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Updated on September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Scottish Fold | Female | spayed | 7 lbs
I have a 15 year old scottish fold who was given hartz fLea drops a week ago by her previous owner, and she's still covered in fleas. I have advantage II for my British shorthair. Can I use the advantage on my new cat or will that overmedicate her? I really don't want to bring home fleas.
3 Answers

Answered By Lauren Jones VMD
Veterinarian
Published on September 15th, 2017
Answered By Amber W
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Aw Butterscotch is adorable! I would suggest bathing Butterscotch first and then applying the Advantage. Products like Advantage are far superior and safer than Hartz products which is probably why Butterscotch is still covered in fleas.
It will usually take about 4 months of monthly treatment with a quality flea preventative like Advantage 2 for the entire flea problem to be eradicated. This will likely be a shorter time frame in your case because Butterscotch is moving into a new home.
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck!
0Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Published on September 3rd, 2018
In my experience, Hartz flea preventatives don't work very well. If you choose to use a different brand of topical flea preventative, then I would wait at least 2 weeks before applying it. Advantage has a little better success, and Revolution (a prescription flea preventative) works really well.
It is safe to use an oral flea preventative like Capstar concurrently with a topical, though it only works for 24 hours so you will have to give Pluto a pill every day.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful