I found an ad in the Journal of Vet. Medicine Association concerning
Advantage flea control.  The ad was aimed at vets so it included charts on
efficacy.  Anyhow, they call it a "flea adulticide" because it kills adult
fleas.  Its a topical application but the ad doesn't say whether its a
lotion of spray or what.  According to the efficiency chart, the stuff will
have eliminated all eggs withing 9 days of application (in cats).  It is
supposed to last up to 28 days in cats and 28 days or greater in dogs.  The
medicine is made by Bayer Corp. and the full data is availabble on request.
 
Since in my 20 years of pet ownership, I have never had the misfortune of
having fleas (HOW?I am not sure!), I don't know too much about the various
treatments but if this stuff is safe for ferrets then it seems like a good
deal.  The ad also says fleas don't have to bite the animal in order for the
stuff to work.
 
On a related note:
Also made by Bayer (a coincidence) is this stuff called VetriDerm.  Its a
chewable pill that provides vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.  Its
supposed to help cats and dogs with dry skin.  Does anyone know anything
about this?  I would be interested in hearing about use in dogs too since my
mother is interested for the sake of her dogs.  My interest is for the
fuzzies.  It gets incredibly dry here in the winter and Chloe and Sabrina
have kept me up nights with their scratching.  I was using a deoderizing
spray which helped with dry skin but as soon as I sprayed it on, they would
just run to a towel to rub it off (more to irk me than because they didn't
like it I think!  8*)!
 
-Courtney
[log in to unmask]
 
Chloe:After my conquest of the garbage can, I have moved on to the
      hanging plant.
Sabrina: Toes, must eat all toes!
Murray (cat): But I like sleeping in the ferret cage.
 
[Moderator's note: Bayer's web site has info on Advantage.  As far as I can
tell, the big difference between Advantage and Frontline is that Frontline is
waterproof.  Frontline is made by Rhone Merieux by the way.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1619]