Most people know the importance of keeping your pet free from fleas. But few people know how important. I interviewed Lindsay Califf, DVM, a local veterinarian who has been practicing for 4 years, about what tips she had for pet owners. She decided to share her thoughts on flea prevention. Here is what she had to say:
"I think one of the main preventable issues I see, especially in the spring and summer, is skin disease related to flea bites. Fleas can have significant effects to the overall health of our animals. They can cause considerable skin infections resulting in scabs, "hot spots" and extreme pruritus (or itchiness). They also are vectors for tapeworms, meaning cats and dogs eat the fleas and become infected with tapeworms which steal their nutrients and cause intestinal issues. Another important thing to remember is they consume your pets blood for their meal. I've even seen a kitten need a blood transfusion just from fleas alone. They are nasty little external parasites that cause infection and great irritation to our pets. The frustrating part is that fleas can easily be prevented with appropriate preventative care (both topical and oral medications) which in addition to heart-worm prevention, should be every dog (and cat's if they go outside or live with dogs) monthly maintenance care."
She recommended the following for flea prevention:
Topical
- Advantage, Advantix (fleas and ticks - TOXIC to CATS)
-Frontline, Advantage-Multi (flea and heartworm)
-Revolution (flea and heartworm)
Oral
-Comfortis (flea)
-Trifexis (flea and heartworm)
