Your Healthy Cat

When investigating the best medicines used to control fleas on cats, two brands seem to be ahead of the curve, Advantage II and Frontline Plus.  Here’s a comparison between the two.

Advantage II and Frontline Plus are the two leading flea medicines for cats.

Advantage II

Advantage II is the most popular cat flea treatment on the market.  It is effective against all stages of a flea’s life cycle thanks to its two active ingredients.  Imidacloprid is an insecticide that causes paralysis and subsequent quick death for adult fleas, and pyriproxyfen is an insect growth regulator (IGR) that kills flea eggs and larvae.

Advantage II is applied to your cat’s skin by way of a small pipette on the back of the animal’s neck beneath their collar and will last a month between reapplications.  It is waterproof and designed to withstand bathing and normal cat activity such as grooming and playing.

Advantage II is available over the counter and doesn’t need approval from your veterinarian, although it is recommended that you consult your vet before beginning treatment.  It is generally safe for any cat over 8 weeks old, and there are few reports of allergic reactions.  Advantage II does not treat ticks or any other insects, however, so you will need to look into other products like Frontline Plus if that is required.  It is not recommended to use Advantage II on pregnant or nursing cats.

Frontline Plus

Frontline Plus is another popular brand of cat flea treatment medicine.  Like Advantage II, it is effective against all stages of a flea’s life cycle.  It too uses an insecticide, fipronil, to kill adult fleas and pairs it with an IGR, methoprene, to kill eggs and larvae.

Frontline Plus additionally treats deer ticks, brown dog ticks, American dog ticks, lone star ticks, and lice.  Since ticks can transmit Lyme disease and other diseases,  Frontline Plus provides a nice secondary layer of protection for your cats and yourself, especially if your cats go outdoors.

Frontline Plus is applied the same way as Advantage II, through a small pipette to the cat’s skin on the back of the animal’s neck beneath their collar.  One treatment can last for up to three months, but it is recommended to treat your cat at monthly intervals in order for the protection against ticks to be most effective.  It is waterproof and can withstand bathing and normal cat activity such as grooming and playing.

Frontline Plus is available over the counter and doesn’t need approval from your veterinarian, although it is recommended that you consult your vet before beginning treatment.  It is generally safe for any cat over 8 weeks old and there are few reports of allergic reactions.  Frontline Plus is approved for pregnant and nursing cats.

Other Medicines

There are plenty of alternate medicines on the market that are available at your local pet store or veterinarian’s office.  If you find yourself in a situation where Advantage II or Frontline Plus is ineffective, you can try products such as Hartz Ultraguard Pro or Novartis Capstar.

If you prefer to treat your cat’s fleas without relying on chemical insecticides, there are a number of natural ways to treat fleas as well.

Treating Your Home

Neither Advantage II nor Frontline Plus can kill or prevent fleas that aren’t already on your cat but are in your home, hiding or laying eggs in areas like your cats bedding, in carpet, or in crevices in floors and along baseboards.  Since the life cycle of these fleas may exceed the treatment period of either of these medicines, it is important that you treat your house for fleas or you will run the risk of reinfestation.

When a cat gets fleas, much attention is focused on providing immediate relief to the animal and to protect the animal against a recurrence by way of commercial flea treatments or natural flea treatments.  However, you can’t afford to forget that such action is only one small piece of solving your flea problem.  In order to fully get rid of fleas, you have to treat your cat’s environment.  It is quite possible to do this without resorting to multiple rounds of toxic flea bombs.

There are many simple and “green” ways clean your house in order to help get rid of a flea infestation.

