Stronghold vs Frontline

[Millys Mum]

Lol thought that was a bit of a claim 

[emma_vn]

The 3 months is what we recommend, but you can use it as often as monthly.

Normal Drontal tablets dose cats up to 4kg, and Drontal XL for over 4kg. Profender comes in small, medium & large.

[Millys Mum]

I can't recommend Profender enough - a "Spot On" wormer that lasts 3 months!

Does it actually last for 3 months and give cover throughout that time? Or is that the rota you recommend for worming?

[Desley (booktigger)]

I prefer Milbemax to Drontal, as I struggle to get Drontal down cats - and you also need less tablets, it is half for under 4kg and 1 for over, unlike Drontal that goes up for every 2kg. Sadly, it is more expensive though.

[emma_vn]

I have had no experience of Milbemax as we have never stocked it.

[Ela]

The best wormer on the market is Drontal - kills every known worm in the UK, but the down side is that it's a pretty big and nasty tasting pill.

Never having tasted Drontal myself I cannot say what they taste like . I wouldn't know if they are the best.

I will say that although on here I have read before that it is difficult to administer, I have to say that I personally find it no more difficult to give than say Milbemax which many vets are now supplying. Perhaps it’s me being cynical but Drontal is now non POM and also cheaper (as a rescue we get them for about £1.10 each) than Milbemax.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think the spot on wormer is great and watched my vet in action trying to get a pill into Ducha and after he spat it out , hid it and then spat it out when we trurned out backs, its been spot on ever since. His brother got spot on cos he has 4 legs and Ducha only 3 and came second!

Sasa gets spot on cos she is bad being handled and Misa, my poor big boy didnt know about pills and had swallowed it before he knew what they were doing!

[Inky]

I try to avoid products that treat multiple parasites if I can (unless I need to treat one of the specific mites) as they are very strong,

Wouldn't that depend on the dosage? I am not an expert on cats but I know about rats, and selamectin (Stronghold) and ivermectin are basically neurotoxins designed to kill parasites, but at a dosage low enough not to affect the host animal.

Tablets are just as much chemicals, but are ingested rather than topical, so I think - as long as there is no skin reaction - that I would still prefer a topical application to a pill. It just looked so stressful the way they did it, wrenched open their mouths and shoved a pill down their necks - however small it might have been. I am not convinced that kind of stress is necessary.

That Profender sounds like it's worth asking about, do you have any more info on that?

[emma_vn]

As mentioned, Stronghold only kills roundworm. However, tapeworm is associated with fleas so in theory if they haven't had fleas they haven't got tapeworm. I try to avoid products that treat multiple parasites if I can (unless I need to treat one of the specific mites) as they are very strong, so I use just Advantage on the cats but not on a monthly basis, only approx 2-3 times per year. However I cannot use Advantage on the dogs as one of them reacts badly to it, so they get Frontline Combo.

The best wormer on the market is Drontal - kills every known worm in the UK, but the down side is that it's a pretty big and nasty tasting pill. I don't have a problem getting it down my boys necks but for cats in the surgery who are more difficult, I can't recommend Profender enough - a "Spot On" wormer that lasts 3 months!

[Millys Mum]

You dont need to change vets to get stronghold just ask them for it, your cats so upto you what goes on them. If they dont stock it ask for a prescription and buy it online and save a fortune 

I prefer tablets to chemicals going through the skin.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

When I use anything I use Stronghold cos it also does ear mites and they get worming spot on at vets.

[Desley (booktigger)]

STronghold doesn't cover all types of worm, so still needs something else to go with it, hence vets giving something else - I sometimes use Stronghold and Droncit spot ons (although you have to do them a couple of days apart). Milbemax tabs are very small, and I prefer them to Drontal.

[Inky]

Which do you prefer?

I must say, when I lived back in Lincoln the vet prescribed Stronghold to deflea, tick and worm, but the vet here in Cambs uses Frontline combo, and then worms with Milbemax tablets. I have been going along with it for now, mostly because they've only had to go to the vets twice so far for their vaccinations, but I am not awfully happy with a tablet being shoved down their throats when it could all be done in one go with the topical application.

What are the general preferences amongst cat lovers here? Unless there is a good reason to use the Frontline/Milbemax combination I will change vets to one who uses Stronghold...