Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Capstar Fast-Acting Oral Flea Treatment for Dogs

Top positive review

Works great but YOU have to do your part

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2013

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Capstar itself is not intended to eradicate your flea problem. You have to treat your HOUSE too at the same time or the fleas will come right back. You have to wash EVERYTHING your pets come in contact with - beds, couch covers and throws, curtains, stuffed animals, pillows - any and everything your pets come in contact with. EVERYTHING! Then you have to vacuum EVERYTHING else. And you have to vacuum every other day. You can't just do a quick vacuum, you have to vacuum every nook and cranny. You have to empty your vacuum cleaner after vacuuming and throw the bag in an outside garbage can. Then treat ALL surfaces with an IGR flea spray. Then you have to use a flea prevention (Frontline, Advantage) product on your pets.
The reason capstar is "not working" for those reviewers is because the flea eggs are hatching and re-infesting your pets (and you). You have to do it all to get rid of them. Capstar is only meant to kill the adult fleas that are on the pet at the time you give the dose, it will not do anything to control the eggs on your pet or the eggs and larvae in the house. A single capsule laid by a single female flea can have up to 800 eggs in it! And they can live for months dormant in your carpets, couches, etc. So the flea fight is not won in a day or a week. It is a months long process.
It is a lot of work to get rid of fleas but if you are expecting a dose of a single product to do it, you will still have fleas.
The two times my cats have had fleas the Capstar worked perfectly, it killed off the fleas on the cats. However I had to do all of the above work (it takes me two days to completely clean the house and it takes about 30 loads of wash) to actually get rid of the fleas.
I can also say both times my cats got fleas I was not using their flea preventative. I was trying "natural" alternatives and they got fleas within two months. I hate using chemicals but unfortunately I will have to keep using them. It is better than having fleas.

9 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Jane Estella

update 7/25/15; didn't work for my lil ones......so far much less scratching for my little ones

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2015

update7/25/15; only works for days now and my pom is back with fleas and scratching. i will continue searching for another. good luck to yall.

Update; It took 30 min for me to notice fleas falling off and lasted maybe 2.5 weeks. my dog is back on scratching like crazy :( i've tried everything i don't know what to do anymore... if someone have a pom and an item worked on them without effecting their fur let me know :) thank you!

Received it faster than expected =). Well package with the spray bottle I Order with it. I imitately used the pill one for each of my Pomeranian dogs (brown female 7months 2.5pounds, black male 1.5 yrs old 8pounds) I did not see fleas fall off with in 20sec as other stated but my yr old dog haven't been scratching every five seconds. I'm so happy all this time I thought it was a skin condition since I always used flea shampoo on him I figure I had it done what controlled. For months he been non stop scratching were he would cry and have tried everything. Until I turned to Amazon reviews. So far it's been 4 days and he only scratched few times (1-4x) but not as bad as before. I guess it's my prayers I've been waiting for, finally I can stop stressing for him. And my 7 month old haven't had any problems and haven't seen her scratch constantly like before. The spray I used it once so not sure if it has helped. I will continue using it for the next 3 months and report back if It doesn't work=)

One person found this helpful

9,513 total ratings, 4,556 with reviews

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From the United States

Mom

Works great but YOU have to do your part

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2013

Verified Purchase

9 people found this helpful

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Ceeteejayy

Best Flea Killer That Works Instantly!!!

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

I want to start off by saying that I had already tested this product at my veterinarian's office. My rescued kitty had a bad infestation and needed a solution to his terrible flea problem. After taking one dose of this pill, he was almost instantly done scratching. He was so bad he couldn't even lay down for a nap without digging. It was constant and it was bad. These pills are designed to kill all adult fleas on your pet, but will not do anything for the eggs that are already on him/her. I like to look at this as the first step to ridding your flea infestation. For me, I had my kitty take one tablet of this med to kill the fleas right away. Then I bought a monthly preventative to apply to him every 4 weeks. However, I knew that I still needed to treat my home, so I bought Knockout spray. A combined effort of all of these things were what did the trick for us. We now have no more fleas in our home & my kitty is a completely different animal. Fleas continue to bite I to your pet until it becomes so bad that your pet becomes anemic. There are so many adverse health effects that can and will happen to your pet if you don't become proactive in treating and preventing. Once my cat took his first dose of Capstar, I came home and ordered his Knockout spray for the home and a box of Capstar pills to give to him once we received the spray and treated the home. I love having these tablets on hand, as it's a sure way to help your pet and acts in just a few minutes. The fleas will literally fall off right away. They bite your pet, then die. It's easy to administer and has a 24 hour lifespan. Like I said, this is an emergency treatment that should be used in conjunction with a monthly preventative and full treatment plan for the home. I promise though that buying this medicine will prove to be the best money you have ever spent! You will not be disappointed and neither will your pet!!

