I just read where someone was asking what to use on ferrets to prevent
heartworm.  I don't know if anyone has mentioned Revolution or not.  I am
in FL & when the weather is nice, (which pretty much eliminates summer)
my fur kids have a outside pen they play in when they have their play
time & I always used Revolution on them.  I thought it was great that
they were protected against so much, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes.
 
Well we just had an outbreak of fleas that were brought in from outside
on my husbands pants & Revolution didn't do anything in protecting the
kids from the fleas.  I would put it on & within 2 weeks they were full
of fleas again.  This is even with treating the house & their bedding,
etc.  Again put Revolution on them & again within 2 wks, they were full
of fleas, again with treating the whole house, bedding, etc.
 
While at the vets office having a little girl helped to the Bridge, my
husband was talking to the vet about Revolution & how it wasn't working
against anything it is suppose to prevent.  The vet gave him a flyer
that had been printed up & it seems that someone is making & selling a
counterfeit Revolution.  It is thought to be made in China & distributed
mainly over the Internet.  It has caused death in some animals, because
among other things it was being packaged wrong, if you bought it for a
cat it could be for a dog.  Also some was watered down so it wasn't
protecting animals like it should.
 
We told him that Revolution is put on the 6 outside dogs here every
month.  In the last 2 years, 3 out of 6 dogs have tested positive for
heartworm & one came down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which almost
killed her, plus it hasn't been keeping fleas off them.  There is a lot
of small wildlife that comes on our property probably dropping flea eggs,
which hatch & get on the dogs.
 
Anyway I gave all the kids a bath with flea shampoo,( a very shocking
situation as some have never had a bath the whole time they have been
here) & sprayed them with Frontline Plus, again took care of the house,
all cages & bedding.  That did it.  I did just notice fleas on a cat the
other day, & used Advantage for dogs on her & all the ferrets & will use
either Advantage or Frontline Plus every month from now on.  We were
advised by 2 different vets to never buy the Advantage for cats, but
to buy the largest size you can get for dogs, it is way cheaper & goes
farther.  They both said to use 0.01cc per ferret, 0.04 per cat.  One
of our vets will not even stock Revolution for large dogs or cats, only
for kittens or puppies, I was told that it just doesn't work on larger
animals, which we have found out.
 
This is just what we have learned from different vets & our own
experience.  If you have large outside dogs or dogs that spend time
outside & you are using Revolution I suggest you have them tested for
heartworm, more than once a year.
 
Lynn & Clan War Weasels Refuge
[Posted in FML issue 4632]