Capstar is an oral flea control tablet manufactured by the Novartis Animal Health Company. Novartis Animal Health is a division of the larger Novartis Company, which is based out of Basel, Switzerland. According to Revenue data from 2018, Novartis is the current leader in pharmaceutical revenues worldwide. The Novartis Company was first created in 1996, when Ciba-Geigy (founded in 1970 by a prior merger) and Sandoz Laboratories (founded in 1886) were merged. The Novartis Company currently has three sub-divisions, which each specialize in a specific area of health care. These divisions are Pharmaceutials, Consumer Health (Over-The-Counter) and Animal Health. In addition to this, the Novartis Company is also involved in research and development in several different areas of healthcare treatment. Novartis has recently been targeted as being associated with the controversial Huntingdon Life Sciences, which is cited by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as being a company involved in cruel animal testing. However, information regarding the association is relatively inconclusive, and has mostly been kept from circulation by the public media.
Active Ingredient
Capstar ReviewsThe primary active ingredient in Capstar oral tablets is Nitenpyram, which is an insecticide. Nitenpyram is widely used for the eradication of external parasites, both in livestock and domesticated pets. Nitenpyram only takes approximately thirty minutes to become active, and is marketed as being why Capstar “kills all adult fleas” in only thirty minutes. According to veterinary studies, nitenpyram is safe to use on cats, dogs, puppies and kittens as young as four weeks old, so long as they weigh at least two pounds. The effects of Nitenpyram last for approximately twelve hours after initial ingestion. Nitenpyram is a neurotoxin, and is effective by blocking a flea’s ability to transmit neural messages through their central nervous system. This causes near-instantaneous death in most fleas. Since nitenpyram only stays in an animal’s system for approximately twelve hours, it is not effective for long-term treatment of fleas in a household. The main side effect noted with nitenpyram is extreme itching as fleas are eradicated, which is usually only seen in animals that are heavily infested. Nitenpyram is safe to use in pregnant or nursing dogs and cats, as cited by veterinary studies.
Customer Reviews
Most consumer reviews about the effectiveness of Capstar as an oral flea killing product are positive. Capstar is usually administered with a relatively high effectiveness rate, being said to kill approximately 90% of biting fleas within 4-6 hours after it is administered to a pet. However, there are a small percentage of people who seem to have witnessed some odd behavioral side effects in some of their pets. For example, there was one reviewer who claimed that her cat had an “allergic reaction” after being given Capstar, which caused her to engage in self-destructive behavior for two hours after application. As this phenomenon is not widespread, however, it is difficult to determine if this reaction was caused by a reaction to the ingredients in Capstar, or if it was potentially caused by another environmental variable.
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