Prescription Flea Medicine For Dogs & Cats | Comfortis (spinosad) (2023)

FAQs

Is Comfortis for cats discontinued? ›

Comfortis. Comfortis has recently been discontinued. It was a flavoured tablet which prevented fleas for one month. It did not cover intestinal worms, heartworm, or ticks.

For dogs: The most common adverse reaction reported is vomiting. Other adverse reactions reported in decreasing order of frequency are: depression/lethargy, decreased appetite, incoordination, diarrhea, itching, trembling, excessive salivation and seizures.

Indications and clinical uses

Spinosad is used as a monthly treatment for flea infestations. After administration, spinosad can kill fleas within 30 minutes and has complete kill within 4 hours.

Credelio starts killing fleas within 4 hours of administration and kills over 99% of fleas within 8 hours of administration.

Comfortis can be found in your veterinarian's office—your source for the best pet health care advice. Your veterinarian can ensure the proper dosage of Comfortis, and can recommend other products to help protect the health of your dog or cat.

Comfortis flea treatment for cats has been discontinued by the manufacturer, please see below for alternatives: Advantage (fleas only)

Spinosad is a mixture of spinosin A (in which R = H) and spinosin D (in which R = CH3). Also shown is ivermectin, another macrocyclic lactone pesticide. Ivermectin is a mixture of dihydroavermectin B1a (in which R = CH2CH3) and dihydroavermectin B1b (in which R = CH3).

A: The concentration of spinosad and amount used is too low to cause adverse effects in humans and is considered to be low risk.

Spinosad affects the nervous system of insects that eat or touch it. It causes their muscles to flex uncontrollably. This leads to paralysis and ultimately their death, typically within 1-2 days.

The most common side effect is vomiting, which is mild and transient in most dogs and cats. Other common side effects in cats include diarrhoea and loss of appetite.

How often should spinosad be applied? ›

Adults and children 6 months of age and older—Apply directly to dry hair and scalp one time only. If you need a second treatment, it should be spaced 1 week apart.

Published data regarding the effectiveness of spinosad are limited. In a study involving 120 children two years and older, 86.1% of patients in the spinosad treatment group were free of live lice 14 days after a single treatment vs. 25.6% of patients who were given placebo (number needed to treat = 2).

If your dog or cat has fleas, you need the brand Comfortis, or generic medical name spinosad.

Comfortis (spinosad) is available in four sizes of chewable flavored tablets for oral administration to cats and kittens according to their weight.

If your puppy is between the ages of 14 weeks and 6 months, Comfortis might be the best choice. If your dog is pregnant, lactating, or breeding, you'll probably want to opt for Revolution.

Comfortis^® (spinosad) requires a prescription from your veterinarian, who is your best source of advice about your pet's health care.

If time to kill fleas is how you're judging products, then Comfortis wins. Both Bravecto and Comfortis are safe for dogs when following directions. However, Comfortis has yet to be evaluated for use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs. To purchase Comfortis or Bravecto, you'll need a prescription from your vet.

Overall, the costs for Trifexis and Comfortis are roughly the same. With the added benefit of deworming, some pet owners may prefer Trifexis. Alternatively, due to accessibility for your feline companion, some pet owners might choose Comfortis for its ease of use in a home with both cats and dogs.

Final Thoughts on Comfortis vs Nexgard

Overall, the costs for Nexgard and Comfortis are roughly the same. Nexgard's added benefit of tick elimination may lead pet owners to prefer Nexgard despite Comfortis's swift elimination of pests.

Each chewable tablet is formulated to provide a minimum spinosad dosage of 13.5 mg/lb (30 mg/kg). Spinosad is a member of the spinosyns class of insecticides, which are non-antibacterial tetracyclic macrolides.

Is Comfortis safe for senior dogs? ›

While Comfortis® is safe for use in older pets, it is always best to discuss all medications with your pet's veterinarian. What happens if I miss a dose of Comfortis® for my pet? Comfortis® should be given once a month. If you are late giving a dose of Comfortis®, give it when you remember.

Spinosad 0.9% topical suspension is used to treat head lice and scabies infestations. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

(Generic Natroba)

Spinosad is a generic FDA-approved prescription medication that is used in the treatment of lice infestations. The brand-name version of Spinosad is Natroba.

Natroba^™ is the only FDA-approved prescription treatment that meets the new FDA criteria for a “complete cure” of scabies.

Spinosad is currently banned for commercial cannabis grows in Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington and is completely banned for sale in Canada and Denmark.

Spinosad emerged as an organic alternative to synthetic insecticides and is considered less harmful to beneficial insects, yet its mode of action remains unclear.

This product resists wash off, but will lose effectiveness if exposed to rain ar d overhead irrigation.

If you do not completely cover your body with spinosad suspension, some scabies mites may escape treatment. Allow the suspension to dry on your skin for 10 minutes before getting dressed. You should use a timer or clock to track the time. Leave on the skin for at least 6 hours before showering or bathing.

Treatment is especially important when the silks appear. Once this happens, spray the silks once a week until the corn is ready for harvest. It can be used on ornamentals, turf, vegetables, fruit and nut trees, and as a mound treatment for fire ants. It can be applied to most food crops up to 1 day before harvest.

Spinosad has a longer period of residual effectiveness compared with Bt, often providing good protection from pests for five to seven days. Generally, spinosad is most effective against insect larvae, so it's important to look carefully for eggs and feeding insects before you spray.

Can a dog overdose on spinosad? ›

At doses of approximately 2.5 times the recommended dose, spinosad caused vomiting in the vast majority of dogs. At doses up to 100 mg/kg bodyweight per day for 10 days, the only clinical symptom of overdose was vomiting, which occurred usually within 2.5 hours of dosing.

Less common side effects of spinosad include: Application site dryness. Application site exfoliation. Hair loss.

Overall, spinosad is highly effective compared to permethrin at eliminating head lice infestations under actual use conditions. Spinosad has a high efficacy rate after one treatment application, generally does not need to be reapplied, and does not require nit combing to eradicate lice and nits.

Spinosad 45% SC at Rs 9545/litre | Spinosad in Nashik | ID: 21267534848.

Spinosad is especially effective on caterpillars and thrips. If you're a flower gardener, your ears should prick up on this one. Thrips and caterpillars are the two most important pest groups on annual and perennial flowers.

Spinosad works by activating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the flea nervous system, causing an overload in it. The flea seizes to death. Spinosad is derived from bacteria and is non-synthetic. It is considered to be a "green" insecticide and is approved for use on produce to be labeled as organic.

Comfortis is approved for use in cats 14 weeks of age or older and 4.1 pounds of body weight or greater and dogs 14 weeks of age or older and 5.0 pounds of body weight or greater.

The most common side effect is vomiting, which is mild and transient in most dogs and cats. Other common side effects in cats include diarrhoea and loss of appetite.

Comfortis side effects

The initial studies and post-approval data for Comfortis list the side effects for a small number of dogs (in decreasing order of frequency) as: vomiting, depression and lethargy, anorexia, ataxia, diarrhea, pruritus (itching), trembling, hypersalivation and seizures.

Is there a generic for spinosad? ›

(Generic Natroba)

Spinosad is a generic FDA-approved prescription medication that is used in the treatment of lice infestations. The brand-name version of Spinosad is Natroba.

Comfortis^® (spinosad) starts killing fleas in 30 minutes, before they can lay eggs. Plus, Comfortis lasts a whole month—it can't be washed, rubbed or shaken off.

Frontline Plus is our top nonprescription recommendation because it kills ticks and fleas, controls flea infestations, and kills chewing lice, all with one easy application. When used primarily for flea control, each dose of Frontline Plus lasts up to three months.