Profender for Sphynxes?

[Sleepyheadkitten]

Hi everyone,

First time posting here, but I had a question and figured someone on here might have an answer

I don't recommend topical flea/tick ointments for Sphynxes- I never knew there was a topical dewormer! Does anyone know whether Profender is effective (as well as safe) on our beloved Sphynx?

Thanks!

 

[heather]

Welcome to the Lair!

I'm not sure the answer to your question. I'm sure someone on here can help.

On one of Sophie's first vet visits she was given a de-wormer from a syringe orally. I don't know about a topical de-wormer. Is it for the same thing or am I mixing apples and oranges?

 

[Brooke]

Hi everyone,

First time posting here, but I had a question and figured someone on here might have an answer

I don't recommend topical flea/tick ointments for Sphynxes- I never knew there was a topical dewormer! Does anyone know whether Profender is effective (as well as safe) on our beloved Sphynx?

Thanks!

I know very little about this new drug, but my instinct is to avoid it because it's applied to the skin... the company recommends applying it with gloves, avoiding contact with human skin and not allowing any children to touch the cat for 24 hours after it's applied. Maybe with a typical cat it would be easy not to touch them for that long...but none of my Sphynx would allow that! They'd be rubbing their freshly dewormed skin all over me right after it was treated!

As for the efficacy and safety of the drug, I can't say either way.

 

[Sleepyheadkitten]

Yeah, from what I understand it's like the topical flea/tick ointment (ie applied the same way)- I'd never heard of it before and feel as though it should be avoided, but wanted to check with others to see if my instincts were spot on!

Thanks for the info- yeah, doesn't sound like something I'd want on MY skin letalone theirs1

 

[Brooke]

Yeah, from what I understand it's like the topical flea/tick ointment (ie applied the same way)- I'd never heard of it before and feel as though it should be avoided, but wanted to check with others to see if my instincts were spot on!

Thanks for the info- yeah, doesn't sound like something I'd want on MY skin letalone theirs1

Isn't it funny, they're coming out with topical dewormers and moving to flea/tick treatments in pill form...

Welcome to the forum, BTW.

 

[2sphynxgirl]

I just had to tell you that your picture is SOOOOOOO cute! Welcome to sphynxlair!

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Hi Birthdaysuit and welcome!
I also would avoid it being new I am sure there will be some things that come up with it.

 

[lemmysmommy]

Hello and welcome!! I have not heard of the topical dewormer before. That is very interesting. I am with the others though, I don't think I would use it.

 

[PitRottMommy]

BirthdaySuit, thanks for your question.

Profender is newer to the market than some drugs, but it's not new (it's been used in trials since 2001 and available for almost 5 years on the market). It's ingredients have long been used in other products also considered safe for sphynx. I've used this product many, many times on cats without any problems. In fact, it causes less problem for cats than most oral dewormers because it doesn't upset the stomach. I haven't seen ANY bad reactions to the medication.

If you choose to use this product, I'd recommend using the same method I use for flea/tick preventive on sphynx (which is safe to use, as long as it's an approved product): Apply gloves, apply product to the "palms" of your gloves, rub together and apply over entire body of sphynx. Because they don't have the haircoat to absorb the extra product, using a good portion of the surface area of the skin works just as well.

That being said, Virbantel is the "off brand" Drontal. It's much cheaper and tastes better. It works just as well as Profender does and it's small enough to be slipped into a piece of cheese. My 3 cats (and 3 dogs) have no clue they're not just getting a treat. This is my favorite route for those pets that will take oral meds. Profender works great on extremely aggressive cats that cannot be medicated or those that won't take oral medications.

Good luck!


Side note: Heather, the medication Sophie received was likely Strongid. It would have been yellow and tasted like bananas or cake batter.

 

[ultra_stella]

You're kitty is so cute, Birthdaysuit!


(Tehee that rhymed!)

 

[Sleepyheadkitten]

Thanks for all the info, PittRottMommy I had never heard of it before and am stumped when something new comes along! I know I have heard not to use topical flea/tick ointments before (due to absorption rate, I thought was the reason given?) so I wasn't sure about this type of dewormer

And thank you, everyone, for the compliment on my avatar. He's one of my babies and I did a series of bathtub pics

 

[BareOnAHotTinRoof]

I've not used the Profender, but I do use Frontline spray on Baron. He's also on Heartgard for heartworms. The spray doesn't irritate his skin at all. Even though these cats stay inside the majority of the time, it's still very important to protect them against mosquitoes and fleas.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I agree with Bare. I've had great success with Advantage Multi and Frontline.

I've done research with every company that markets safe flea/tick prevention for cats. For example:

Frontline
Advantage
Advantage Multi
Revolution

There are NO cases of sphynx have any problems with the topical products. No one knows where the rumor was started that there are problems associated with topical FTP in sphynx, but it's not true. However, stay away from Hartz, Sargeants, etc. These are BAD products for cats and dogs, alike.

 

[ckutkuhn7]

I can attest to Hartz being bad for ANY kitties. Oh my goodness. Last year I nearly lost a furry kitty because I used Hartz on him. Poor guy, I came home from work on lunch that day and he was very shaky, eyes were moving strangely, he was having trouble walking, I don't know if he somehow injested some or if it was just from being on his skin but I had to call off for the afternoon and bathe him in dawn dish soap to get all the crude off of him and stay home with him to make sure he didnt start having siezures. Luckily by the end of the afternoon he was fine and a happy kitty again but that was sooo scary. I don't recommend anyone to use that stuff.

 

[susi794]

Welcome to the Lair Birthdaysuit--love your bath pic avatar!

