It’s spring, so don’t forget to treat and prevent nasty diseases that affect your pets this season.
Flea infestations can be detrimental to your pet’s health. Besides the excruciating itchiness, constant biting and rubbing can lead to flea allergy dermatitis, skin damage, and infections. Excessive flea and tick infestations can cause your pet to become anemic, a serious condition. A paralyzed tick can be very dangerous to dogs and cats. It affects the nervous system, causing paralysis and can quickly lead to death if left untreated.
So what can you use to control these parasites? Spot-ons, powders, shampoos, sprays, tablets, chews, collars, and more. All of these products work in different ways to kill or prevent fleas and ticks. With so many products on the market, it can get a little confusing and overwhelming when deciding what to use.
There are a few things to consider when treating your pet for fleas and ticks. Regardless of which product you use for your pet, the most important thing is to follow the instructions. Before using, make sure it is safe for your pet, especially when treating young puppies, kittens and pregnant or nursing mothers. When treating cats, be sure to use products that are listed as safe for use on cats. Cats are very sensitive to some of the ingredients in flea and tick products for dogs and can cause serious illness in your cat. Especially when using spot-ons, read the instructions to see when it’s okay to bathe your animal before and after use. Do not under- or over-feed animals as this may reduce the effectiveness of the product or make the animal sick. When using many products, it is best to seek advice to avoid them interacting or accidentally overdosing your animal.
The biggest drawback to flea and tick treatment programs is compliance. The only way these products work is with repeated use on a schedule and eradicating the entire lifecycle. Many people stop using flea products once they stop seeing fleas. Introducing a single adult female flea into the environment can produce hundreds of eggs and initiate a new outbreak. Therefore, the best way to keep your pet free of fleas is to treat it year-round. Even if your pet doesn’t have fleas, it’s important to keep treating your pet, as they may still have eggs or larvae waiting to hatch. Also, try to get rid of all family pets at the same time, even if she’s the only pet with fleas. The infection cannot be controlled without treating all pets.
A good first step in treating flea and tick infestations is to bathe your pet. flea treatment shampoo. Flea shampoo kills adult fleas, lice and ticks instantly.There is also shampoo etc. Fido’s Fre-Itch Rinse Concentrate, can prevent ticks for up to 3 days, helping to kill fleas, lice and prevent ticks. Another good first step in getting rid of adult fleas on your pet is capstar tablets. These tablets can be administered when your pet has fleas and will kill fleas quickly. However, these products only kill what is attached to the animal when bathing, and do not prevent reinfestation, as contact with fleas, eggs, and larvae immediately re-infests the flea. Therefore, flea shampoo and Capster are best used in combination with another product such as spot-ons, tablets, or chews for a more effective long-term prevention plan.
Spot-on preventatives and treatments are a very popular and easy-to-use choice for getting rid of ectoparasites such as fleas, ticks, ticks and other biting insects. If using after bathing, it is important to wait until your pet is completely dry before using the spot-on. It’s also best to wait at least 24-48 hours after using a spot-on or bathe as directed.like a spot-on treatment Bravecto Spot-On for Dogs Prevents fleas and paralysis ticks for 6 months and suppresses brown dog ticks for 12 weeks. Bravecto spot-on for cats Controls flea and tick infestations in cats for 3 months. Bravecto Plus Spot-On for Cats It treats and prevents flea infestations for 3 months, paralysis ticks for 10 weeks, and also provides heartworm, intestinal worm and ear mites protection. frontline original, frontline plus and ADVANTICS It has been around for a long time to get rid of ticks and fleas on dogs. Note that these products are only effective against the deadly paralyzed tick for 2 weeks and effective against fleas and dog ticks for a month.
There are also a number of new products on the market available in chewable or tablet form that provide combined flea and tick protection, some with full coverage against heartworms, intestinal worms and ticks. Popular products include bravecto chews for dogs Controls tick and flea infestation in dogs for 12 weeks. Simparica for dogs Monthly chewing prevents fleas, ticks, scabies and ticks. Nexgard Chooses A monthly chew to prevent fleas, ticks and ticks on your dog. Nexgard Spectra Gives additional protection against heartworms, intestinal worms and mites.
It is very important to check the label and see what protection the product you are using offers. Some products only provide protection against fleas, some cover ticks, and others protect against heartworms, intestinal parasites, and/or ticks.
Other flea and tick prevention products include: collar, Rinse and spray Can be used in combination with other flea control products.There are many collars on the market such as Kiltix tick collar and Celestecan be used on dogs to help get rid of ticks and fleas. Permoxine is an insecticide and acaricide used to prevent ticks for up to 2 weeks and to kill and repel fleas for up to 20 days.
Please note that not all tick repellent products are 100% effective in repelling ticks. Especially in areas where ticks are paralyzing, it is very important to check your pet daily for ticks and to contact your veterinarian if you find a tick or if your pet is unwell.
If your pet suffers from a severe flea or tick infestation, consult your veterinarian for advice and treatment options. Early intervention is very important when dealing with paralysis in ticks, so if you see signs of weakness or paralysis, take your cat to the veterinarian immediately. The best treatment for fleas and ticks is always prevention. So consider using one of the products available to keep your four-legged friend free of parasites.
If you need help deciding which product is best for your pet, contact the friendly and knowledgeable service team at vet-n-pet DIRECT.
Until next time,
Beck