Flea treatment for cat who reacts to spot on
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:56 am
Hey guys, my cat Harvey is a bit of a pain to flea/worm. He reacts very badly to spot on treatments - as soon as I snap the top off the container his eyes start to close up and he looks really pained, even if he's on the other side of the room. As soon as I apply the treatment his eyes water and he starts running around the house with his eyes shut freaking out. As a result I avoid using spot on treatments on him as he's clearly either allergic or just hyper-reactive to them.
Unfortunately he's also absolutely horrendous to tablet. I've had tough cats in the past but he's impossible - even wrapped in multiple towels with help he'll destroy me. He refuses to swallow even when forced with water in a syringe and tricking him doesn't work. I've tried using Milbemax when worming him as it's smaller and is meant to taste better but even then I can't hide it in food or treats, he just spits it out.
As a result I'm at a bit of a loss on my options. I've noticed he's got fleas at the moment - they're not bothering him but they're bothering me and I'd like to get on top of them before it becomes a problem.
I could risk using spot on as he hasn't ever had any long lasting effects but I feel tremendously guilty doing so as he clearly has problems with it and there's no guarantee that at some point he won't have a nasty long lasting reaction. There's not much point in attempting a tablet though as I've yet to get one into him successfully.
If there's a lack of options then I'll take him up to the vet and let them tablet him as they're pros but I'd rather avoid this if I can! I remember when he was a baby the vet gave me little powder sachets for his food to treat fleas (unless I'm remembering wrong, it was 6 years ago!) - I wondered if these work for adult cats? He'll probably still be a pain and leave his food but if I give him nothing else to eat and mix it into Tuna maybe I stand a chance!
Any advice appreciated! Thanks![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
Unfortunately he's also absolutely horrendous to tablet. I've had tough cats in the past but he's impossible - even wrapped in multiple towels with help he'll destroy me. He refuses to swallow even when forced with water in a syringe and tricking him doesn't work. I've tried using Milbemax when worming him as it's smaller and is meant to taste better but even then I can't hide it in food or treats, he just spits it out.
As a result I'm at a bit of a loss on my options. I've noticed he's got fleas at the moment - they're not bothering him but they're bothering me and I'd like to get on top of them before it becomes a problem.
I could risk using spot on as he hasn't ever had any long lasting effects but I feel tremendously guilty doing so as he clearly has problems with it and there's no guarantee that at some point he won't have a nasty long lasting reaction. There's not much point in attempting a tablet though as I've yet to get one into him successfully.
If there's a lack of options then I'll take him up to the vet and let them tablet him as they're pros but I'd rather avoid this if I can! I remember when he was a baby the vet gave me little powder sachets for his food to treat fleas (unless I'm remembering wrong, it was 6 years ago!) - I wondered if these work for adult cats? He'll probably still be a pain and leave his food but if I give him nothing else to eat and mix it into Tuna maybe I stand a chance!
Any advice appreciated! Thanks
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)