I'll never forget the day our home turned into a flea infestation nightmare. We had three cats and three dogs, and no matter what we tried, we just couldn't get rid of them. I have no idea what kind of fleas they are, but it was a real challenge.
It started when our kittens got infested, and we thought we'd be able to get rid of them easily. But as the days went by, the problem only got worse. We were at the vet's store, waiting in line, and everyone was buying flea medication, complaining that nothing was working. Yeah, that was us too.
Why Gelmintal?
I was desperate for a solution, so I bought Gelmintal, a product that's supposed to help with worms too. I didn't even know such a thing existed, so I just followed the advice of the store staff. I didn't make an informed decision, I just bought it.
It cost around 450 rubles per pipette, and we bought it for all of them.
The product comes in different weight categories, there's one for cats from 4 to 10 kg and one for smaller cats up to 4 kg. I think the difference between 5 kg and 10 kg is huge, I don't understand why this pipette would be suitable for such different weight categories.
The manufacturer is Russia, the company Neotrika. The product is an analog of foreign wide-spectrum products that are now very expensive.
xa0
General Information
It comes in a box with one pipette and instructions. I didn't think to take a picture of it right away, so I'm left with just the box.
There's a sticker for the vet's passport - that's convenient, not all products have it.
The product has a very wide range of action - it's like magic. It kills everything, you just need to apply it to the skin and enjoy.
I've found the dosing information for the two types of pipettes to be a bit confusing. For cats under 1 kg, it's recommended not to administer the treatment. And for kittens under 2 months, it's also not advised.
The active ingredients are moxidectin and praziquantel, which are supposed to target internal parasites. But I'm not sure how bloats are supposed to be killed by this treatment.
Using the treatment on our cats
We have four cats, with two weighing 8 kg and two weighing 4 kg. We purchased three pipettes for 4-10 kg. For the heavier cats, we applied one pipette to the forehead, and for the smaller ones, we divided one pipette between them.
We applied the treatment as instructed - to dry, unbroken skin. We divided the pipette into several points of application along the spine. We made sure not to get any on their fur - with mixed results.
And the outcome? In short, I ended up with four flea-ridden cats, one cat with dermatitis, and all of them looking like pigs.
The treatment left a nasty residue on their fur! None of the previous treatments had caused such a reaction - their fur was matted and oily. After a day, we carefully wiped them down with damp cloths, avoiding the skin - but it didn't make a difference. What's worrying is that the cats might rub against furniture and end up reapplying the treatment to themselves.
Maybe we just applied it wrong? No, we didn't. We repeated the process with different pipettes - and got the same result. And this wasn't our first time using this treatment.
One of our cats had worms in their stool a week later. It's too late to determine if they were alive or dead. Dead worms should pass within a couple of days after treatment, but not a week later? And if they were alive, did the treatment fail to protect them? And what about the other cats, which showed no signs of worms? I have no idea what to make of this.
The bloats didn't disappear. I'm 100% sure that this treatment didn't work - our vet confirmed it. Because after we went to the clinic, she was surprised that we'd even tried to treat the cats - there were still loads of bloats on them. She advised us to try a different treatment.
My cat developed dermatitis. And my pain - the next day, where the gelmintal gel was applied, a bald spot appeared, then they all broke out with bloody sores.
Those sores are too graphic to share, but let me tell you - my cat is scratching nonstop, and I've had to shave him and treat the dermatitis on top of that. The fleas are still there, and I can't use chemicals to get rid of them anymore. He's lost weight, complains constantly, and refuses to get off my lap - my poor cat has been through a lot.
And the dermatitis? Still hasn't gone away, even after all these months. The sores healed, but there are still scars, and his fur hasn't grown back. I'm worried that gelmintal will leave my poor cat looking like this for the rest of his life.
This isn't a typical flea dermatitis case - the sores are different, and so are the bald spots. The vet confirmed it's a reaction to the medication. If you check the reviews for this product, you'll see we're not alone in experiencing side effects.
Here's what it looks like now that the sores have healed. I'll link to the review for the collar at the bottom once I've finished writing it.
xa0
The Verdict
The only good thing about this product is how easy it is to apply. I have one cat who's a total diva - she'll bite your hand off if you try to give her a deworming pill. With her, it's a breeze - just squirt it on and go.
But the problem is, this stuff doesn't seem to work. It's not getting rid of the fleas, and I'm not sure about the worms, and to top it all off, it's given one of my cats dermatitis.
Do you need this product? You decide. I won't be buying it again - I've found better alternatives from the same manufacturer, and I'll be writing reviews for those next.
xa0
Other products that got rid of fleas:
Shampoo Chistotel Maximum - effective, but not a complete solution
I was really excited to try out the Bar's Collars, but unfortunately, they didn't live up to my expectations.