Differences Between Frontline Plus for Cats & Dogs

Protecting your pets from fleas and ticks is important not just for their health, but for your health as well. Frontline Plus is one of the top-selling brands of flea and tick medication for cats and dogs. The active ingredients are the same in both formulas, but there are differences between the two and good reasons why you should not use Frontline Plus for Dogs on your cat, or vice versa.

  1. Frontline Plus for Cats Formula

    • The formula for cats contains less S-methoprene.

      Frontline Plus for cats comes in a dosage size of 0.5 ml. The two active ingredients in Frontline Plus for Cats are fipronil, which makes up 9.8% of the medication, and S-methoprene, which makes up 11.8% of the medication. These numbers show that a dose of Frontline Plus for Cats contains 0.049 ml of fipronil and 0.059 ml of S-methoprene.

    Frontline Plus for Dogs Formula

    • Both formulas contain 9.8% fipronil.

      Frontline Plus for dogs comes in a dosage size of 0.67 ml. As with the formula for cats, there are two active ingredients in Frontline Plus for Dogs. The first active ingredient is fipronil, and it comprises 9.8% of this formula as well. However, the second active ingredient, S-methoprene, only makes up 8.8% of the formula for dogs. These numbers show that a dose of Frontline Plus for Dogs contains 0.0657 ml of fipronil and 0.059 ml of S-methoprene.

    Sharing Formulas

    • In an effort to save money, some people have opted to purchase Frontline Plus for Dogs and use the doses on both their dogs and cats. This is a dangerous action to take. As noted in the formula breakdown, cats are only receiving 0.049 ml of fipronil when given a proper dose of Frontline Plus, while if they receive a dose meant for a dog, they are receiving 0.0657 ml, which is approximately 50% more than they should be receiving. Further to the higher dosage, cats are generally smaller than dogs as well. The increased dosage and smaller size of the animal compounds the dangers of using the wrong formula.

    Price

    • Some websites, such as 1-800-PetMeds (1800petmeds.com) do not differentiate in price between dog and cat formulas. Other sites, such as Doctors Foster and Smith (drsfostersmith.com) do charge slightly more for the dog formula. The increased dosage size is a likely reason for the higher cost of the dog formula. While Meril, the makers of Frontline, will not sell their products directly, their website often has coupons to save money on Frontline products.