Posts Tagged: Preventitives

As summer comes to a close, and the cool of fall begins, everyone is preparing for sweaters and pumpkins. With the change of the season, it can be easy to forget that as we gear up for cool weather, pests like ticks and fleas do not. It is important to maintain preventatives for your pet all year round. Let’s review some of the important reasons to keep up on preventatives for your dogs and cats.

Skin Problems

One reason to use prevention against fleas and ticks is because they can cause skin problems for your pet, and your family. The tiny pests can cause irritation of the skin when they bite, leading to itching and redness. In some cases, they can cause a allergic reaction.

The Costs

In addition to irritation, the presence of fleas and ticks can quickly become overwhelming. When fleas and ticks get into your home, they can quickly populate and spread, making them difficult to get rid of. It can be very costly to treat an infestation in your home, and can take more than one treatment because of the varying lifecycle of the little bugs.

On top of this, if your pet is infested, they will also need treatments. This can range from flea dips to topical and oral medications in order to get rid of the pests.

Preventatives Stop Illness

The number one reason for preventatives is to stop the spread of illnesses from fleas and ticks to your pets. There are a variety of illnesses that these small bugs can carry, and spread to your pets and your family. Fleas in the US commonly transfer flea-borne tape worms, cat scratch fever (bartonellosis), murine typhus, and flea-borne spotted fever.

Ticks can spread illnesses such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, leptospirosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rickettsiosis, and more. Fleas and ticks spread these illnesses through their bites. The more they bite, the more likely the to infect your pet. Preventatives are designed to lower the chance by killing off fleas and ticks when they get on your pet and try biting them.

Does my pet need preventatives?

The short answer is – Yes! Fleas are small, and move quickly. Ticks can also be easily missed, ranging in size from as small as a poppy seed, to as large as the eraser on a pencil. It can be difficult to find these pets on your pets, especially cats since they groom themselves so often!

Even if your pet is an indoor cat, or a small dog that rarely goes outside – they still need preventatives! All it takes to pick up fleas or ticks, is for you to have them on your clothes when you come inside. Even a brief step outside by your dog to use the bathroom can expose them.

As a result, by the time you notice the presence of fleas or ticks in your home or on your pet, it may already be too late. Veterinarians recommend you keep your pet on preventatives year-round. Here in Minnesota, these pests are present all year.

You can read more about Flea and Tick Prevention from our previous blog. You can look up prevalence of tick and flea borne illness near you checking out the Parasite Prevalence Maps.

By Dr. Maria Krenz, DVM – ZimmVet-763-856-4848

Canine Preventative Product Overview

Veterinary medical technology continues to take leaps and bounds to provide safe and effective products for pets. There are two main categories of preventative products to help keep your pet parasite-free and healthy, which include flea and tick as well as heartworm.  Consulting with your veterinarian is the first step to making sure you are picking the right preventative product for your pet.  

Flea & Tick Prevention

Flea and tick control for your pet is critical in Minnesota because of our high rate of tick-borne diseases such and lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Not only can these diseases cause severe joint pain, but they can also cause irreversible damage to the kidneys and severe bleeding problems. Fleas can cause severe itching, which can also lead to other parasite and blood problems. Once in your house, it can take up to three months to get rid of fleas.

Oral:  Flea and tick products administered orally have been available for years and have proven to be very effective and safe. These products range from one-month products to three-month products such as Bravecto. These products also have the advantage of killing skin mites.

Topicals:  There are many topical products on the market and range from older harsh chemicals with lower effectiveness to safer more effective products. Generic products, such as many of the products available at big box and pet stores, are not as effect as the name brand products available from your veterinarian. One safe and effective product on the market for years is Frontline. There are now various versions such as Frontline Plus with faster kill rates and other benefits. Frontline works by spreading on the oils on the skin and does not go into the body. Frontline is waterproof.

Collars: Flea and tick collars have been a low-cost option on the market a long time. With this product, it is important to follow the label directions on how tight the collar is to make sure it is working. Collars are typically not waterproof. This means if your pet has a bath or swims they may not be protected for days after. Depending on the ingredients some can be irritating, and they can cause local skin reactions. Dog collars containing permethrin are toxic to cats. A newer collar that is safer is the Seresto collar. At ZimmVet, we do not recommend collars as a first line product.

Heartworm Prevention and Dewormers

Monthly heartworm prevention has been the mainstay of preventing this severe disease. These products also come with the benefit of deworming for common intestinal parasites, which are a year-round problem. All heartworm preventative products are prescription items and can only be purchased with a prescription from your veterinarian. If you are buying a product without a prescription, it is likely counterfeit or not a heartworm prevention medication. Oral products are very safe and have been on the market for a long time. Common products are Interceptor and Heartgard. These are given monthly.

Combination Products for Flea, Tick and Heartworm

Combination products are now available to prevent heartworm as well as flea and tick protection in one convenient monthly dosing.  Just like with most heartworm medications, these products are also a general dewormer.

Oral: Simparica Trio is an example of an all-in-one monthly oral chewable product. This provides great convenience for owners to only have to give one product. This product is a cost savings for bigger breeds as it goes up to 132 lbs. without having to buy additional size categories. This product has been gaining in popularity since gaining FDA approval in 2020. It has combined product technologies which have already been on the market for years.

Topical: Revolution is an example of an all-in-one monthly topical product. Revolution only has a label for killing the dog tick, while other common flea and tick products have labeling for 4-5 different tick types.

Fleas, ticks and heartworm disease are all very preventable pet illnesses with several options on the market to provide you with the best options for you and your pet.   Your veterinarian will recommend the best products for your pet and have cost saving coupons and manufacture rebates not available elsewhere.

Disclaimer:  This written content is meant to be educational and is not medical advice.  Always consult a veterinarian about medical advice for your pet.