In order to abolish fleas from your home, you have to first understand the four-stage life cycle of a flea.  A flea in the adult cycle is the biting menace.  While feasting on your cat, an adult female flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day adding up to hundreds over its lifetime.  If your cat has a few dozen fleas biting it today, there are probably thousands more lying dormant waiting their turn.  These eggs don’t stay on your cat’s fur and skin long and fall off into your cat’s surroundings: carpet, bedding, play and sleep areas, etc.   It may take anywhere from a few days to two weeks for an egg to hatch, which is one of the reasons fleas tend to seemingly keep coming back in waves.  Once hatched, a flea in the larva stage survives on dried blood leftover from adult fleas as well as other organic debris in its environment.  After a week or two, it spins itself into a cocoon to grow further.  A flea will then pupate in the cocoon from as little as 3 days to as long as, amazingly, a year depending on temperature, humidity, and activity in the area.  Once it emerges, the now-adult flea will latch on to the nearest warm-blooded host it can find and begin the life cycle again.  The total cycle from egg to adult can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years, which makes treatment difficult.

In order to solve a flea infestation, you have to target each of the flea’s life stages or they will just keep coming.  Only killing the adults doesn’t do you any good if they’ve already laid thousands of eggs which will turn into adults in a few weeks.

Once you’ve treated your cat directly, the next step is to clean the cat’s environment.  Vacuum all soft surfaces in areas in your pet’s environment, such as carpets and bedding.  Once done, discard the vacuum cleaner bag.  If you have hard surfaces such as wood or tile floor, mop with a cleaning solvent with degreaser.  Next, wash and heat-dry anything that is machine washable.  Finally, sprinkle a bit of food-grade diatomaceous earth (commonly abbreviated as DE) on these surfaces, as well as along your baseboards and any other crevices.  This is a talc-like substance that is derived from the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton, which dries out and immobilizes fleas on contact.  It is incredibly important that you only use food-grade DE, as industrial-grade DE is mixed with other substances that is harmful to your family and your pets.   Leave this dusting of DE in place for several hours and repeat the whole process every day until the flea infestation has been stopped.

A great way to catch and kill the few fleas that manage to evade the above measures is to set out  bowls in strategic locations containing water with a few drops of non-scented (or at least not citrus scented) dish soap and focus a desk lamp or other light source on them.  Fleas will be attracted to these bowls, jump in, and soon meet their demise.

With a little determination and a game plan, you and your cat can sleep easy in a flea-free house.

While synthetic and chemical flea treatments are effective, there are plenty of options available to cat owners who prefer a more natural solution that is less harsh to their pets, their home, and the environment.  When you are in the thick of an infestation and your cat is miserably itchy, it’s a natural inclination to find the product with the biggest boldest claims on the package.  These may not be best, as they might be too harsh with unintended side effects, especially if your cat has sensitive skin or allergies.

A top priority is, of course, getting your cat immediate relief.  To begin with, a good old-fashioned brushing with a fine-toothed flea comb will do wonders for a temporary respite.  This is a great way to gauge the number of fleas you and your cat are dealing with.

You have a few choices for your next course of action, however.

If your cat has fleas, you don’t have to use harsh synthetic medicines or pesticides.

One choice is to make a natural citrus repellent, for less than a dollar, which will discourage fleas from attacking your cat again.  To make this, cut a lemon into thin slices and place in a large bowl.  The exact thickness isn’t important, but do leave the rind on, as this is where most citrus oils are contained.   Pour 12 ounces of boiling water over the lemon slices and let sit overnight.  The next day, line a colander with a cheese cloth and pour the lemon and water mixture through it, then pour the strained lemon water into a spray bottle.   You can spray this mixture onto your cat’s fur once a day to help keep the fleas away.  Be aware though that some cats have an aversion to citrus smells.  If this is the case, you can try adding some rosemary sprigs to the mixture.

Another easy and natural method to fight fleas is brewer’s yeast.  This is often sold in tablet form as a nutritional supplement for dogs and cats, so there is no need to mix anything together yourself at home.  Just use as directed.  The reason this works is because fleas don’t like a vitamin in brewer’s yeast called Thiamine, which gets exuded through a cat’s skin and blood.  A happy bonus of using brewer’s yeast is that it helps to maintain a healthy coat of fur, particularly for cats with dandruff.

