Should I listen to my vet and buy all the things they recommed?

Here’s a thread you might find helpful re: the Advantage, http://www.fluther.com/disc/9316/heres-my-first-new-cat-owner-question-what-is-safe-for-tick/. As to the shampoo? I’ve had cats my whole life and I’ve never shampooed a single one of them. They’re pretty good at cleaning themselves. Also, in general, I think it’s good to educate yourself to a certain extent when you have a pet so that you can work with your vet and make decisions, based on their professional advice and experience, as to what is best for your animal.

Using Advantage or Frontline on your cat will be a lot cheaper (and easier) than spraying and bombing and doing anything and everything to get rid of fleas once you have them.

As for the shampoo, I’m afraid you goofed there. Except for animals that are severely debilitated or are for some reason unable to groom themselves (or have high maintenance coats like Persians), cats do not require bathing. As a matter of fact, they tend to resent it pretty emphatically.

If you’re not comfortable with the advice you vet has been giving you, look for another. Just don’t base you choice exclusively on the bottom line – in many cases, you get what you pay for.

We got the cat at the spca and it seems to be cheaper going there but just had the cat for 3 weeks and already spent over $200 on him. I dont mind spending that kind of money if its really helping him but that crap with the shampoo really hit my upset button.

Cats rarely need to be washed like that. I know we have to with our one cat, because he is a little messy in the litter box and doesn’t know how to clean himself properly. I use baby shampoo or go to Petsmart and get a bottle of cat shampoo, since you use it so rarely, you’ll have it for a while.
Pets are always a lot of money upfront, but the upkeep of a cat really isn’t expensive at all, after the initial vet visit and all.

Thats what I figured. The cat is going to stay inside and not be an outside cat at all but they still recommend the heart worm medication and telling me the store shampoo hurts the cats if you get it in their eyes and some other crap. I know shampoo hurts eyes. They have my girlfriend all scared and she is willing to pay all this money. I said no. The cat is gonna be fine as long as he stays in the house. Am I right?

@DragonFace I’m not too familiar, but isn’t the heartworm medication given at the vet? I know when we got our cats, we got all the vaccines they needed but we don’t give them anything at home. They are indoor cats, not exposed to fleas or ticks, so we don’t bother with that at all.

You are absolutely correct about keeping an indoor only cat. Statistically speaking, it doubles their lifespan

My indoor only cat recently died at the ripe old age of eighteen. Not such a bad run for a cat.

Regarding flea control—much of the stuff available in groceries and pet stores is ineffective and very toxic with repeated use.

The newer stuff like advantage and frontline is well worth the money because it kills them at all life stages if used according to directions. Just one course of frontline for three months totally eliminated all fleas forever for me. I was really impressed. Best 40 bucks I ever spent.

Screw them I had cats in the past when i was a kid and didnt seem to have problem with heartworms or ticks just fleas. I think I will finish off the 4 month supply of advantage and just get a flea shampoo if there are any fleas after that.

@DragonFace – We use FrontlinePlus as needed for flea control primarily but it also works for tick and heartworm control in our indoor cats. Our cats really never go outside so their risk of being bitten by a mosquito is very, very low. Thus I don’t generally worry about heartworm control in the cats. I do treat the dogs monthly for heartworm prevention however, since they go in and out.

You might consider buying online from someone like 1–800-PETMEDS. Often they will sell it cheaper even with shipping than your vet can. And only apply it if you are having a flea problem.

As to cat shampoos, unless you have a long-haired cat that tends to get “dingleberries” or worse, an extremely obese cat that simply can’t reach certain areas, or a show cat of some long-haired breed you shouldn’t ever have to shampoo a cat. I have shampooed cats exactly twice. I took in two stray kittens that had so many fleas on them and so much dirt that I thought they were both gray. I washed them using a cat flea shampoo and it turned out one of them was actually orange.

@Darwin Thats pretty funny with the gray to orange cat. I was looking at that site earlier and might just do that. Thanks

@Darwin I’ve never read that FrontlinePlus is a mosquito repellent or a heartworm preventative. Do you have a source for that?

@syz – I apologize – I am sometimes easily confused. You are right, Frontline is just for ticks and fleas, and Frontline Plus keeps all stages of fleas and ticks from developing or kills them outright, not just the adults.

Revolution is the heartworm control. However, all heartworm control works by killing the larvae, or in some cases adult worms (not a do-at-home project typically), not by repelling mosquitos.

One thing you shouldn’t skimp on is cat food. If your vet recommended Science Diet or Iams, that stuff is crap. Also anything you buy at the grocery store is crap too. If you read the label you will see it uses grains as filler. I feed my cat (and dogs) Wellness. If you can’t afford top of the line food the Chicken Soup brand is pretty good at a lower cost.
Seriously, do a quick search of what goes into cheap pet food. You will be disgusted.