Cats Flea Treatment Preventatives

**These are Veterinary Approved Flea preventives!! There are no tick preventatives safe or approved for use in cats.**

Many cats live with fleas but show minimal signs. Some cats develop an allergy to flea bites, especially if they are repeatedly bitten. Flea allergic cats groom or scratch excessively after being bitten by even a single flea, and often develop skin infections secondary to this self-trauma. The most important source of cat fleas is newly emerged adult fleas from flea pupae in your house or yard.

During grooming, or in response to a flea bite, a cat (or even dog) inadvertently ingests the tapeworm infected flea. As the flea is digested in the cat (or dog)’s intestine, the tapeworm egg is released, it hatches, and then anchors itself to the intestinal lining, therefore completing the life cycle.

While most pet owners know all about fleas, many are not educated on the other main internal parasite posing a risk to our pets as well as their pet guardians: Tapeworm!! Some fleas are infected with tapeworm--an intestinal parasite. During grooming, or in response to a flea bite, a cat inadvertently ingests the tapeworm infected flea. As the flea is digested in the cat's intestine, the tapeworm egg is released, it hatches, and then anchors itself to the intestinal lining, therefore completing the life cycle.

People do not directly get tapeworm from the pets and the fleas are species specific ie. do no like human blood. They would have needed to ingest an infected tapeworm flea themselves and/or if they accidentally ingested infected fecal material from their pet. So that people minimize further to not get infected with tapeworm, it is still always good practice to regularly sanitize ie. wash your hands after playing with your pet (cat or dog) and of course after being in areas where they or other animals may have defecated. Having your pet on regular flea treatment/preventives will also greatly minimize the chance of infection.