Fleas are the number one parasite that cat owners have to fight year after year. These insects are highly intrusive and they are quite difficult to get rid of without the necessary treatment. If a flea infestation is not dealt with properly, the pet can suffer from anemia and a low count of red blood cells.
What is more, if the pet ingests fleas that carry tapeworm larvae, chances are that it will also contract tapeworms. As a result, the animal will start losing weight and it might suffer from constipation and diarrhea.
As you know, fleas are also easily transmitted to humans. So, if your pet gets fleas, chances are that your entire home will also get infested. Once this happens, you are in big trouble, as getting rid of all the larvae can prove difficult without the help of a seasoned exterminator.
To help make flea infestations easier to manage, manufacturers have created oral treatments that are, according to some vets, better than normal topical treatments. Here are five reasons why this is the case.
They are statistically more effective than topical treatments
Studies have shown that oral flea treatments are almost 100% effective, while the topical alternatives have an efficiency rate of just 88%. Most of the oral medications are chewable and they start killing the fleas in thirty minutes from ingestion.
What is more, these treatments can kill fleas in all life stages, and, thus, the risk of a re-infestation is minimalized. This happens because these treatments contain Lufenuron, an insect growth regulator that makes the eggs that a female flea produces infertile.
Once ingested, these oral treatments are efficient for up to three months. Therefore, you do not have to make your pet go through the process of taking the pill often.
However, it should be pointed out that some alternatives only work for a month before they have to be re-administered. To make sure that you do so correctly, we highly recommend that you read the instructions made available by the manufacturer.
You can find a comparison of the best oral flea treatments available for cats at just one click away.
They leave behind no messy residue
We all know just how messy it gets when applying flea powder. The small particles of powder get all around the home and one finds himself/herself in the situation of having to vacuum immediately so that no white debris is left behind.
The biggest advantage of oral treatments is that you don’t have to clean after it. Also, you can trick your cat into eating it without knowing it by mixing it with its favorite wet food.
To make their treatments easy to use, some manufacturers have made the pills available in a liquid suspension that can be mixed with food and they also provide them in the form of flavored tablets that cats like to munch on. For the best results, you should administer these treatments on a full stomach.
You can bathe the pet as you wish
In the case of most topical flea treatments such as spot-on treatments, it is recommended that you do not bathe the pet for a given amount of time. This is not an issue when it comes to oral medication. You can bathe the pet as you wish, as this will not, in any way, interfere with how the product works.
It is safe for pregnant cats and young kittens
Some oral flea treatments are also safe to administer to pregnant cats and kittens that are four weeks old. Finding a flea treatment that can be administered to young or pregnant cats is somewhat difficult, as most of these solutions contain substances that are considered unsafe.
Yet, remember that not all oral flea treatments out there are safe for kittens and pregnant pets. So, before you provide the treatment to your beloved ball of fur, take the time to read the instructions provided by the seller.
If you have additional questions, it is also advisable that you get in touch with your local vet as he/she might be able to supply you with more answers.
Most of these treatments require a different dosage per the number of pounds that a cat has. As a result, you have to pay extra attention to the dosages that the seller recommends.
Package deals
To help pet owners deliver the correct dosage of the treatment in due time, some manufacturers sell these treatments in six-month-supply packages. This way, the risks of you forgetting to provide the pet with the necessary dosage is minimized.
If you own both cats and dogs, you mustn’t, under any circumstances, mix up their flea oral treatments. Some substances used to make treatments for dogs are not safe for cats and vice versa.
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