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  1. #1
    rhac wrangler mlededee's Avatar
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    allergic reaction to frontline?

    i have 2 cats, both of which are on frontline. two days ago i treated both and last night started noticing a lot of hair on the floors, some of it in clumps like it had been pulled out. i figured they must be wrestling more than usual or something--checked both kitties out and they seemed fine. this morning phoebie has a big bald spot on the back of her neck where i put the frontline and a big raw spot rubbed across it from her collar. i always remove their collars when i put the frontline on and leave them off for about 24 hours just to let the frontline soak in, so i had replaced her collar last night. nigel's neck seems fine--no rawness or bald spots.

    both have always been treated with frontline, but the last two treatments before this one were advantage because i needed it in a hurry and it was available immediately whereas i would have to have waited for the frontline. neither cat has ever had a problem with the frontline before. is it possible that phoebie developed the sensitivity out of the blue or maybe it has something to do with the advantage? it was 33 days between the frontline treatment and the last advantage treatment.

    poor phoebie's neck looks awful. i removed her collar and put triple antibiotic ointment on the raw spot. should i switch her to something besides frontline or perhaps use less of it? her hair is rather thin compared to most cats--she isn't fluffy and doesn't have lots of hair. i always notice that nigel's hair soaks the frontline right up but i have to kind of spread it out on phoebie's neck because she just doesn't have enough hair to absorb it all in one small area. this of course means the raw spot she has now is rather large. my poor baby!
    - Emily


  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: allergic reaction to frontline?

    Does Pheobe have any history of allergies or sensitivities? My Mr. Pigglesworth got a spot exactly like that unrelated to any topicals, and it was a booger to get rid of, since the more he scratched it, the more irritated it got, which meant he scratched it more. I wound up making him a rigid protective collar which he wore for a month; I can describe it to you if necessary.

    Advantage and Frontline should not have any adverse reactions to each other and can be used alternately or sequentially with no problems.

    Frontline is dosed for the size of the pet, not the density of the hair. A 10lb long-haired cat will use the same size as a 10lb shorthair, since it goes by the surface area of the skin, not the fur. You can wash all the fur, but the product lingers in the oil glands and remains effective, which is why it's billed as waterproof.

    If it were my cat, I would wait a month and then apply a small amount of Frontline, purely to see if it is in fact a reaction. Irritation at the application site is one of the listed potential side-effects, or it may be simply a coincidental problem. If she is truly sensitive to it then you should see an irritated area regardless of the volume applied. I am both anal-retentive and intensely curious, and would feel compelled to know if my cat was having a reaction.

    Also, if you are using it purely to control fleas and are not seeing any ticks, then you can use it every 2-3 months, instead of monthly, or switch to Advantage which does fleas but not ticks.

    Or...you could get a prescription from your vet for Revolution, which blows all the others out of the water, IMHO. Love the stuff, and use it on all of mine.
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
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  3. #3
    rhac wrangler mlededee's Avatar
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    Re: allergic reaction to frontline?

    phoebie doesn't have a history of any skin sensitivities or allergies. she has a delicate little tummy though--regular grocery store type dry cat food causes her throw up a lot, thus she has to eat better quality food that doesn't have main ingredients of corn meal, by-products and all those other filler type things.

    i give her the correct dose for her weight but i just always notice with her that it doesn't soak in so well and will run all down her neck if i'm not careful because she just doesn't have very thick hair.

    i may have to use a protective collar like you describe as she does tend to scratch and mess with scabs and things. when i got her spayed she pulled all of her stitches out the first day. i was green with nausea--called my vet and he explained that it was fine and she wasn't going to split open--that there were two layers of stitches on the inside and that the outside stitches were mostly just to make me to feel comfortable.

    anyhow, i think i will test it again in a month with a small amount and see. it is odd that it happened suddenly when she has never had a reaction to it before but i know allergies can pop up overnight. we'll see what happens and then maybe switch to revolution.

    i just use it for fleas--they don't go outside at all and i've never seen a tick on either of them. it is mainly a preventative. i normally don't use it at all over the winter but i kept a cat for a friend of mine in our garage in january for a week and blam! freaking flea infestation.
    - Emily


  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: allergic reaction to frontline?

    I hate fleas! They are such invasive little monsters.


    For the protective collar - a regular e-collar did not work at all.

    I had initially tried putting booties on his feet, then added and e-collar when he chewed the booties off. What I wound up using was a simple cardboard ring, reinforced with duct tape, which bothered him much less.

    To make it, I cut up a cereal box. You need a strip wide enough to go from the back of his skull to the top of his shoulders, and snug enough that when it is on, it cannot slip over his head. This will be much tighter than looks comfortable...the first three ones I made were useless because I couldn't bring myself to make them as tight as they really needed to be. When on, it resembled those girls who wear the brass rings around their necks...can't remember which culture, but they make the necks look really thin and constricted.

    The width is important too...if it's too narrow, then she'll be able to slide it up still scratch under it.

    Once I had it sized right, I covered the whole thing with duct tape for durability and then taped it on with more duct tape. It looked goofy as all get-out, but after maybe 5-10 minutes of trying to take it off, he gave up and ignored it for the following month. I've had to do this three seperate times for him, so he and I are both resigned to it. :-P

    I still don't know what sets him off scratching at that spot...we even sent tissue samples to pathology specialists, but all they could find was allergic reaction. It's not tied to his topical meds, since the timing is all off...just one of those things we live with.
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
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  5. #5
    rhac wrangler mlededee's Avatar
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    Re: allergic reaction to frontline?

    goofy or not if it works it must be done! do you think it would help to put the soft paws caps on her back feet too? i just started using them for both cats on their front feet and they are working really well. i guess first i'll see if she does mess with the spot too much. ooh how she will love the collar.
    - Emily


  6. #6
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: allergic reaction to frontline?

    Oooo...softpaws might work too!
    Last time I dealt with this, I hadn't tried those, but I'll bet they'd be great. Might not even need a collar. Try it, and let me know how it works!
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
    6.4.8 ASFs
    1.0 Very Patient Boyfriend

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