Revolution Plus for cats is a monthly topical treatment that protects against six common parasites: fleas, ticks, ear mites, roundworms, hookworms, and heartworm. It’s applied once a month to the skin between the shoulder blades, and it covers both internal and external parasites in a single dose.
The Six Parasites It Covers
Revolution Plus combines two active ingredients that work together to target a broad range of parasites. One ingredient disrupts nerve signaling in worms and insects, causing paralysis and death. The other overstimulates the nervous system of ticks and fleas, killing them. Together, they cover:
- Fleas: Kills adult fleas and helps prevent flea eggs from hatching, breaking the lifecycle.
- Ticks: Treats and controls three specific tick species: the black-legged tick (deer tick), the Gulf Coast tick, and the American dog tick.
- Ear mites: Treats existing infestations and prevents new ones with continued monthly use.
- Roundworms: Kills intestinal roundworms, one of the most common parasites in cats.
- Hookworms: Eliminates intestinal hookworms, which feed on blood and can cause anemia.
- Heartworm: Prevents heartworm disease by killing immature heartworm larvae before they develop into adults.
Tick Protection the Original Didn’t Have
The key difference between Revolution Plus and the original Revolution is tick coverage. The original formula contained only one active ingredient, which handled fleas, ear mites, worms, and heartworm but had no tick protection. Revolution Plus added a second compound specifically designed to kill ticks. If your cat goes outdoors or lives in an area where ticks are common, this is a meaningful upgrade.
How It Handles Ear Mites
Ear mites are tiny parasites that live inside the ear canal, causing intense itching, dark waxy debris, and head shaking. Revolution Plus is effective against them with a single dose. In laboratory testing, one application eliminated over 99% of ear mites within 30 days. In real-world field studies with naturally infested cats, 94.4% were completely clear of ear mites at the 30-day mark. The product is applied to the skin on the back of the neck, not inside the ears, though cleaning out existing ear debris is recommended for comfort.
Continued monthly application prevents reinfestations, which is especially useful in multi-cat households where ear mites spread easily through close contact.
Heartworm Prevention, Not Treatment
An important distinction: Revolution Plus prevents heartworm disease but does not treat an existing heartworm infection. It works by killing the microscopic larvae that mosquitoes transmit before those larvae can mature into adult worms. Adult heartworms live in the heart and lungs and can be fatal in cats, and there’s no approved treatment for feline heartworm infection the way there is for dogs. That makes prevention especially critical for cats, even indoor ones, since mosquitoes can easily get inside a home.
For the prevention to work reliably, dosing needs to stay on a consistent monthly schedule. Missing a dose can leave a gap where larvae survive long enough to develop.
Age and Weight Requirements
Revolution Plus is approved for cats 8 weeks of age and older. Dosing is weight-based, with color-coded tubes for different size ranges starting at cats under 5 pounds. It should not be used on cats that are sick, underweight, or debilitated. The solution is applied directly to the skin at the base of the skull, where the cat can’t lick it off, and it absorbs into the body within a few hours.
What It Doesn’t Cover
Revolution Plus does not treat tapeworms, which are one of the more common intestinal parasites cats get from swallowing fleas during grooming. If your cat has tapeworms, you’ll need a separate deworming product. It also doesn’t protect against all tick species, only the three listed (black-legged, Gulf Coast, and American dog). And while it kills adult fleas, heavy household infestations may require additional environmental treatment like vacuuming and washing bedding to eliminate flea eggs and pupae that live in carpets and furniture.