Dealing with health issues for your pets is crucial if you need them stay calm and be happy with you. Among many daily care tactics, one of the very common yet disturbing problems in cats is the presence of fleas on their skin.
To best treat the problem without disturbing your cat’s health and mood anymore, you must find the best flea medicine for cats.
The criteria that we may consider as a standard to figure out our best options shall be based on the various needs and benefits of the available medicine and the ease of administration and safety of the ingredients for the cats as well.
Going through the further details, it is necessary to have a keen eye for all the details regarding the composition, administrations, pet-friendly ingredients and health safety features and also to the extent the medicine will keep its effects active. Most of the flea medicines for cats are designed to either protect cats from the fleas or they might be made to get rid of it quickly and effectively.
Symptoms That Show Your Cats Have Fleas
To know if your cat actually is suffering from flea attack and have fleas in its fur, you may try to find some symptoms or look at certain possible problems which are easily visible and noticeable:
Look if your cat shows:
- Excessive scratching and irritable mood
- Make sure to notice if it is grooming excessively
- Biting own fur or skin also is a sign of having fleas on it
- Skin allergies and itching
- Redness on skin
- Anemia
- Excessive hair loss
- Notice flea poop in the form of black dots or granules in the fur
- Lethargic and agitated behavior
All these symptoms may reflect that there is something wrong with your cat and it has been attacked by the fleas which need to be treated immediately.
Our pick : Top 5 Best Flea Medicine For Cats Reviews
Bayer Advantage II Flea Control Treatment for Cats
- Kills fleas through contact, fleas don't have to bite your cat to die
One of the best sellers and an effective flea control medicine for cats. This is a topical flea control remedy that acts fast and directly impacts the flea to kill them immediately. If you need a full control and prevention of the fleas on your cat then you can administer it twice on cats that will surely break down the overall life-cycle of the flea and stop reproduction phases to make sure no more flea develops on the skin.
It is extremely easy and safe to use and requires no extra efforts to administer. It is equally effective and safe to use on kittens and aged cats as well. Due to its high-end benefits vets have recommended it as one of the best medicines suitable for flea control.
This is an effective medicine that lasts longer and waterproof so it can stay on the coat and keep working to prevent the flea production.
Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade 10 Lb
- Natural product - safe for human or animal consumption
Diatomaceous Earth food grade is a completely natural product made of organic diatoms prepared in a powder form. It is completely contamination free and free of any kind of chemicals and additives that make it safe for humans and animals as well. This is also listed in Omri and approved an organically safe product that is carefully prepared and packaged for better quality.
To treat the flea problem on your cats, this powder form topical medicine can be used twice or thrice a week. The powder can be administered without any issues though it is better not to allow it to get into nose or eye of the cats to avoid sneezing or a cough.
Program Green for cats 11-20 lbs 6 month supply
- Program Oral Suspension for large cats 11-20lbs (Over 4.5kg)
For those who are looking for an effective Oral flea control program to help their cats get rid of a prolonged flea problem, this medicine from Novartis works as the best one. This is an oral suspension for cat having a weight around 4.5 kg or 11 or 20lbs. it works best as a monthly medicine for the prevention of flea for the small cats as well.
The program includes 6 liquid ampoules of 270 mg each for the cat’s intake. The medicine act effectively to make the flea eggs inactive and sterile and make sure to reduce the reproduction process and prevent the fleas from coming back again. It is recommended to administer one ampoule per month to keep the problem away from coming back again for sure.
Dog & Cat MD Maximum Defense QuickTabs Nitenpyram Flea Treatment, 2-25 lbs, 6 Tablets by Dog MD
- Safe for nursing or pregnant dogs and cats
This is a perfect oral medicine for dogs and cats having an age over four weeks. It has no side effects for nursing cats and dogs and even if they are pregnant you can administer it safely. Though administering the medicine could be an issue for some pets if they are non-cooperative. It acts fast and assures the effect within the first thirty minutes.
It works perfectly to treat cats and dogs weighing around 2-25lbs. the effect becomes apparent quickly and start killing adult fleas within a short period of time. The tablet can be administered once per day. It is surely a perfect remedy to treat fleas on a long-term basis. It may also be complemented by the flea control shampoo to enhance the effects but it also works fast and effectively when used alone as a daily dose. It is only recommended for cats over 8 weeks and 9lbs.
