Frontline Flea & Tick Pump Spray for Dogs & Cats - 100ml

The Frontline Flea & Tick Pump Spray for Dogs & Cats is a fipronil spray for dogs and cats, and the one Frontline product that can be used on puppies and kittens from two days old.

Key Features

• 100 ml pump bottle, roughly 200 pumps, delivering about 0.5 ml a pump
• Fipronil 0.25% w/v - kills fleas, ticks and biting lice on contact
• Licensed from two days of age, which is what makes it the option for orphan litters and very young animals no pipette covers
• Dose by weight: 3 to 6 ml per kg, which is 6 to 12 pumps per kg on this 100 ml bottle
• Useful when you need to treat an animal too small, too young or too awkwardly sized for a fixed pipette
• No prescription needed

What It Kills, And For How Long

• Fleas: Frontline give up to three months of protection on dogs and up to two months on cats
• Ticks: up to one month, on both
• It treats biting lice, and Frontline list it as usable as part of a flea allergy dermatitis strategy
• This is fipronil on its own - there is no (S)-methoprene in the spray. It kills the adults on the animal but does not sterilise the eggs the way the Combo pipettes do, so the house needs more attention

Working Out The Dose

• Six pumps per kilo for a short coat, up to twelve for a long or thick one. A 5 kg cat is therefore 30 to 60 pumps
• On that arithmetic a 100 ml bottle is roughly three to six full treatments for a 5 kg cat, or one for a 16 to 33 kg dog. Check the leaflet for your animal before you buy
• Do not exceed the stated dose. More is not better with an insecticide

How To Spray It

• Do it outdoors or in a well-ventilated room, and wear household gloves - PVC or nitrile
• Spray from about 10 to 20 cm, ruffling the coat against the lie of the hair so the spray reaches skin everywhere, including the belly and under the legs
• Cover the animal's eyes with your hand and apply around the face and ears with a gloved hand or a cloth rather than spraying directly at the head
• Let the coat dry naturally. Do not towel it off and do not use a hairdryer
• Do not let the animal lick itself, or let other pets lick it, until it is completely dry
• Do not wash the animal for two days before or two days after spraying

Spraying Very Young Animals

• This is the only Frontline presentation licensed from two days old, which is why breeders and rescues keep a bottle on hand
• Tiny animals chill fast once damp. Do it in a warm draught-free room, use the lower end of the dose, and dry them gently with body heat rather than a hairdryer
• If you are treating a nursing mother and her litter, talk to a vet about the order and the timing first

Treat The House As Well

• Treat every cat and dog in the house on the same day. One untreated pet keeps the whole household reinfested, and it is the most common reason a flea treatment looks like it has failed
• Vacuum carpets, rugs and under the furniture, and wash pet bedding at 60C or hotter. Most of a flea population is eggs, larvae and pupae in the house rather than adults on the pet
• Because the spray has no growth regulator in it, the household side of the job is entirely yours. If you have an established infestation, ask about a separate household spray

Who Makes It

• Frontline is a Boehringer Ingelheim brand and has been the reference fipronil spot-on since the 1990s. The actives are long out of patent, which is why so many look-alike pipettes exist
• These are European packs, printed for the European market

Good To Know

• Never use it on a rabbit. Fipronil can cause severe reactions in rabbits, including death, and the same caution applies to guinea pigs and other small pets
• Alcohol-based and flammable. Do not spray near a naked flame or anything incandescent, do not smoke while you use it, and keep the animal away from fires, heaters and hobs for at least half an hour afterwards
• Wear gloves, and do not eat or drink while you are spraying. It irritates skin, eyes and mucous membranes
• Avoid breathing the spray. Ventilate the room well and keep children and anyone with asthma out of it until the animal is dry
• Keep out of the reach and sight of children, and keep children away from the treated animal until the application site is dry
• Fipronil is harmful to aquatic life. Do not contaminate ponds, waterways or ditches, and do not let a treated animal swim in open water for two days after application
• Not for an animal that is ill or recovering from illness. Check with your vet first if your pet is unwell, very old, or on other medication
• Sold without a prescription, but it is still a veterinary medicine. If the itching does not settle, or there are bald patches, scabs or sore skin, get a vet to look rather than repeating treatments
• Read the leaflet inside the pack before you use it. What is here is a summary, not a replacement for it