Flea Meds at Pet Stores

[anneryan]

Are the topical flea meds (Frontline, Revolution, etc.) that are for sale at stores like Petco and others the same as what I've been buying at my vet's office? Or, should I wait and purchase it through the vet on Tuesday when they re-open?

We've been using Revolution purchased through the vet and it's about time for Mia to have another dose. She doesn't go outside, but seems to pick up fleas from being out on our screened porch. I've noticed her itching a lot more in the past day or two.

Thanks,

Anne

[anneryan]

I think I just answered my own question....this excerpt is from an Associated Press article that I just found online:

It has been determined that the best place to purchase both of these products is at the veterinarian's office. There has been some debate as to whether or not the products sold at pet stores and online actually vary from the actual product but are sold under the same name. For example, some Frontline and Advantage doses are sold in pet stores and online stores but are indeed diluted or even expired product.


We'll wait until the vet opens on Tuesday!

Anne (and Mia)

[Traci]

Can you post the link to the AP article? Unless there was just a typo in your post, the AP might have it wrong to some degree. The problem being, most products of such can be either counterfeit (meaning some other product with stolen labels from the true manufacturer, or illegally obtaining products and inserting their own labels), or not having been obtained legitimately by the orginal manufacturer.

Bottom line, Frontline (Merial), and Advantage (Bayer) do NOT intentionally nor willfully sell their products to pet stores for resale (whether online or to your local grocery or pet store). Any pet store doing so, or any online "vet or pet pharmacy" doing so MUST have prior consent and a working legitimate relationship with Merial of Advantage. Unfortunately, I know of only one or two who actually have that legitimacy with the manufacturers. (BTW, Merial and Bayer and some others have begun tracking measures on their products to help prevent these illegitimate sales).

This is a constant, nagging problem, and exacerbated when the ill-informed on internet message forums do not understand the legalities and consequences and then go and propogate to other ill-informed pet owners "I got mine at petstore-X", or "you can get it CHEAPER here at petstore-Y!", or "the absolute cheapest is petstore-Z, and you can divide it and give it to all your animals, even the dog kind!" The latter is a constant thorn in my side, I hate people who do that, absolutely hate them.

I think I've said it no less than 1 million times here on this forum, only the products sold and used by your licensed veterinarian will EVER come with a complete, 100% gaurantee, should the product fail or cause side effects, etc. THAT is the safety you want for your pets, nothing less.

Mind you, I'm not singling you out, it's just one of those things others do that irk the heck out of me!

[anneryan]

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Traci. I have seen on other forums where people have advised others to get the "dog" dosage of some medication (flea or otherwise) and then divide it up for use on a cat. I just get chills thinking of people really trying to do that and then not doing it correctly.

Not to mention many other suggestions about food and health care that I read on other forums that are questionable, at best. That's why I like your advice!

I'll try to find the link for that article.

Anne

[anneryan]

Here's the link:

www.associatedcontent.com/article/24582 ... tline.html

Anne

[Traci]

Thanks for the link. I give her an A for this since it is apparently an anecdotal report (And an A+ for inserting reason and cautionary statements). I simply would have liked to have seen two inclusions: where she was speaking about handling the pet directly after application, she didn't mention this is applicable mainly to other pets and small children which is a crucially important precuation in ALL parasitic control products. The second: geographical location, infestation rate etc all take into account the effectiveness of a product. I think both Advantage and Frontline carry exceptional rates of success, it just depends on various, individual factors.

Having said that, it's really nice to see someone give a rational review and not a biased, fear-mongering, over-the-top disservice

I don't know about the "diluted" product, she gave no reference or footnote on that, so I'm assuming she is referring to a counterfiet product.

[Marty]

I just want to point out that that was not from AP, but from something called "Associated Content."

Quote...
Associated Content is a platform that lets anyone publish original text, video, audio or images on any topic.

[Traci]

Yeah, I noticed that and took it with alot of salt, but still, she presented a good representation of the product and warnings to pet owners, something one rarely sees on the net anymore!

[anneryan]

Oops, you're right, it was Associated Content. I was distracted while I was reading it and typed the wrong thing!

Anne