Best Flea Medicine for Cats: Advantage or Frontline?

Fleas can be an enormous problem if you have cats. With two rather successful flea treatments on the market, how do you decide which one is best? Advantage and Frontline are both excellent products, but what makes one better than the other? Here's what you need to know to make an informed decision.

Instructions

1. Know how each product works. Frontline and Advantage are spot treatment topical applications. This means that both are put on your cat's skin, around its neck.

2. Evaluate the ingredients. Frontline contains 9.8 percent of fipronil and 11.8 percent of methoprene. Imidacloprid is Advantage's main ingredient. Both are flea-fighting chemicals that work similarly. Frontline has the extra ingredient to kills ticks as well.

3. Know the prices. Both are similarly priced, but Frontline is a little more expensive than Advantage. You also get three treatments with Frontline, and four with the Advantage, so you are saving even more money when you purchase Advantage.

4. Learn about added benefits. Frontline has another chemical that also kills ticks on cats, but Advantage is only a flea control medicine. Both kill fleas and stop them from biting your cat within approximately three minutes. Advantage claims that fleas will be dead in 12 hours. Frontline takes approximately 18 hours to fully kill fleas.

5. Inquire about specials. Both Frontline and Advantage offer money-saving coupons. Usually it's a free application when you purchase a certain amount of the product.

6. Read reviews. Don't just take one person's word for it. Read online comparisons and ask your veterinarian which product he suggests. Find out which your veterinarian's customers find the most successful.

7. Do a comparison yourself by purchasing one box from each company. You can also find out which is easier to apply.

Tips & Warnings

• Read the warning labels of each product.

Resources

• Advantage
• Frontline