5 people found this helpful

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BreakerOfStones

A little expensive, but very effective and safe.

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very effective when used properly. I highly suggest getting a flea comb and assisting in the flea removal once the meds start working. Shortly after giving the dose you will see fleas jumping off your animal like a sinking ship.

Tip: use a sticky lint roller/vacume to get the dead/dying fleas off of whatever your pet is laying on after the exodus ceases.

Since this only only works for 24 hours you need to use it in conjunction with a topical treatment like Front line.

Ive had success with this: at first indication of fleas apply a topical, administer heavy dose of Capstar. Continue applying topical as per directions, and 1x every week give a dose of Capstar. If you continue that for enough weeks you will eventually kill all the fleas. As they attempt to progress through their life cycle once they start biting, the Capstar will kill them, you just need to make that happen before they start reproducing.

On a side note this stuff is one of the safest most effective flea killer you can get. Most flea meds are highly toxic to dogs/cats but they are dosed low enough that the animal shouldnt become ill. As to the long term effects, who knows, I don't think they do many post mortem liver workups on domestic pets. Capstar chemically similar to nicotine which has been used as an organic pesticide for ages, and mammals are minimally effected by a dose that is lethal to insects(fleas). While there are some occasional minor side effects (lethargy, panting,etc), and some pets may be particularly sensitive to it, i would disregard the "horror stories" from the whackos using herbs, crystals and spells to cure their flea problems. It is statistically pretty safe and most major vets use it, especially on sick, injured, and vulnerable animals.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lujiah

Capstar is 100% effective for a day. BUY COMFORTIS for a month long

Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2016

Verified Purchase

NOTE: THIS PILL IS ONLY GOOD FOR 24 HOURS. I was struggling real bad with my dogs fleas for months. I am a fairly new dog owner and I didn't have much information, this was a new issue for me. I bought these and was completely relieved until I realized that they were only good for a day. This is awesome if your dog is never around other dogs and you give it to them in advanced before going to a dog park or anytime you think they might be around animals. However at the cost, it is not worth it. Finally after asking around I bought "Comfortis". Once a month, you give it to your dog and BOOM. Flea free. I haven't had to worry about a flea infestation in over 6 months. It is pricey but what Capstar promises for a day Comfortis takes care of for a month. My dog hasn't had any negative reactions from it either. Ten thumbs up. It is a god send.

Capstar is good for 24 hours. Do yourself and your dog a favor...BUY COMFORTIS.

Capstar is 100% effective. It DOES work. But it won't keep them away for long, and by the time you try to fix it, you have an infestation and getting rid of a home flea infestation can cost hundreds of dollars.

7 people found this helpful

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Marlowe1977

Capstar is a miracle!!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

This product is amazing! We have been battling fleas on our cat for months. We tried dips, collars, diatomaceous earth. They kept coming back. The DE didn't work at all. Everything else worked temporarily but they just wouldn't stay away. We did find one spray that worked but our cat would run when he would hear the sprayer so we had to be sneaky and get the product on him while he was sleep. That wasn't a very effective method because we could never get it on his belly. So we used that product to spray the carpet and furniture and went back to the hunt for something to treat the fleas on his body.

He was suffering. Our kittie would scratch constantly. The fleas were just out of control. If he would just let us spray him with the one topical that did work the fleas would be eradicated, but that wasn't happening. This was our last hope. We gave him one tablet as soon as they got here. We hid it in his food. About an hour later I could see fleas falling off. We were amazed. Our cat likes to sit on the coffee table and one fell off there. I looked down at the flea and it was twitching. Capstar works and it works fast. We checked our cat today and there was not a single flea on him! There would be a lot of them on his belly. Not a one flea was there. Our cat is flea free thanks to Capstar.