 

[Pbinky]

Because i started feeding my boys raw the vet suggested i deworm them every 3 months.... He gave me Profender. Anyhow, i put it on the back of their necks and within 10 minutes Skinny managed to swing his head around and lick it... he jumped up and down foaming at the mouth....
I quickly washed it off. Then Skinny started licking Pbinky's neck and then again he jumped around foaming at the neck... So i washed it off of Pbinky as well....

THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY!!! Is there any other product i can use? I can see how this can be effective for hairy cats as their fur would keep the product close to the skin but for a sphynx this is not possible. Plus i can't stop them from licking each other....

BirthdaySuit, thanks for your question.

Profender is newer to the market than some drugs, but it's not new (it's been used in trials since 2001 and available for almost 5 years on the market). It's ingredients have long been used in other products also considered safe for sphynx. I've used this product many, many times on cats without any problems. In fact, it causes less problem for cats than most oral dewormers because it doesn't upset the stomach. I haven't seen ANY bad reactions to the medication.

If you choose to use this product, I'd recommend using the same method I use for flea/tick preventive on sphynx (which is safe to use, as long as it's an approved product): Apply gloves, apply product to the "palms" of your gloves, rub together and apply over entire body of sphynx. Because they don't have the haircoat to absorb the extra product, using a good portion of the surface area of the skin works just as well.

That being said, Virbantel is the "off brand" Drontal. It's much cheaper and tastes better. It works just as well as Profender does and it's small enough to be slipped into a piece of cheese. My 3 cats (and 3 dogs) have no clue they're not just getting a treat. This is my favorite route for those pets that will take oral meds. Profender works great on extremely aggressive cats that cannot be medicated or those that won't take oral medications.

Good luck!


Side note: Heather, the medication Sophie received was likely Strongid. It would have been yellow and tasted like bananas or cake batter.

 

[ElGatoLoco]

Because i started feeding my boys raw the vet suggested i deworm them every 3 months.... He gave me Profender. Anyhow, i put it on the back of their necks and within 10 minutes Skinny managed to swing his head around and lick it... he jumped up and down foaming at the mouth....
I quickly washed it off. Then Skinny started licking Pbinky's neck and then again he jumped around foaming at the neck... So i washed it off of Pbinky as well....

THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY!!! Is there any other product i can use? I can see how this can be effective for hairy cats as their fur would keep the product close to the skin but for a sphynx this is not possible. Plus i can't stop them from licking each other....

I'm sure sorry to hear that Pbinky but I wish I would have been there to see that! Reminds me of the time Butterball tried to eat a jalapeno. He's been real finicky since then.

 

[Brooke]

Because i started feeding my boys raw the vet suggested i deworm them every 3 months.... He gave me Profender. Anyhow, i put it on the back of their necks and within 10 minutes Skinny managed to swing his head around and lick it... he jumped up and down foaming at the mouth....
I quickly washed it off. Then Skinny started licking Pbinky's neck and then again he jumped around foaming at the neck... So i washed it off of Pbinky as well....

THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY!!! Is there any other product i can use? I can see how this can be effective for hairy cats as their fur would keep the product close to the skin but for a sphynx this is not possible. Plus i can't stop them from licking each other....

Yes, you can get an oral dewormer. They come in a liquid or in a pill form and actually are probably cheaper than Profender since they've been on the market a lot longer. I prefer the oral meds, too, for the same reason. Plus, the way these cats are, I'd have that stuff all over me in about 30 seconds!

 

[Pbinky]

I asked the vet if we could use the liquid form that they usually give at the vets office but he then made this stuff sound so much easier so i agreed on Profender.... what a mistake
I feel bad for putting Skinny through that

Yes, you can get an oral dewormer. They come in a liquid or in a pill form and actually are probably cheaper than Profender since they've been on the market a lot longer. I prefer the oral meds, too, for the same reason. Plus, the way these cats are, I'd have that stuff all over me in about 30 seconds!

 

[Pbinky]

Butterball tried to eat jalapeno???!?!?!!??!? oh my goodness, poor little guy!!!

I'm sure sorry to hear that Pbinky but I wish I would have been there to see that! Reminds me of the time Butterball tried to eat a jalapeno. He's been real finicky since then.

 

[Brooke]

I asked the vet if we could use the liquid form that they usually give at the vets office but he then made this stuff sound so much easier so i agreed on Profender.... what a mistake
I feel bad for putting Skinny through that

I think the Profender is probably easier for a "regular" cat but people don't realize how much our naked friends are all over us and each other! Don't feel bad, he probably just foamed at the mouth because it tasted bitter. When I was giving Nelson his eye drops every day, one of them was bitter (and eye drops can actually be tasted after they're put in their eyes, weird, huh?) and he would foam at the mouth every time! I felt awful for him!!

 

[holly_savage]

If you choose to use this product, I'd recommend using the same method I use for flea/tick preventive on sphynx (which is safe to use, as long as it's an approved product):
.

Huh? flea preventatives? I didn't think a sphynx would have that issue? Please correct me if I am wrong...I guess I just assumed that without hair/fur...there'd be nowhere for the fleas to hitch a ride????

 

[ckutkuhn7]

not true!! Took my baby outside today and then later today we found a flea on her ear fuzzies...gotta watch out for those critters - they are sneaky!

 

[Jinxlover]

Huh? flea preventatives? I didn't think a sphynx would have that issue? Please correct me if I am wrong...I guess I just assumed that without hair/fur...there'd be nowhere for the fleas to hitch a ride????

I'm with you. I thought the same thing, no hair, no fleas... See we learn some thing new everyday...