Flea Control With Cats
and Dogs
by: Mark Smith
Fleas are the
most common external parasite of pets in
North America. Fleas are small wingless
insects that use their specialized mouth to
pierce the skin and siphon blood from their
host. When a flea bites, it injects a small
amount of saliva into the skin to prevent
the blood from coagulating. Some animals
become sensitized to flea saliva and animals
that are allergic can have severe itching
and scratching from a single bite. Flea
allergy dermatitis is the most common
disease among dogs.
Current flea
control products are primarily either oral
or topical systemic treatments. Most of the
products may be used for prevention as well
as to treat existing flea problems. One
group of products control fleas by
interrupting their development by killing or
stopping the maturation of flea larvae and
eggs. These drugs are called Insect Growth
Regulators (IGRs). One common oral product
used is lufenuron which is found in the
Program® line of products which are
administered orally in tablet or liquid
form. Methoprene and pyriproxifen are also
IGRs that are available as sprays or
collars. The FDA shares regulation of these
products with the Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Because even the same products
from other countries have not been approved
by these agencies, it is illegal to purchase
or import these products for use in the
United States.
Currently the
most popular flea control products kill
adult fleas (adulticide), are applied
topically and work rapidly. Popular topical
products utilize fipronil which is the key
ingredient in Frontline® Top Spot and
imidacloprid which is in Advantage®. The
most popular product on the market,
Frontline Plus®, utilizes both an adulticide
and an IGR. An oral adulticide that is also
available is nitenpyram which is in Capstar®
and begins to kill fleas in 30 minutes.
Frontline Plus also kills ticks which makes
it the most popular product where ongoing
tick protection is required.
Consult with
your veterinarian to determine which flea
and tick control products are best for you.
The choice of flea control will depend on
your climate, environment, your pet's
activities, and potential for exposure.
However, with consistent use, it is almost
always possible to control your flea
problem. Using these products throughout the
year typically will eliminate the need for
regular insecticidal use. The following
provide additional summary information on
selected popular products.
Program from
Novartis®
Program is
available as a once a month pill or oral
liquid suspension to be given with a full
meal. Adult fleas that ingest Program's key
ingredient, lufenuron, produce sterile eggs.
Program does not kill adult fleas so pets
remain susceptible to fleas hatching and
maturing pupa already present in the
environment. Therefore, some time may pass
before the all fleas are killed in an
environment. In order to stop the life
cycle, every animal in the environment must
receive lufenuron. Pets should also be
sprayed with an adulticide during the first
week or two of starting Program.
Advantage from
Bayer®
Advantage is
applied topically on both dogs and cats and
seems to be very well-tolerated by sensitive
cats. Advantage kills fleas within 24 hours
and 100% protection can be maintained for
cats for 21 days and 90% protection can be
maintained for dogs for 28 days. Advantage
is susceptible to washing off so dogs that
are active outdoors and dogs that swim or
must be bathed frequently should be
re-treated frequently. Up to weekly
re-treatment is allowed. The imidacloprid in
Advantage does not effect ticks, but
K-9Advantix, with permethrin does. K9
Advantix is only labeled for once a month K9
Advantix is ONLY FOR USE WITH DOGS and MUST
NOT BE ADMINISTERED TO CATS.
Frontline
Spray, Frontline Plus And Frontline Top Spot
from Merial®
Frontline
Spray, Frontline Plus, and Frontline Top
Spot comprise the market leading Frontline
flea control product line. The fipronil in
Frontline products is a broad spectrum
insecticide available as a spray or topical.
Fipronil works by binding chemically to the
pet's hair and is absorbed through the
follicle by the sebaceous glands. As a
spray, fipronil kills fleas at 95% for over
80 days after application on dogs and for 1
month with biweekly bathing. Frontline is
labeled for puppies and kittens as young as
8 weeks (10 weeks for Top Spot) and it is
not washed off by bathing. Frontline is also
affective against ticks. Some cats may show
minor adverse reactions with high volume use
of the alcohol based spray product which
should be applied no more than once a month.
Frontline Plus also contains the IGR,
S-methoprene which inhibits the growth of
immature fleas.
Capstar from
Novartis®
Capstar is an
oral tablet for dogs and cats that may be
administered as young as 4 weeks of age. It
offers extremely rapid and complete killing
of adult fleas and is safe enough that the
tablets may be used whenever fleas are seen
on your pet as often as once per day.
Capstar may be used in combination with an
IGR to kill fleas immediately to compliment
the long-term control of an IGR such as
Program.
