sheet or lots of white paper, and lay your cat on that. You should see some fleas jump off, ugggh!!

I moved into a rented house, and a few weeks later found out it was infested with fleas. I hadn't brought my cat there yet, thank gawd!! I found the fleas on me!!!!

You can see them if you try. Turn the cat over and look inside her belly fur, and you might be able to see them.

... but seriously, if she has fleas, I would bring her in for treatment. Also, are you treating your house too. If you think she has them, you should be treating your house, vacuuming like crazy, etc. Those little fleas multiply by the 100's.

Seriously, lay the cat on something big and white, and sit there for a while, you should see some jump if she has them.

Good luck, let me know if you need any other tips. Like I said, my cat never got them, but boy I had them!! Found them on me more than once!! I treated that house, but then finally moved out and didn't pay the rest of the rent. The house owner refused to believe there were fleas in there. What a joke it was, and what a mess. 

Let me know if you have any other questions.


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## Markz2k (May 13, 2005)

Thanks for the adivce, everybody. Yeah, the greasy look did go away. They should mention that on the packaging. I'll try looking her over for fleas, but I certainly hope I got the advantage on her in time. Last thing I want to do is to try to rid the house of fleas. I haven't seen her scratch yet, but have only been home about a half hour. I can try putting her on some white paper, but doubt I could get her to stay put for long, unless it's her idea to go to the white paper.

As for the drontal, I'll have to call the vet and see about getting a new tablet, and having them install it.  The vet I took her to on the way home from the shelter is pretty far from here, so don't really want to subject her to a 45-min car ride (each way) just for that. (I got her at the San Diego shelter, partly because the shelters near me charge $80-110 to adopt, and San Diego only charged $29.)


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## sierra (Apr 21, 2005)

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The following was copied from other sites. These are just a few of the many I came across , all saying the same thing about Advantage/Advantix: 

Advantage Flea product: how safe or how toxic is it? 

Used Advantage on my cat and shes sick 
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Hi, last week I used the usual Advantage for cats on my Harley, and it was even one third the dose, because I use one vial on 3 cats. She was sick by that evening, wouldn't eat, acted like she was barfing even if she drank water. She soon quit eating at all, and for 3 days it was touch and go. Luckily she is chubby, so she had some fat on her to live off of. I spent 180$ in tests at the vet, and they hydrated her, and sent her home with no answers. 

She hadnt pottied or eaten for 3 days. She looked horrible. I managed to find some soft treats by a natural cat food company that she finally ate one a few days ago. On the 5th day she ate a few more. I really think they saved her life. She finally drank a little water on the 6th day and eats a few bites of food here and there. She still is in the same spot, sleeps all day and rarely moves. I can tell she still doesnt feel well. But at least she is eating. Very little pottying at all. 

Vet says its very rare if it was the drops. I know it was. She might have licked them to much somehow... I have no idea. Just telling you to be careful She is 9 years old. I have used the drops for years, and always noticed they act so tired for a day or so after I use them. We never know, for sure how safe these things are, but if it kills fleas, it might become harmful if they are too young or too old. 
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Mary Ann lost her beloved bearded collie 'Kaimen' as a result of using Advantage Flea Drops. "Advantage flea drops were recomended by my veteranarian to control Kaimens flea problems. The drops were placed on the back of his head in the nape of the neck. After using Advantage for 13 months a growth the size of a golf ball emerged in that very same spot where the Advantage flea drop were placed. The growth was made of a grey colored flesh with a putrid odor. A purulent putrid liquid oozed out of it. Kaimen was taking to the vet, where I learned more about the growth and just how deadly Advantage is to our pets. The pesticide that is used in Advantage is called lmidacloprid and should NOT be absorbed through the skin. I learned that dogs and rats who were used to test this pesticide developped thyroid cancer and it affected their appetite. My dog Kaimen died at the age of two as a resuslt of using Advantage which caused a tumerous cancer to develop in his neck and which metastasized in his brain. I sent Bayer, the maker of Advantage, a letter with a return receipt but they never bothered to reply to my letter." 
A friend used Advantage on his dog who got sick from it. He stopped using it and the dog recovered. 
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I am posting this message on any/all message boards as I can find. I am trying to spread the word about using K9 Advantix on your dog. My husband and I were given this product from our vet a few months ago. We have a ten month Golden Retriever that weighs 55lbs. The first two doses were fine. On the third dose we noticed that she began breaking out in sores on her face and along her neck. We were switching dog foods at the time and thought this might be the cause (since she had no prior reactions the first two administrations). We brought her to our vet who diagnosed her with a secondary skin infection. She said it could be an allergy to anything- most likely something in her new food. She gave us a round of antibiotics and never even suggested it could be due to the Advantix. One month later we put the Advantix on again. This time it was far worse- as though her body just could not tolerate this again. Within 36 hours we had to bring her to the vet. Our's was on vacation so we called around to others in the area. After describing her symptoms (severe scratching at the ears, leaking of puss behind the ears and swelling along the throat and neck) they asked if we had given her Advantix recently. We said yes and we were old to bring her in immediately. She was having a severe reaction to this and she almost died. They had to sedate her and they shaved around her ears and neck to expose the affected area. We were shocked at what we saw. In addition to her neck being about five times its normal size, her skin was literally burned from the Advantix. You could see where we had administered the Advantix at the base of the skull because there was a burn hole. Then you could see the path that the liquid took down both sides of her face down to her neck and throat. It had literally burned her skin right off. She had a major infection in these areas that had also crept into her ears and her right eye. 
The next 24 hours were awful. We stayed up with her all night and were not sure she was going to make it. It has been about a week now and she is almost fully recovered. The company that manufactures this drug will only acknowledge that in rare occasions, some dogs to have a "sensitivity" to this. Although, they gave us little resistance to reimbursing for our vet bills. (We also learned, via a middle of the night phone call to our emergency vet clinic, that there was another dog going through this very experience- they thought we were the same people). 
Since then, I have been reading other people's experiences with Advantix on various message boards. It does not appear that these reactions are as "rare" as the company claims them to be. (I also think they have a very distorted version of what a "sensitivity" or "minor reaction" really is). 
I am writing this because had we known that this was even a possibility- we never would have put one drop of this on our dog. Our hope, since the company takes no formal responsibility in better communicating the risks associated with Advantix that someone may read this and spare themselves and their dog, the agony of this experience. 
If you are reading this and you have experienced similar effects from using Advantix on your dog, PLEASE contact the Environmental Protection Agency. They are required to investigate every complaint against this product. Who knows, if enough cases are documented, they may take this awful poison of the market in the future and spare the health and lives of other dogs.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Scary..... :?


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