Safe and Effective
Written: Aug 21 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Much less expensive than the other stuff, works.
Cons: Not as strong as the perscription, (but has a better strength to $ ratio)
The Bottom Line: Try this first, if it doesn't work, feel free to blow your money on the expensive stuff, but I have had good luck with it.
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| FlanderFlop's Full Review: Zodiac Spot On Flea Control for Large Dogs |
I recently stumbled on some of the reviews for this product, and I felt like I should respond to some of the other review as well as share my own experience with Zodiac spot applications. While we are at it, we may as well discuss the competition, so here we go.
In answer to the “It Killed My Cat” crown
Let me start by saying that I work at a pet store that sells this product, and we sell a lot of it. Despite the amount that we sell, I have yet to meet a customer who’s cat has died from using this product, and believe me people will complain about everything. This is not to say that there are not people out there who have had this problem, but to read these reviews, you would think that it killed every other cat that used it. As with every medication there can be side effects, heck there are people that can die from eating peanut butter. On a more serious note, I lost a family member the about two years ago to a very rare drug reaction. Have they stopped using the drug? No, because for every one person that had a bad reaction, there are thousand who’s lives are saved by using it. The same concept applies here, don’t throw out a perfectly good product because a very small minority has trouble with it. (I hope I have not offended anyone who’s cat has gotten sick, I’m glad you brought it up, but just know that you are very much in the minority, and this product is doing a lot of good for a lot of people, cats and dogs)
This being said, there it should be noted that there is one group that has a greater risk of having bad reactions to this product. These are the cats who’s owners don’t read the packaging. The package clearly states that this product is not designed for kittens under 12 weeks and for older, infirm and pregnant cats. If you are using this product on an animal that you are not supposed to be using it on, you can expect some problems. Please read the packaging.
My experience with this product
Although I have been focusing on cats here it should be noted that there is also a dog version of this product, and I am currently using both. My dog Goose has been using this product for about a year and a half now, and has not had fleas in that time, so that seems to be a good sign. Goose is very active, loves running in the woods and swims in the creek behind our house quite a bit. She gets at least one bath a month, sometimes more depending on what kinds of things the sees fit to roll in. In general we try to giver her a bath shortly before we apply the Zodiac so that we don’t wash is off immediately.
My older cat has been using this product for about 3 months, and still doesn’t have fleas. So far so good. “Big Kitty” spends most of the day outdoors, and comes in most nights. I don’t think we have ever given her a bath except for the one she got when we first rescued her. So with no fleas, I can’t complain about the Zodiac at all.
“Little Kitty” doesn’t use the Zodiac because he is not yet 12 weeks old, and I wouldn’t take that gamble. Maybe I will update this review when he is old enough to handle the flea spot.
In short my experience is that this stuff seems to work.
The Competition
There are a number of over the counter brands that compete with Zodiac. Bio Spot is the other big one, but the word is that it is not as effective, so I haven’t tried it. The big competitor for Zodiac is Frontline. Frontline is available only through your vet. The major active ingredient is the same, but Frontline is about three times as strong. The other advantage that Frontline has is that because you need the vets approval to use it, much of the owner mistake problems can be eliminated. People who try to bring in a 4 week old kitten and get Frontline will be turned away, while anyone can go buy an over the counter solution and put it on a cat that shouldn’t have it. The stronger solution of the Frontline means that it will hold up to baths and swimming a little better, but that extra strength comes with a large price. For me I could apply the Zodiac twice a month and still spend much less that using the Frontline, so it seemed only natural that I would use the Zodiac and on the months that we bathe the dog a lot we simply apply the Zodiac a little early. So if money is not an issue, and you simply want to apply once a month and have no worries, get the Frontline. If money is an issue, get the Zodiac, apply once a month and forget it unless you bathe your dog a lot.
Active ingredients
For those of you who care, here are some ingredient comparisons.
Zodiac Dog- (S)-Methoprene 3% (as far as I can gather this is the big anti flea ingrdiant)
Permethrin 45%
Frontline Dog – (S)-Methoprene 8.8%
Fipronil 9.8% ( I would guess that this is the anti Tick stuff)
Zodiac Cat - (S)-Methoprene 3.6% (the only active ingredient)
Sorry I have never used the Frontline cat stuff so I don’t have the ingredient list in front of me.
Recommended:
Yes
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