"I just noticed the poor reviews. So I thought I'd contribute. I've been using this product for possibly 14 years. Can't remember, exactly. And I've had no problems. It might be noteworthy that I've only had to flea-bomb an apartment when I had 7 additional kittens (total of 10 cats, temporarily) in cow-country Connecticut. Back then, I think I was still using flea collars, tho. But since the environmental situation had been taken care of, never another problem. Kittens were way too young for treatments. And it took a couple treatments to my small apartment to clear it out. Since I switched to the spot, things have always been good.
My original 2 cats, mother and son, have used this product most of those years. Mother kitty used this until she was nearly 17, when she passed on. Son still hunting and exploring at 15! Never had an out-break of fleas. Rarely, a tick can be spotted crawling on them, but not biting. New girl kitten addition (age 1.5) is also using this product this year.
My cats live like kids. Live inside, play outside with curfews. No playing outside in bad weather. They've lived in rural country to just-suburban but still wooded. I treat them only during flea/tick season. (6 mo/yr) New England winters don't support fleas/ticks! And they're mostly inside in the winter. AND, they live with a greyhound who goes everywhere with me, from park to hiking trails!
The flea/tick wipes are only good for 2 weeks (says so on package). Good starter for the spring season. Only complaint is that keeping the product on my shelf too long isn't good. One package evaporated! But wipes are sealed well.
So unless the formula changed or the environment has become much more hostile than this product can support, it has worked well enough for the buck for me and my clan. I will update if it's different!
I don't bathe my cats. They bathe themselves. I don't use any other flea/tick meds. I'm a minimalist. Don't want to have them use chemicals if I can avoid it.
Also, I keep them inside after the spot treatment until they oily spot is mostly gone. It takes a day or so for the med to spread and work. I let them out right away after the wipe. They don't like smelling like flowers & powder, but that's just too bad! ;o)
Keep in mind that fleas will jump off the cats and live/breed in a better environment, like bedding, other animals, etc. in your house. Take it from me! I've had a zillion kittens! (All placed into good homes.) The kittens get infected from the cats that go outside. There were lots of cats in the neighborhood that came over to play/hang. Once inside, it's a big project to get them out! Once out of your house and off the cats, the product works fine per cat. Trust me, I never want to go thru that fleas problem again!
Like I said, will update if this season is too aggressive for the product. Hopefully, not."