3 people found this helpful

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Jane Estella

update 7/25/15; didn't work for my lil ones......so far much less scratching for my little ones

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

One person found this helpful

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Smart Shopper

READ THIS FISRT !!!!!!!

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

After reading the one-star reviews, it is clear that some folks might not realize the intention of this medication. This is a KNOCK DOWN medication, NOT a monthly preventative! The REASON why folks see fleas again in a few days is because the environment is infested (house/yard). This works amazing for its INTENDED USE - to knock down the current fleas on the animal fast! If you need monthly prevention because you have fleas in your house and yard, you still need the monthly stuff like Advantage, Comfortis, etc.

I will tell you why I love this stuff and how I use it - I do not have fleas in my house and yard. I rescue, foster, find strays, trap and tame feral kittens, etc. When I bring a new animal into the house, I isolate it in a bathroom on a tile floor (and provide a bed of course) but no carpet for fleas to hide in. I immediately give this.( I cut the pill in half for kittens.) This kills the fleas fast. I can see them dying on the tile floor. Once the fleas are all dead, I can now start to acclimate the animal to the rest of the house. No need in my case for monthly topicals or ingestibles.

This also works great in conjunction with monthly prevention - Example - You take your dogs on vacation to a place where there are fleas and perhaps you are about due or overdue for the monthly and they pick up fleas - give them this to knock them down fast before going home and the fleas get a chance to jump off in your house or yard.

***Anyway, this is a situation-specific medication and will not stop new fleas from getting on your pet down the line. When you have an infested animal and need those flew dead now, this works much faster than the monthly preventions and in my case, using this when rescuing has been a life-saver. Fleas are dead within hours instead of days and my home continues to be flea-free and my pets do not need monthly. Both have their intended uses and this should not get a bad wrap by mistaking it for a prevention medication.***

15 people found this helpful

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Kristin

Youre cats might not like you but You'll love it.

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

I am probably going to be labled as an 'evil cat mom' but here goes:

I heard about Capstar from my local vet and first purchased thru them. However, the vet charges over 6 dollars a pill and since these only work for a 24hr period, I wanted something to help me combat my flea problem as they seem to be EXTREMELY resistant to bombs and other chemicals.

The pills start to work in about 15 mins. Here is where I admit is almost comical watching the cats. You know it is starting to work because they go into a cleaning frenzy. The fleas are most likely biting them badly as they are dying, but watching the cats go thru this hyper activity of washing themselves can be amusing at times. Especially as our ragdoll is a bit of a drama queen. Its like watching her take a bath, 3 times faster than normal and on crack... she stops, licks here, stops licks there, stops licks somewhere else...all while contortioning herself like a circus act to reach whatever spot she feels she needs to get to. God forbid she hears you giggle, cuz then she shoots you evil looks of 'you just wait till youre asleep'.

You will literally see the fleas trying to run away from the meds coursing thru the cat's skin. It can be a pretty disturbing sight, depending on how badly they are infested. Our ragdoll came to us like this, and with her dense fur, we couldn't really 'see' the fleas at first.. until they started their little death march off the skin to the 'ends' of her fur. I was sufficiently freaked out and in awe at the same time!

I wish they made the cats a 30 day pill like the dogs have but until then these are quite effective. You cant just use them alone, you will need other steps in your regime to try and get the fleas under control. I used Siphitrol II Bombs and room spray along with the cap star, and have been getting much needed relief! I have alos started both cats on Brewers yeast w/garlic tablets. Hopefully this will help as well altho it is still too soon to tell. (however their coats look mah-velous!)

All in all... I would definitely recommend this product and will purchase again if the need arises!

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

FOUR INSIDE CATS FIND RELIEF WITHIN FOUR HOURS!