A third great method of naturally controlling fleas is by using a product known as diatomaceous earth (often abbreviated as DE).  It’s a talc-like powder made of the fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton.  The substance acts as microscopic razors and scratches the waxy surface of fleas’ exoskeletons and works its way into their joints, eventually drying them out.  DE comes in a few different grades, as it is incredibly versatile and has many uses across many industries, from farming and food production to industrial cleaning.  It is very important to only use food-grade DE around your family and pets.  While it’s primary use when controlling fleas is to kill fleas around the house before they get to your cat, you can apply it directly to your pet too.  Just sprinkle some on your cat’s back and massage it into their back and sides, from the base of the neck to the base of the tail.  Be careful when actually sprinkling it on, though, as the dust may irritate their eyes and lungs.

Hopefully the next time your kitty is unfortunate enough to have had a run-in with fleas, you can use these methods to help ease their annoyance and suffering at the jaws of those nasty little critters.

On final note: because of their grooming habits, cats might be especially sensitive to changes and treatments.  As with any flea control method, natural or otherwise, it’s strongly advised that you keep an eye on your cat and look for signs of any abnormal behavior, such as drooling, nausea, tremor, or rash.   If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your veterinarian.

There aren’t many things more annoying and aggravating for cats and their owners than fleas.  No matter how careful you are to avoid them, odds are that you’ll have at least one run-in with the pesky bugs sooner or later.  How bad they affect you and your cat depends on how quickly they are spotted and treated, since containing a small infestation is much easier than containing a whole-home infestation.  The quicker you spot the signs, the better you are.

Here are some signs that your cat might have fleas.

Excessive grooming is one sign that your cat might require flea treatment.

1. Change In Behavior

Your cat may go from docile and loving to manic, doing everything from crazed sprints up and down a hallway to unprovoked growling and persistent agitation.  This might be due to fleas driving your cat crazy in his attempts to stop the pain and itchiness.  Another behavioral change to watch out for is if your cat chooses to nap and play in different parts of your house than usual.  He may associate certain areas with fleas, so he is avoiding them.  This is especially true if he goes from preferring plush carpeting or other comfy sleeping areas to hardwoods.

2. Excessive grooming and scratching

Cats are known for being rather particular about their appearance, especially keeping their coats clean.  But one sign that your cat may have fleas is if that normal attention turns into something excessive, to the point where constant grooming leads to hair loss or bleeding skin, especially along the back of the legs, neck, and the base of the tail. Pay particular attention if your cat starts nipping and biting at its own skin.   Another sign to look for is if your cat starts getting an unusual number of hairballs.

3. Bald spots or skin sores

Some cats may have allergic reactions to flea bites that cause their skin to become inflamed, resulting in lesions or scabby bumps.  These sores are painful and itchy, and your cat’s attempts to scratch or bite at them may result in bald spots or these sores opening up and become oozy.

4. Muscle loss and lethargy

While sudden loss of muscle and unusual amounts of apparent lack of energy or playfulness should always be cause for concern and a vet visit, such behavior might be signs of your cat becoming anemic (a medical condition caused by low red blood count) due to flea bites.  Also keep on the lookout for your cat’s gums turning paler, as this is another visible symptom of anemia.

5. Direct evidence of fleas

While playing with or combing your cat, you might notice small dark brown specks in your cat’s fur.  These might be “flea dirt” which is really flea feces.  If you squeeze them or mist them with water, they will turn a dark red because they are composed of digested blood.  These specks might be most easily visible on your cat’s back, around the neck or along the base of the tail.  These flecks might also be caught in your cat’s comb.   Another visible clue that your cat may have fleas is if you spot these flecks on your cats bedding or other areas where your cat spends time.

If your cat has fleas, rest assured that there are plenty of plenty of ways to get rid of them, ranging from veterinary medicines to natural remedies.  Remember, though, that you’ll need to treat both your cat your whole home in order to make sure they stay gone.