If you think your cat has or may have fleas, count on many products that can repel or prevent the appearance of these parasites.
Also, it’s important to know what fleas look like and what damage they can do to our little ones. Here you’ll learn the best anti-flea products for your cat and the recommendations our vets will give you to keep your health up to date.
When we see our cats scratching more than usual, one of the first things that come to mind is the dreaded fleas. Even if our cat just strolls around the garden or lives in an apartment and doesn’t go outside, fleas can come to him with relative ease. For example, through our shoes when we come back from the street (it is not uncommon for fleas, whether egg-shaped, larvae or adult, to stick to shoe soles or the bottom of pants) or especially if we have a dog, it can act as an intermediate host and pass them on to the cat.
Fleas can severely affect the health of our cats, among other things they can cause allergy (DAPP, flea allergy dermatitis), hemoplasmosis (feline infectious anemia) or dipylidiosis (a type of intestinal parasite).
The flea life cycle
Fleas are small insects that parasitize our pets and feed on their blood. They do not fly, but can jump up to 33 cm away. Its body measures between 1.5 and 3.3 mm, is brown in color and moves rapidly between the hairs of its host thanks to its laterally flattened body, which makes it very difficult to detect them by sight alone. , especially in dark-haired animals. The easiest thing is to detect your feces, we can see small black dots in the area of our cat’s torso or belly.
During its development go through four phases:
- Eggs. The adult females place them on our pet’s body, then fall and deposit on rugs, beds, sofas…
- Larvae. They shelter under furniture and carpets or hidden in sand or gravel feeding on the feces of adult fleas and other organic waste.
- Pupas. The larva wraps around in a cocoon and remains inside until it detects outside conditions appropriate to emerge as an adult flea.
- Adult. They bite the host and feed on their blood, live about 50 days.
The total duration of the flea biological cycle varies from 2 weeks to 6 months, and even longer, as in cold seasons or when it does not detect the presence of possible hosts nearby they may remain in the pupa phase for several months waiting for the conditions to be met. develop. It is therefore important to combat the different stages of its development and to keep our cat always protected, otherwise we could meet a new infestation soon.
The most effective anti parasites against fleas
When it comes to preventing fleas from invading our cats some of the most recommended products are as follows:
With the oral suspension, one of the most commonly used is Program that is given mixed with cat food and has a one-month effect. This product prevents the fleas from multiplying as it causes egg infertility. It does not eliminate adult fleas, so it is necessary to supplement it with another adult deworming effect.
Frontline Combo Spot On is a pipette-shaped dewormer that applies behind the cat’s head where it cannot lick itself. Kills fleas in 24 hours and ticks and lice in 48 hours. It is a very complete product to fight fleas, as it eliminates the adults and prevents the development of eggs, pupae and larvae. It is effective for 4 weeks.
The Seresto collar protects our cat from fleas, ticks and lice for 8 months, making it the most widely available product on the market today. It also has an effect on flea larvae as it prevents their development for 10 weeks. It has no odor, is water resistant and fits very easily. The cat should use it permanently.
Also in pipette format, we find Flevox, composed of fipronil. It is absorbed in a couple of hours without leaving any residue on the skin and is effective for 4 weeks against fleas and for one week against ticks.
One of the most recommended products used by veterinarians on animals that have flea infestation is Frontline Spray. It is very effective and safe, can be used on kittens from 2 days of age and eliminates parasites within 24 hours. It is water-resistant and its protection against fleas lasts up to three months and one month against ticks.
Advantage are pipettes formulated specifically to combat fleas. Eliminates our cat’s adult fleas in just 12 hours. It is also effective against the larvae present in its surroundings. Its effect lasts one month and is water-resistant.
It is always important to consult with the vet the best choice for our cat. Some animals may have allergic reactions to certain chemical compounds, so be aware after applying deworming agents and any symptoms (skin irritation, behavioral changes…) contact your veterinarian and choose a product with a different aftercare composition. parasite treatments.
It is important to keep our cat protected from fleas and apply deworming agents even though we don’t see any pets. Parasites are sometimes not easy to observe and most of them (eggs, larvae, and pupae) do not see them because they are in the environment. It is always better to prevent and act before fleas completely invade our pet and our home, as once installed they reproduce very quickly and ending them may require, in extreme cases, the intervention of a professional in the field. pest control.
Using a good deworming product for our cat is a real investment for both him and the people he lives with. It will save you a lot of hassle, health problems and headaches.
