How to tackle flea and tick prevention for your pets

You’ve probably heard the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

That expression really hits home when you’re dealing with a pet who’s brought some unwanted guests like ticks and fleas into your home. Fortunately, preventing these parasites from setting up shop in your BFF’s beautiful coat is simple and safe.

 

“All of the newer generation flea and tick prevention products, oral or topical, are usually applied monthly,” says Dr. Donald Benoit, a veterinarian with Elanco. “Why do we do that? Because we want to prevent infestation. We don't want to go back to the days of waiting for cats and dogs coming in full of fleas or full of ticks and trying to apply shampoos or mousses.”

 

Instead of tackling a problem after it’s too late, modern flea and tick medications are administered monthly.

 

“They're proven safe, they're proven efficacious, and they work all month long,” says Dr. Benoit. “So all you have to do is a monthly treatment and your dogs and cats are protected during the season.”

Here’s how to keep on top of your flea and tick prevention routine and ensure your pets are safe from parasites all year long.

Prevention is your superpower

Prevention is important for a number of reasons. No one wants a flea infestation in their home, to see their furry bestie experiencing discomfort, or to deal with the diseases that some parasites can transmit, such as Lyme disease.

 

The great thing about preventative flea and tick medications is that once a flea or tick lands on your pet, they work fast.

 

“The whole point is that the product has to work very quickly,” says Dr. Benoit. “You want to stop biting as quickly as possible when it comes to fleas and ticks. You want them to die quickly so that they don’t stay on the [pet] for a prolonged period of time.”

Preventative medications are offered in two forms, oral and topical. They work differently but they’re both effective. “If you use an oral product,” says Dr. Benoit, “the active ingredient is absorbed into the bloodstream so that when the flea and tick bite your cat or your dog, they die very, very quickly — but they have to have that initial small bite.

 

“The difference with topically applied products is that the active ingredients are confined to the oils on the skin. When a flea or a tick is walking on your animal, they come in contact with the ingredient, it's absorbed into their nervous system, and they die. Most of the time, it will prevent them from biting but they don't have to bite to die. Both are great products, it just depends on what's easier for you: applying a topical or giving an oral medicine to your pet.”

Flea and tick season is determined according to where you live in Canada.

 

If you’re wondering when to start treatment, ask your vet about the prevalence and timeline of fleas and ticks in your region. These parasites can be found across the entire country, but are more active at certain times of the year. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with an early spring or a late winter, you should expect a longer season for fleas and ticks.

 

Lifestyle is a factor, too, but even pets who stay indoors are susceptible to fleas and ticks.

 

If you live in an urban area and have a dog who stays in the neighbourhood, strolling the streets with you and occasionally hitting up the off-leash dog park there’s still a chance of tick or flea infestation. The same is true of indoor cats.

 

Your pup could pick up fleas from another dog at the park, or a flea could attach itself to your clothing and then get brought home to your cat. Flea pupae can even lie dormant in your home until a host — your pet — interacts with it. This is why prevention is the best strategy, even for indoor pets.

Prevention for cats versus prevention for dogs

Even though we treat our cats and dogs similarly for parasite prevention, the medications they require differ. Medications designed for dogs can actually be harmful to cats.

 

Dr. Benoit explains: “When it comes to topical medications, let's take for example, Advantage® II. It has two ingredients, one that will kill fleas on both cats and dogs, and one that will kill eggs or flea larva.”

“When you look at K9 Advantix® II, it has the same two ingredients as Advantage but it also has permethrin. Permethrin is what will give you the efficacy against ticks and mosquitoes. The three ingredients provide great protection for those outside parasites that can affect dogs,” he says.

 

However, K9 Advantix® II should not be used for cats, says Dr. Benoit, as permethrin negatively affects their nervous system. So when applying K9 Advantix® II on your dog, “you have to separate your dog and your cat for at least 12 hours to give all of the product that's on your dog a chance to dry and begin its distribution over their skin.”

How to deal with a parasite

Sometimes, our furry BFF can still end up playing host to an unwanted parasite, despite our best efforts.

 

“If a pet has fleas, right away we recommend that you use an ingestible that will kickstart the dog or cat back into no longer having fleas,” says Pet Valu Animal Care Expert and team leader Kurtis Thom.

 

“That’s for the dogs or cats that just don't want to be bathed. If the pet parent can actually bathe their dog or cat, then we strongly recommend that they do a shampoo treatment. Once they've gotten the fleas off with shampoo, then they can move into topical and actually treat the pet with preventatives.”

 

Dog owners should check their dog for ticks routinely, especially after an adventure in a wooded area or park with dense vegetation. Keep a tick removal key on hand and see your vet to ensure that the tick has been fully and properly removed.