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

FIRST: THIS IS NOT A MONTHLY TREATMENT!
Some of the reviews do show that people didn't read the full description of the product before purchase and some did not use the product properly after buying it!
Yepper, I feel your pain. Fleas are a nightmare for pets and for us!
My ALWAYS inside kitties got an infestation. It only takes ONE pregnant female to be beside your front door (thanks, lady who lets her dog run wild everywhere thinking it's cute!), to pop inside your home. And the cycle begins.
The eggs are laid ON an animal. Then the eggs fall off as the animal walks/runs around. The eggs must be continuously vacuumed up and disposed of daily for quite a while even after your begin treatment with a monthly approach. They CAN hatch several months later depending on warmth, humidity and so on.
THIS IS NOT A MONTLY TREATMENT!!!! But this can give IMMEDIATE relief within a few hours to stop the scratching, biting, creepy feeling your pet is exhibiting. When I could not get the monthly sizes of the monthly dosages for different weight cats, I got this to use until the monthly treatments arrived in the proper dosages. The fleas ON the pet die within a few hours using this. Relief is IMMEDIATE then to the fur biting, scratching, gnawing or whatever your pet might be doing. My cats were absolutely NUTS with misery. Last night, they rested easily for the first time in a week or two! And, therefore, so did I.
Now, you can dose with this every day, supposedly, but it is a poison. The problem I have with this CAPSTAR is the incredibly large variance in weight which an animal can have and still take the same dosage! So, a very small cat and a twenty-five pound dog can take this? I wish I could have a pill which is HALF the dosage if my cats weigh no more than twelve pounds! Why so much poison?
Anyway, the monthly treatments CAN begin today and seeing how some time has been bought with the almost immediate relief (within four hours for my kitties), I am happy with the purchase. My cats did not go crazy or anything like that. BUT they seemed lethargic and one spit-up twelve hours after the dose and he is NOT a cat to vomit. I can also say that all four cats slept on my bed (yeah, I know, and I washed the bedspread every day after I discovered infestation and am vacuuming the house like crazy!) and I believe the cats gave off a smell resembling insecticide.....I felt a bit nauseated to be honest after several hours up close to them. But at least were no longer in fidgeting, yanking around, scratching, biting fur mode......their livers and my liver, I hope are great filters with no resulting damage...…

I read that animal shelters use this when new animals come in, before the animals can perhaps be bathed and so on. This product has its use. But REALLY read the directions. It is a poison taken internally.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alexandria

Works best if used with other treatments

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

I have both cats and dogs so the fact you can buy one box of these for cats and most small dogs was a great bonus. Before you buy this you must understand the following things.
1.These are better used along with other flea treatments.
Why?
Because Capstar ONLY KILLS ADULT FLEAS on your pet and only works for 24-48 hours (a day or two) The young fleas, Flea egg and Larvae remain.
We treated the dogs with Vectra 3D and our cats with Advantage 2 (I did not give them the capstar on the same day even though the vet said it was fine)
2.You have to treat your home/the pets living area/bedding and particularly any rugs and carpets NEED to be treated. (Our cats would RUN through the one bedroom with carpet like it was a landmine) For the carpet I removed all pets (double checking for any hidden pet toys) I spray the rug walking backwards towards the door/room exit ( lightly dampening the rug) Using a window fan to circulate the air in the room we lock out all the animals for a minimum of 2 hours (until the rug is nearly dry) I then vacuum the rug. This first treatment uses raid or another similar harsh/cheap spray. (Hence my extra caution with the pets and their toys) After that I use safer herbal sprays that kill not just repel fleas.
Basic logic means that if your house is infested then your pet will not be flea free.
I use these because. One of our cats seems to get a lot of fat adult fleas (more than the other cats or dogs) and the pills seem to be that extra kick we need to help her be flea free.
Another of our cats is a very stubborn boy who makes it very hard for us to get a complete dosage of Advantage on him. ( restraining him is no longer an option as none of the anti stress methods like wrapping him in a towel help) So giving him a pill the day before or a day after the advantage treatment helps.
You might want to buy pill pockets.
While I had no issues I want to note that Some Owners of Specific dog breeds have posted their dogs having bad reactions. Aussie, Shih Tzu and other apparent sheepherding types. So PLEASE be careful if you have a dog that might fit in this category. With the additional methods listed above this product worked fine for me. Just pay attention follow directions and monitor your pets.

7 people found this helpful

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