by Kathryn Woodward

Created on: July 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 28, 2009

Any person who owns a dog or cat is probably familiar with fleas. Fleas are parasites that get on your pet and suck their blood. Flea prevention is not only important for the health and comfort of your animal, but for you as well. So now we are going to talk flea medications. Chances are very high that if you have ever taken your pet to the vet they have sold you some type of topical flea preventative, usually Frontline Plus, Advantix, or Advantage. So what is the difference between the brands?

Frontline is manufactured my Merial, and is sold online and through most veterinary clinics. Frontline kills fleas only. It is made for dogs and cats. For dogs, Frontline comes in dosages based on the dog's weight. They also have Frontline for cats; however, Frontline for cats does not come in various size doses based on the cat's weight. Never use Frontline or any topical flea preventative that is meant to be used on a dog on your cat, as it can have potentially fatal effects.

Frontline Plus is also manufactured by Merial, and is sold online and through most veterinary clinics. Frontline Plus kills fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. It is made for dogs and cats. For dogs, Frontline Plus comes in dosages based on the dog's weight. They also have Frontline Plus for cats; however Frontline Plus for cats does not come in various size doses based on the cat's weight. Again, never use frontline plus or any topical flea preventative that is meant to be used on a cat on your dog, as it can have potentially fatal effects.

K9 Advantix is manufactured by Bayer, and is sold online and through most veterinary clinics. K9 Advantix kills fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. It is made for dogs only and should never be used on cats. K9 Advantix comes in different dosages based on a dog's weight.

Advantage is manufactured by Bayer, and is sold online and through most veterinary clinics. Advantage kills fleas only. Advantage is made for cats only, and should not be used on dogs of any size.

The best way to save money on topical flea preventives for your pet is to buy them on the Internet. When shopping for flea medications on the Internet you need to be careful, and make sure the website you buy from is a legitimate website. Also, I do not recommend ordering your pet's flea medication from a company that is not based in the United States, due to importation laws. Never buy flea medications on eBay. The reason you do not want to buy flea medication on eBay is because a lot of listings advertise a name brand flea medication, such as Frontline, but they send you a generic brand of flea medication. Another common thing on eBay is advertising nine months of Frontline Plus for a cat, but actually sending you one dose of Frontline for a large dog. The website that I recommend buying topical flea medication from is www.entirelypets.com. The have the lowest prices on topical flea medications and they have excellent service. Also, when ordering from www.entirelypets.com, you can use coupon codes for a certain percent off or free shipping. All you have to do is put Entirely Pets coupon codes into a search engine and it will come up with several coupon codes that you can use, but beware that not all of the codes work.

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