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Flea Treatment

The Basics

Ctenocephalides felis is the most common flea on cats and dogs. The adult flea spends most of its time on the host (your cat) but may also survive in the environment. Adult fleas usually only live for one to two weeks. A female flea may lay up to 500-1400 eggs in her lifetime.

Signs of flea infestation include the cat scratching or biting the skin more than usual. Flea dirt may be visible in the cats coat. It appears as small black specks which are actually digested blood. Flea dirt will appear bright red if placed into water. The best place to look for fleas on a cat is along the cats back near the base of the tail. Flea dirt will not show up as easily in dark-coated cats. It may be useful to comb the cat over a white piece of paper so you can see if flea dirt falls out.

Flea combs have very narrow teeth which trap fleas in the teeth of the comb as the comb is brushed through the cats coat.

Fleas lay eggs in the environment which will hatch into tiny larvae, 8 to 200 days after being laid. The larvae become inert and pupate before they emerge from a cocoon as an adult flea. Movement of a cat or other animal nearby will cause the flea to break out and jump onto the animal.

Washing the cats bedding and vacuuming the cats environment regularly will help to reduce build up of larvae.

Fleas also carry immature stages of tapeworms. If the cat swallows a flea during grooming, the tapeworm can complete its lifecycle within the cats body.

Some cats suffer fur loss from an allergic reaction to flea bites (flea allergy dermatitis). The flea pierces the cats skin with its sharp mouth parts when feeding. A small quantity of saliva is injected which can cause an allergic reaction (hypersensitivity to antigens in the flea saliva).

When treating for fleas, it is important to kill the adult fleas on the cat or kitten, treat the bedding, the surrounding environment and any other pets at the same time.

Various treatments are available. Flea powders are cheap but relatively ineffective. Once the powder falls out of the cats coat it will no longer prevent fleas from biting. Powder can also cause respiratory problems in some cats.

Flea shampoos only kill fleas while the shampoo is on the animal. Once it has been rinsed out of the coat it is no longer effective. Despite this, flea shampoos can be useful to reduce the flea burden on a severely affected animal before using another method of flea treatment.

Flea sprays are effective and can be used but they require regular time consuming applications. Many cats don't like the sound of the flea spray.

Flea collars are not very effective and usually contain toxic chemicals. Many flea collars and powders from supermarkets contain poisonous compounds e.g. organophosphates. Be very careful if using these products. Also, many flea products formulated for dogs can be very toxic to cats.

Vet clinics sell safer and more effective flea treatment products such as Advantage, Frontline and Revolution. The top-spot preparations that are applied to the back of the cats neck are very effective at treating fleas. They are easy to apply and last for four to six weeks depending on the product used.

Common Flea Treatment Products

Advantage (Imidacloprid)
Advantage is a top-spot preparation that is applied to the back of the cat's neck. It leaves micro-crystals of active ingredient in the cats coat. Some micro-crystals fall off the cat's coat into the environment and can provide environmental protection against flea larval stages. Micro-crystals are water soluble so frequent bathing will decrease effectiveness. Each treatment lasts one month.

Frontline Plus (Fipronil and S-Methoprene)
Frontline Plus is a top-spot preparation that is applied to the back of the cat's neck. Fipronil becomes concentrated in the sebaceous glands in the skin and is slowly released over time. Bathing the cat only removes the product from the fur. This will be rapidly replaced from the sebaceous glands. Each treatment lasts six weeks.

Program (Lufenuron)
Program is available in both an oral and an injectable form. The active ingredient is ingested by adult fleas and stops any eggs they lay from hatching. It does not kill adult fleas. Oral treatment last for one month. The injectable form lasts six months.

Revolution (Selamectin)
Revolution is a top-spot preparation that is applied to the back of the cat's neck. It treats for fleas, ear mites, heartworm, hookworm and roundworms. Treatment lasts for one month.

Product Summary

	Advantage	Frontline Plus	Program	Revolution
Manufacturer	Bayer	Merial	Novartis	Pfizer
Active Ingredient/s	Imidacloprid	Fipronil & S-Methoprene	Lufenuron	Selamectin
Treatment Effect	Kills adult fleas and flea larvae	Kills adult fleas	Prevents flea eggs hatching	Kills adult fleas and flea larvae and prevents flea eggs from hatching
Treatment Frequency	Monthly	Six weekly	Oral: Monthly Injectable: Six monthly	Monthly
Minimum Age For Treating Kittens	8 weeks	12 weeks	6 weeks	6 weeks

References

Page S, The Complete Cat Owners Manual, Australia: Readers Digest, 1997

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