Giving pets tablets

[Mrs Trellis]

Our dog needs a tablet every day for his heart murmur.  I have been wrapping it in ham or cheese but recently just offered it to him and he happily ate it.  That makes things simpler.

I decided to try tablets instead of liquid flea prevention.  No problem with the dogs.

 The vet's receptionist said they must be given with food.  I find if I crush tablets in their food, cats just eat round them.  They must be tasty.  My husband suggested trying to give them the tablets and 3 cats just ate them.  I gave them something to eat afterwards as I was told they would vomit if given tablets without food.

The fourth cat, a rescued Siamese, was fussier and refused so I pushed the tablet in and gave him some ham afterwards.

Has anyone tried the flea tablets and do you think they work as well as/better than the liquid you spot on?

[val douest]

I used to use the tablets from time to time on a feral cat that we were feeding; he was totally unapproachable so spot-on treatments weren't an option.  I have also used them on a newly acquired cat which needed quick action to kill off fleas before it came into the house.  I think they work very well (although they can make a cat scratch frantically for an hour or so while the fleas die off) but they are not a long-term solution as they only kill the fleas present when the treatment is applied.  If the cat picks up some more fleas the next day then the new batch won't be killed by the previous treatment.  The tablet doesn't interfere with the breeding cycle or stop eggs hatching out in carpets and upholstery.  The manufacturers recommend using the tablets in conjunction with spot-ons plus household anti-flea sprays for the best results.

I tend to vary the spot-ons I use as the cats became immune to Frontline for fleas though it still seems to tackle ticks which many of the others don't.  If I'm giving any kind of tablets to the cats I simply put three or four 'Dreamies' cat treats (sold as 'Catisfactions' in France)  in a saucer and rub another over the tablet until the treat crumbles; all the cats wolf these down without a second thought though like yours they turn up their noses at any soft food which has been 'doctored'.  I have yet to meet a cat who wouldn't sell his soul for a couple of Dreamies, which was very useful last month when one of ours had a 10-day course of antibiotic tablets, night and morning!

Val

[Mrs Trellis]

Our cattery owner says she doesn't think Frontline is effective any more.

I was puzzled by you saying about tablets 'they only kill the fleas present when the treatment is applied.'  But I think you were referring to Capstar.  The tablets I meant were recommended by the vet and not sold over the counter.  They are supposed to work for about a month.

 

 

[val douest]

Ah, sorry about that.  I thought you were referring to Johnsond4fleas which is what I used a while back and looking up Capstar on the net I see the makers also  recommend that as part of a flea control programme  in the same way as Johnsons4fleas.  I haven't been offered any flea-control tablets by our vet but it sounds as if the ones you have are based on lufenuron which is indeed a longer-lasting treatment - Program seems to be the most widely available brand. Incidentally my daughter's cat in the UK has a Program injection every six months (one of them when he has his annual booster vaccines so it only means one extra visit) but I haven't seen that offered as an option here.  I shall ask about the long-lasting tablets when I am next at the vet as I am sure that spot-ons are not as effective as they were.

Val