A Michael Broad Blog
Flea treatments can kill. This sounds a bit dramatic but it is true. The spot-on flea treatments can kill your cat. And if they don’t kill your cat, they can make your cat ill. That is not to say that they are inherently dangerous – they are not. In fact, they are very effective …
Before I write about cat flea treatment, I would like to discuss cat fleas generally. Some time ago I wrote a succinct post on the life cycle of the cat flea – fascinating..:). There are other posts from visitors (and me!) too. Here is a nice selection: Update 16th October 2010: The Cat Flea: …
There are 8 welfare benefits and therefore reasons to combing your shorthaired cat with a flea comb. The benefits concern cat and owner. It should be a proper flea comb designed for cats and of decent quality. Sometimes you see flea combs which are not going to do the job because the teeth are …
Flea collars are not safe for kittens unless you talk to a good veterinarian first and even then I’d consider them fundamentally unsafe but that’s a personal view. I have strong views about these products and the use of pesticides on pets. It’s essential that you take advice on these products because they are …
Companion animal flea treatment pesticides, fipronil and imidacloprid, are ending up in rivers where they harm marine wildlife and insects such as dragonflies, mayflies and beetles. Fipronil is the main ingredient in the well known and well used Frontline flea treatment for cats. It’s an insecticide which disrupts the insect’s central nervous system causing …
A study published on 5 October this year tells us that 62% of cats treated with fipronil were “still found to be carrying fleas despite treatment”.
Imidacloprid a neonicotinoid insecticide used in some cat flea treatments such as Advantage II pollutes streams and rivers where it harms birds and other animals and kills insects inhabiting these areas such as mayflies. Other cat flea insecticides will no doubt also find their way to watercourses. The chemicals gets there in various ways. These insecticides need to be banned.
The Pet Poison Helpline makes it clear that topical spot-on insecticides for dogs is one of the most common ways to poison a cat. The dog spot-on treatments contain an insecticide which is highly toxic to cats: pyrethrins or pyrethroids. The poisoning is life-threatening. Cats can suffer severe drooling tremors and seizures. Many cat …
