Effective flea treatment for cats

We all would like our cats to possess that ‘just walked out of a pet portrait‘ look, with shiny coat and bight eyes. But the inescapable truth is that our little heroes will, on occasion, pick up fleas. Spring is the time of year when they become susceptible to infestations, but with the milder winters we’re having, cats can be affected all year round with this problem. In some cats it can also get rather serious, causing an allergic response or transmitting disease.

It has been estimated that the average household contains in the region of 20,000 flea eggs at any one time, which will develop into adult fleas in a matter of weeks! Fleas increase numbers so readily, that only 200 fleas will become ten thousand in just six months.

To stop it becoming a major problem it is important to treat your cat, though to prevent the fleas returning, the whole house should be treated and any areas that your cat comes in contact with. There are various products available for the treatment of fleas, but what are the best ones to go for?

Types of treatment

The principal forms of remedy available for the treatment of cats are spot-on medicines, collars, ‘electric shock’ combs, sprays and tablets. The type you’ll prefer to use will mostly depend on your cat:

Collars impregnated with insecticide provide a simple way to treat your cat offering protection up to four weeks. If your cat is used to wearing a collar, this can be an effective option, but some cats (or owners) are uncomfortable using collars on cats.

Spot-on treatments involve the owner placing some drops of the fluid directly onto the skin of the cat, normally at the back of the neck to stop the cat licking off the medicine. This gives a very effective treatment plus ongoing protection from fleas for up to 5 weeks, though it can be a two man job on some cats. One of the most effective is Frontline Spot-On but, like all contact medicines, you will need to make sure you get the correct type, as there is a version for cats and another for dogs. Cats can be poisoned by owners who dispense a treatment for dogs to their cat!

An electronic comb is a flea comb that emits a mild electric shock, enough to kill the fleas it comes in contact with, but that is harmless to your pet. The benefit here is that no chemicals are involved, but you will need to be thorough with the comb and it can miss the eggs, so you’ll have to keep repeating the process for it to be effective. There is also a small buzzing noise when it “zaps” a flea that may put off a few cats.

Flea sprays are a relatively inexpensive way to treat fleas, but cats need to be over three months of age and be pretty tolerant of the ‘hissing’ noise. Your cat will also need to be placid enough to sit still while you make sure the job is done thoroughly.

Tablets will certainly do the job quickly and effectively, though not many of us are confident or adept enough at getting a cat to swallow a pill!

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