What are the alternatives to NexGard for cats? Great flea and tick protection for cats - and you save money buying it online!
Flea & Tick treatments for Dogs may be toxic for Cats!
Many dog owners are familiar with the great range of products in the NexGard family for their dog - you might be protecting your dog from fleas, ticks and mites using Nexgard Chewables or give him added protection against those parasites PLUS heartworm and intestinal worms by giving him NexGard Spectra. But did you know that dog treatments like NexGard are not only not suitable for cats, but can be toxic or even fatal to felines? So currently in Australia, there is no NexGard for Cats. (The manufacturer of NexGard has just released a new product in America in the NexGard family, specifically for cats, called NexGard COMBO - as soon as this product is available in Australia, we’ll add it to our online shop!)
Pet owners who have both cats and dogs know how different these two animals are - sometimes they may be best friends, but cats and dogs are different species, and their bodies react and metabolise different drugs differently. Many widely used insecticides use chemicals such as pyretheroids. However, these products are not species-specific (meaning it’s not just the nasty parasites who are affected by these chemicals) and they can cause severe and significant neurologic problems when applied to certain pets — specifically cats.
If your cat accidentally comes in contact with dog flea and tick medications, wash as much of the product off your cat as quickly as you can, and seek urgent veterinarian advice.
Which Flea & Tick product for my Cat do I need?
So - you need a product that is specifically made for cats, to treat fleas and other parasites on your cat. What’s the best flea and tick product for my cat?
The best place to start when looking at the range of cat flea treatments, is to consider what type of treatment works best for both you and for your cat. There’s a range of different types of treatments, with varied delivery methods - flea tablets, spot-on treatments, sprays or collars. You also need to think about what other parasites (ticks, heartworms, intestinal worms) your cat needs to be protected from, and what combination of treatments works best for your cat.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages for each type of treatment:
- Tablets or chewables (oral treatments). The disadvantages of an oral flea treatment are a) the difficulty in getting your cat to take a tablet, and b) knowing that the flea needs to bite your cat (ouch!) before the treatment kills the flea. That’s because oral flea treatments work by circulating their active ingredients throughout your pet’s bloodstream, so fleas that bite your cat ingest these active ingredients and die.
You can choose a very rapid flea tablet like Capstar - fleas start to die within 30 minutes, and 90% of fleas on the cat will be dead within 6 hours, however Capstar tablets need to be given every day. Comfortis tablets kill all fleas in 4 hours and has the great advantage of a much longer lasting effect - your cat only requires monthly treatment. Comfortis has a unique active ingredient (spinosad), and is recommended in cases where there has been demonstrated flea resistance to existing flea treatments. - Some people don’t like giving a tablet to their cat….or, more truthfully, some cats are just very difficult about taking a tablet! If giving your cat a tablet doesn’t sound like fun, you might prefer the simplicity of topical or spot-on flea treatments. Many of the great range of topical treatments also treat other parasites (such as heartworm or intestinal worms). For example, a monthly application of Advocate for Cats over 4kg or Advocate for Small Cats & Kittens prevents heartworm, and the treatment of fleas, hookworm, roundworm, and ear mites in cats. Monthly Bravecto Spot-On protects your cat from fleas and ticks, whilst Bravecto Plus treats and controls fleas, ticks, heartworm and some intestinal worms, with protection for up to 3 months. Revolution Plus also kills fleas and ticks, prevents heartworm and treats roundworm, hookworm, mites and biting lice, with one monthly treatment.
- If you’ve got a flea emergency, suddenly finding you’ve got an active infestation of fleas, a flea spray is very useful - indeed, we’d recommend keeping a bottle on hand for just such a problem! Just spray or spritz your cat’s fur until damp ((taking care not to get the product too close to your cat’s eyes or mouth). Fido’s Fleatrol Plus controls fleas and some ticks for up to 7 days, and Frontline Spray can be used on kittens from 2 days old!
- Another really easy way to treat fleas on your cat is to put a flea collar on your cat. Seresto flea & tick collar for kittens and cats gives the longest lasting protection against paralysis ticks and fleas - the same collar gives your cat eight (8) months protection against fleas and paralysis ticks!
At Dr Carl, we have the full range of cat flea treatments, and so you can be sure that you select something that (together with your cat’s tick, heartworm and worming protection) gives your cat protection and is designed specifically for your cat! If you don’t know what your cat needs, after looking through the products on our website, call or email ([email protected]) our friendly award winning Customer Service Team!
Remember, Dr Carl offers $7.95 flat rate shipping, 30 days return, and a lowest price guarantee, as well as an award winning Customer Service Team to help you find what you and your pet need!
