10 Reasons To Treat Your Pet For Fleas

1.They Are Everywhere

Most animals pick up fleas from the environment, so your pet doesn’t have to have contact with another animal to catch fleas. Because of central heating, fleas can also live and breed indoors through the winter months, so using preventative treatments is necessary all year round. In particular, flea eggs can live up to 10 months on your pet’s fur!

2. Can Be Hard To Spot

Fleas themselves are very small and well camouflaged in a pet’s fur. It is even rare that fleas are seen at the vets. By the time fleas are present in large enough numbers to be obvious to the naked eye, there can be a very large flea burden. Keeping your pet treated regularly with a preventative treatment means you can be sure there aren’t any fleas hiding in their coat.

Watch our video, to find out how you can check if your pet has fleas. It is important to note, that this only works if your pet has lots of fleas, so it is always better to treat your pet beforehand and ease all your worries forever!

3. Flea Bites Can Be Itchy

Flea bites can be very itchy and uncomfortable for your pet. Pets who are very itchy can scratch and nibble their skin, even to the point that they cause fur loss, and skin infections which require treatment.

4. Transmit Tapeworm

The tapeworm Dipylidium caninum can infect dogs, cats, and humans, and is spread by flea bites.

5. Flea Bites Transmit Serious Diseases To Your Pet

Fleas carry and spread other diseases such as the blood parasite Mycoplasma haemofelis, which can be fatal without treatment.

6. Fleas Infest The House

Adult fleas live on pets, but their eggs and larvae live in the environment – in our sofas, carpets and beds. A centrally heated house provides ideal conditions for the flea eggs to hatch and larvae to develop, so fleas can reproduce in as little as 2-3 weeks. In addition, fleas can lay hundreds of eggs very quickly.

Removing flea eggs and larvae from a house is difficult and time consuming. Using an effective preventative treatment that kills fleas on your pet before they lay eggs, or prevents them reproducing, prevents the house getting infested. Inderex is an effective product solution for spraying your house and protecting it from fleas. Ask your vet for more information on this particular product.

7. Fleas Suck Your Pet’s Blood

Blood loss from a heavy flea burden can cause anaemia (a low level of red blood cells), particularly in young puppies and kittens, or elderly pets.

8. Flea Bites Can Cause Allergic Dermatitis

Some pets react very strongly to flea bites, and develop a severe itchy, scabby skin condition called allergic dermatitis. This is very uncomfortable and can be triggered by as little as one bite.

9. Flea ‘Dirt’ Can Cause Disease In Humans

Contact with flea dirt (flea faeces, which is left in the fur of infested pets) can transmit the bacteria Bartonella henselae, which causes ‘Cat Scratch Disease’ in people – an illness that can cause fatigue, headaches, fever, muscular and joint pain, and in rare cases can affect the brain.

10. Fleas Can Bite Humans

Although cat and dog fleas don’t live on or breed on us, they can and do bite humans. Flea bites are itchy, round red bites, usually smaller than mosquito bites and are most commonly seen on the arms and ankles.

Why Should I Ask My Vet About Flea Control?

There are lots of products on the market claiming to ‘treat your pet for fleas’. However, not all flea treatments are created equal! Products that are available over the counter pet shops are not effective and they are dangerous for your pets. Our vets can prescribe products that are:

Safe

Your vet can review your animals’ medical history to ensure the products they prescribe will not interact with any other medications they are receiving, and are safe for use in your pet’s age, weight and general state of health. For instance, cat spot-ons found in pet shops are one of the most common cause of poisoning in cats. They can also ensure that the products are safe for the rest of the household, for instance other pets, or young children.

Effective

The bad news is that flea preventative products over the supermarkets and pet shops are not effective and can be dangerous for your beloved pets. The good news is that your vet is the only one that can prescribe the right products to your pet. Vets are legally allowed to prescribe medications that supermarkets and pet shops aren’t allowed to sell.

If you register your pet in a healthcare plan, the flea prevention treatment is usually included, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Prescription only flea control products are effective and quicker at killing fleas and dealing with flea infestations.

Easy To Give

Did you know flea control products are available as collars, tablets, spot-on, or injections? Your vet can recommend a product which will be easy to give and suit you and your pets’ lifestyle.

Fit Your Pet’s Needs

Many flea control products also act against other parasites, such as ticks, mites, lice, and worms including lungworm. Your vet will assess which parasites your pet is at risk from and recommend a treatment regime tailored to their needs.

Join A Healthcare Plan

The great news is that our VIP Healthcare Plans include the most effective flea treatments at an affordable monthly cost that will allow you to keep these critters away from your pawfect companion! What is more, the VIP Plan includes all your pet’s preventative health treatment, so you can stop worrying about it.

For more information on the flea treatment and our incredible VIP Healthcare Plan, call our surgery and our highly experienced team will answer all your questions and give solution customised to your pet’s needs!