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Flea options

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 6:14 pm
by Mollysmummy
Molly and Kevin both hate flea day with a passion. It's not even just the nasty smell or the fact (for Molly) that we have to hold them to do it. They both spend hours afterwards trying to lick it off, and Kevin becomes withdrawn for a few hours as if it actually hurts him. We've tried several different brands but he always seems to be like this.

Molly is an outdoor cat and we live on the edge of the countryside; I've seen rats, hedgehogs, badgers and foxes nearby so there's plenty of flea infestation opportunity here and I wouldn't want Kevin to catch them from Molly if we can at all help it (he doesn't go out).

I've messaged my vet tonight as Kevin seems really, really fed up this time. But while I await their answers I wanted to ask the same question here; are there other options? They're both fussy with tablets but I wondered if there was an injection maybe?

Re: Flea options

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 7:56 am
by Camdengirl
You asked about this before. People recommended the Program injection for fleas:

http://www.catchat.org/felineforum/view ... =13&t=2387" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To be honest, NO cat likes flea/worming treatments, just like none of us likes things like smear tests. They are a necessary evil that we just have to deal with.

Re: Flea options

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 8:04 am
by Sue Goddard
Hi all...My cats for the last 10 odd years have had Program injections and have never had flea problems..so I swear by it.
I get a reminder every 6 months from the vet when it's due.
So much better than those awful drops on the back of the neck which I've never been able to administer properly as cats squirm too much to get it on the skin and not drench the fur..and besides if you have two cats they are liable to lick it off each other.

Do try Program...

Re: Flea options

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 2:35 pm
by Lilith
Nothing wrong in giving this subject a second airing - 'tis the season as they say :)

Didn't sink in with me, the first time round, about Program. If my lot roamed I'd seriously consider this as it has to work out cheaper than the spot-on stuff :)

Re: Flea options

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 10:29 am
by Masuru
Capricious cats :) I would use a collar on mine if he did any of weird actions. I found my cat 10 months ago as a 2 months old kitten thrown into the streets by some cruel people. He was covered in fleas obviously. Used spot-on, he tried to lick it but I was alert :D I only wonder one thing. How safe it is to use any of such medications for a long time? Is it 100% safe for a cat? Does anybody here have a cat which is 20 years old and was treated every season with anti-flea?
And one more question... I moved to the UK, Scotland just 3 weeks ago, planning to take my cat for a walk. How dangerous is the place for ticks and which time are they most active? Are they there in my backyard? :)

Re: Flea options

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:05 am
by Mollysmummy
I've got them booked in for Program as of next month, works out about £50 a year cheaper than buying drops every month.

My parents used to use a flea collar on my childhood cat, it stank to high heaven at first!! I've also wondered what the long term effects are, as our youngest Kevin seems more and more irritated by it every month.

I'm in the Midlands do I'm not sure about Scotland; where did you move from? I would imagine ticks are less of a problem in a cooler climate? I know people who don't bother with flea treatment who only have their cats outside to walk them and say they don't have any problems.

Re: Flea options

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2015 11:18 am
by Masuru
I have come from central Russia :) Fleas survive there happily even in winter when it is below -20C. Russia is a very dangerous place to keep a cat outdoors. There are a lot of homeless cats with infections and dogs which can kill a cat easily. So we have always kept our cats indoors. My parents now have 2 cats, and I took the third one here... We only treated them all once in their lifetime each, when we got them from the street as kittens. One more difficulty for me is that normal European medicines for pets appeared in Russia only after 2000 year, so the oldest cat using it might be 15-16 now :D So I cannot get any experience from there...

I am not going to let the cat out alone at all even here, only with me and a collar :) So I am more scared of ticks than fleas. I thought I have to use this medicine only during warmer months May-September?..