# Revolution - why the kitten version?



## SerendipityRats (Jul 1, 2016)

Any time I've gotten Revolution in the past, I've always bought the puppy/kitten one. But, I was wondering why it is that the puppy/kitten ones are recommended for rats? Is the concentration different than what is found in the larger pipettes? I'm wondering because I know with dogs, some people purchase the one for the largest dogs, then split the dose for their smaller dog. A co-worker of mine does this for her small dogs and ends up saving a ton because one of the large dog pipettes can be split several times to deliver the right amount of the med for each of her dogs. For example, her dogs are just under 10lbs each. The recommended dose is 1ml per dog. The large pipettes have 4ml each, so each dog can be treated twice from one pipette. 

I'm wondering if this might kind of work the same for rats. Just wondering if perhaps the concentration is different for the different sizes? Any thoughts on this?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Kitten, puppy, and cat Revolution all have the same concentration. The dog Revolution is twice as concentrated than the other 3. One drop of either the kitten, puppy, or cat Revolution is enough for a rat under 1lb. If your rat is over 1 lb, two drops or 1 drop of the dog Revolution. That being said it is unlikely you will overdose your rat if you give an extra drop unless maybe if it is a baby. Store the extra Revolution of an opened pipette in a air tight bottle or it will evaporate.


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## SerendipityRats (Jul 1, 2016)

I thought that was probably the case. The next time I need to purchase some, I'm going to look into the other versions to see if I can't save some money.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

How many rats do you have? I got the cat version and there is 3 pipettes of .75ml which is enough to treat 15*3 that is 45 rats!!!


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## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

The kitten stuff has exactly 10 drops per vial. That works out perfectly for me to put 2 drops on each of my boys. (all close to 1lb each +/- a little)


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Actually, I did some research and believe it or not revolution was tested on rats.... pretty much like everything else and the amount required to cause any serious harm was pretty massive... it's out there somewhere on the internet in a comparison chart against other anti-parasite treatments... I've used the same dose on both rats and mice. Mice being a lot smaller than rats... no harm done. The dog variety should be ok for rats, if you really have a lot of rats to treat, but for most of us the kitten type is just fine.


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## Mooki (Jul 27, 2016)

So is this something that is done every month like treating dogs for ticks and fleas?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Mooki said:


> So is this something that is done every month like treating dogs for ticks and fleas?


No it is done when the rats have mites/scabs/scratch more than usual or if you suspect they might have mites like when you buy a rat at a pet store. If you treat your rats with Revolution and they don't have mites, it is ok because very safe.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Revolution can be applied every month to dogs and cats typically in the summer when they are outdoors and around other animals. Most rats don't live that kind of a lifestyle. First, rats sometimes fight when they first meet, and it's hard to tell when the girls are in heat so big group play sessions at a gathering of rat owners is commonly discouraged, and secondly there aren't that many true shoulder rats going outdoors.

Luckily, yours truly currently has 3 true shoulder rats that do go outdoors, and I can say with the certainty of some thousands of hours of outdoor experience, we've never actually got mites from our rats playing outdoors, even in places where wild rats hang out. It's possible that we may have spread mites to other people who handled our rats when they had mites, but we have never brought them home ourselves. That being said one of our rats did pick up larval deer ticks, which by the way feed on rodent's not deer, but they were easy to pick off.

I think the fact that revolution can be used to prevent mites can help you get around a vet visit. Theoretically if you are buying it for prevention, you shouldn't need a diagnosis or a full visit with the vet to buy revolution. As a shoulder rat trainer, I technically buy revolution from a vet who doesn't see rats to prevent, not treat mites... 

All of that said, we don't really treat our rats monthly because we don't really get mites from going outdoors with our rats. Mostly we've gotten them with new rats, and my daughter's visit to a traveling petting zoo or her handling other people's pets and not washing up. We do try and wash up when we handle other animals or visit a pet shop, but kids forget and by the time my daughter told me they had small animals at school, it was too late, she was already snuggling one of our rats.

If I don't see scratching, I don't treat. Rats do tend to preen themselves, and they do scratch every so often, which is normal, but they really don't scratch that much... I try not to wait for scabs, I treat if I see too much scratching as revolution is very safe and does no harm and most of all, if you aren't paying for a vet visit, it's dirt cheap. I re-seal the tube, wrap it in black electrical tape, pack it in a plastic bag and store it in the freezer so the alcohol doesn't evaporate.


Long and short of this ramble... you can treat every month if your rats are at high risk of getting mites, but even true shoulder rats very rarely get mites.... so to my knowledge no one actually does it. Maybe, if someone works in a pet shop or around small animals, like in a rescue, and couldn't always wash up and change their clothes it might be a good idea, but otherwise no...


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## Mooki (Jul 27, 2016)

Awesome! Thanks for all that info. I'm a go natural if at all possible and try to stay away from chemicals so glad it's not a monthly thing.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I strongly agree with go natural. But mites are often hard to diagnose until your rat has scabs all over and your rat is really sick... This is one where the disease is way worse than the cure... So don't treat needlessly, but if your rats need it, don't put it off.


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