Best Non-Prescription Tick Prevention for Cats?

[Wamelohe]

Hi COTHer’s! I’m looking for a non-prescription option for tick prevention on my indoor/outdoor cat. We live in a high tick area. Already found two ticks in the house, presumably he carried them inside!

I’ve used Revo the past two summers but would love to find an option that doesn’t involve a forced visit to my local vet, who insists on TWO geriatric $$$ visits per year. I refuse to shell out $500 to $600 just to get a prescription for Revo!

What are folks using these days that actually works?

[SusanO]

I am using Revolution Plus. Little Missy plays outside and I have found the ticks on ME to know they are out there. (Ticks from gardening in the wooded areas without tick repellent on my boots and pants. Not cat related). Then she sleeps in the bed so I don’t want her to give me fleas or ticks. So far she is tick and flea free. You can order from Canada. Seems to be legit… Edited to add - my cats are seen every year for vaccinations.

[Simkie]

I use Seresto and that seems to work well. I don’t trust the break away ability of it, and glue it into a break away cat collar.

[OzarksRider]

I use Frontline on my cats. It does a good job on ticks and it’s ok but not great with fleas. No prescription required. I occasionally find a tick, but it’s always either dead or very sick.

[trubandloki]

@SusanO

I am using Revolution Plus

Revolution Plus requires a prescription.

For non-prescription I will second the suggestion of the Seresto collar.
Be sure to buy them from a reputable place (not Amazon). There are lots of fakes out there.

[Lusoluv]

I shop at Pet Shed online for my dogs dewormer/heartworm and tick meds. They have generic and brand name products. I believe they are an Australian co. but have a US presence - don’t quote me. In any event, they are less expensive than Chewy, Amazon and don’t require a prescription. I’ve used them for over 10 years.

[trubandloki]

@Lusoluv

I shop at Pet Shed online for my dogs dewormer/heartworm and tick meds. They have generic and brand name products. I believe they are an Australian co. but have a US presence - don’t quote me. In any event, they are less expensive than Chewy, Amazon and don’t require a prescription. I’ve used them for over 10 years.

It is hard to believe that it is legal for them to ship a medication that is a prescription med, to the US like that. Interesting.

[JB]

@trubandloki

It is hard to believe that it is legal for them to ship a medication that is a prescription med, to the US like that. Interesting.

Sucralfate is a Rx drug in the US, but you can get it OTC from Abler. It probably happens more than you realize, for animal products at least

[Warmblood1]

Re: Seresto collar - I do believe this collar caused seizures in my seizure prone dog. Just a heads up. I don’t believe it causes seizures in all pets but do believe it increases the risk for some.

[Simkie]

@JB

Sucralfate is a Rx drug in the US, but you can get it OTC from Abler. It probably happens more than you realize, for animal products at least

Uh that doesn’t mean that it’s legal for foreign companies to sell rx products in the US without a script. Just that no one has prosecuted.

They are still, technically, operating illegally. There’s zero guarantee that you’re getting what you expect, and zero recourse if any issues.

[JB]

I didn’t say it was legal for Abler to do that. The comment seemed like it was a surprise this happens at all. My reply was to say it happens a lot more than most realize, nothing more.

[poltroon]

My experience is that PetShed is selling genuine items, labeled for Australia, and from what I know of them, I would not feel at risk of counterfeit etc.

That said, I’ve been very curious about why Revolution etc is a prescription medication. What is my vet looking for that I need to know about? If my cat has had a prescription in the past, is there a reason it needs to be renewed annually? (I have this question about prescription pet food too.)

IME needing prescriptions on these items has negatively impacted my pets by creating interruptions when the prescriptions expired. Sometimes you can get a refill in advance by asking the office nicely, sometimes not. There was also the whole pandemic where even getting an appointment was so difficult. So I wonder now why it’s beneficial to force a veterinarian’s permission to continue the prescribed urinary diet or flea control they’ve been on for years.

[OzarksRider]

@Wamelohe

my local vet, who insists on TWO geriatric $$$ visits per year.

I’m curious . . . why does your vet require two visits per year? How old is your cat? Does he/she have any conditions that require that much monitoring? The requirement for semi-annual office visits seems excessive and unnecessary to me.

I’ve never had a vet insist I come in that often, even for older cats and dogs. I buy prescription wormers for my cats directly from my vet and they have never required any office visits or testing. And I’ve certainly never had a vet require office visits for flea/tick preventive medication. I take my pets to the vet when they need to be treated or monitored for something specific. For routine vaccinations, I take them in every 3 years.

[Simkie]

@poltroon

That said, I’ve been very curious about why Revolution etc is a prescription medication.

Because it acts internally on heartworm and intestinal parasites. Flea and tick things that only act on external parasites like fleas and ticks are OTC. Flea and tick things that also act internally on internal parasites require a prescription.

The ones with internal coverage are regulated by the FDA. The ones with external only coverage are regulated by…the EPA? I think? But a different agency.

I would assume that because these things act internally, there are risks that are different than things that only act externally. Maintaining a veterinary client patient relationship is necessary to write a script, and requires a yearly visit. That’s not your vet being unreasonable, but a requirement to maintain their license. Selling you rx dewormers (are you sure they’re rx? Strongid, panacur and drontal are all otc) without a yearly visit is risky in the same way.

I’m not arguing that it isn’t frustrating, and I wish, too, that there were easier avenues, or at least more inexpensive “check in” visits. But there’s a lot of regulation beyond your vet that’s driving this, it’s not “just” them.

[Leather]

@Simkie

The ones with internal coverage are regulated by the FDA. The ones with external only coverage are regulated by…the EPA? I think? But a different agency.

Yup - products that remain on the skin have been under the by the EPA as pesticides, and those which are systemically absorbed into the bloodstream are under the FDA.

However that might be changing as it’s now recognized that the EPA regulated topical products might not just remain on the skin and are in fact absorbed, which raises new safety concerns and suggests that perhaps the FDA is better suited to have oversight: Whitepaper: A Modern Approach to EPA and FDA Product Oversight

That doesn’t necessarily mean that if FDA takes over everything will become Rx. Whether or not something is OTC or Rx is a different bar based on safety.

Thus, the primary basis for distinguishing Rx and OTC animal drug products is the ability (or lack of ability in the case of Rx products) to prepare adequate directions for use that would allow persons other than licensed veterinarians to use the product safely and effectively. Under the FD&C Act Section 503(f)(1) (21 U.S.C. § 352(f)(1)), an animal drug that “because of its toxicity or other potentiality for harmful effect, or the method of its use, or the collateral measures necessary for its use, is not safe for animal use except under the professional supervision of a licensed veterinarian" is limited to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

Why heartworm medications are Rx vs. OTC:
https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm-basics

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling on heartworm preventives states that the medication is to be used by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. This means heartworm preventives must be purchased from your veterinarian or with a prescription through a pet pharmacy Prior to prescribing a heartworm preventive, the veterinarian typically performs a heartworm test to make sure your pet doesn’t already have adult heartworms, as giving preventives can lead to rare but possibly severe reactions that could be harmful or even fatal. It is not necessary to test very young puppies or kittens prior to starting preventives since it takes approximately 6 months for heartworms to develop to adulthood. If the heartworm testing is negative, prevention medication is prescribed.