Cheristin for Cats Flea Treatment, 6 count
- Quick and Effective, killing up to 100% of fleas within 12 hours
Cheristin is also a quick action topical medicine that works perfectly for controlling fleas on cats. It is suitable for cats having the age above 8 weeks or older. The minimum weight of the cat should be more than 20lbs. the medicine can be squeezed out easily to administer it directly and acts fast to kill the fleas for up to 100 percent around 12 hour’s time period. When applies as per prescribed method and dosage the medicine stays active for almost one month to keep fleas away and kills the existing fleas.
Though its works quickly and effectively and also provide an effective and long-lasting control of fleas but still, it requires care when administering the medicine to make sure the cats do not show any kind of side effects like hair loss, redness, itching and other such symptoms.
Things To Look For In The Best Flea Medicine
Never mind if you have lots of options and you need to choose the best flea medicine for your cat from them, it may seem hard because of the wide variety but make sure you know what you need would help a lot in making the correct decision.
Here are a few important things that you should know before finalizing the best option for your cat’s flea medicine.
The way medicine effects the flea problem
There are flea medicines and remedies which act in different ways depending on their ingredients and the way they are administered. Like for example, you may find two broad categories of flea medicines and remedies:
- Fast acting
- Prolonged regular protection
It is apparent that some products are designed to give your cats in instant relief from the flea issue and to get rid of the nasty fleas on their skin making to feel painful and itchy. Such products have highly active and act fast to give an instant relief from fleas. But this may only act for a short while and may have to be applied or administered again if the problem gets on again. These kinds of remedies are usually in the form of sprays, shampoos and external applications.
Other remedies or medicines may act slowly but effectively to provide relief from the fleas and the protection may be prolonged even if the remedy is not administered repeatedly. Such medicines are usually in the form of medications.
Different Types Of Flea Medicines And Remedies
Most commonly when you have to find out the best flea medicine for cats you may have a need to look for the various possible over the counter options that are available on the market. Here we may overview some most common version of flea medicines that you can find easily:
1. The topical medicines
Topical medicines or spot-ons are the flea prevention medication products that are applied on the coat of the cats to make sure the fleas are exterminated properly. These medicines are designed to only act as an insecticide on the cat and may not harm the coat or the fur and may help in soothing irritation on their skin.
2. Flea prevention shampoos
Flea prevention shampoos are in the form of regular shampoo products but have certain chemicals like Pyrethrin to make sure the fur will be cleaned out of any fleas in there and will keep your cats safe from them.
3. Sprays
Sprays are also effective in treating flea havoc among cats. Due to the extreme minute droplets of flea control medicine, the sprays can reach to the inner area of the fur and treat the problems effectively.
4. Dip-in medicines
Dip-in medicines are concentrated insecticides to be diluted in water and then the water is poured on the affected fur area or the whole body. This helps in killing the existing fleas and make sure to provide protection against other such issues in future.
5. Oral medicines
Oral medicines are also administered to pets having fleas but it requires the cooperation on behalf of the pets to take the medicine without any issues. These have a prolonged effect and provide better flea control.
6. Flea preventions collar
Flea prevention collar is a great solution when you need to keep your cats safe from getting fleas on them. They are easy to use and are cheap solutions and work for most of the pets.
7. Injectable flea medicines
Injectable flea control medicines are also effective but they have to be chosen and administered very carefully in order to avoid allergic reactions.
The Main Differences Among Different Kinds Of Ingredients In Flea Medicines
Flea medicines are not the same in their mode of action, their effect due to the fact they are not made up of the same sort of ingredients which are used to get rid of the fleas. So this may affect the suitability of the medicines for the cats and their overall health condition. Here are some common ingredients for you to look at:
Spot-on external Flea medicines with insecticides in them
Most probably whichever flea remedy you may consider for your cats that are meant to act externally will have the insecticide in it. These insecticides act fast on the nervous system of the fleas and kill them immediately. These are good and safe until and unless your cat has no allergic reaction associated with these substances.
The natural solutions
Some essentials oils have been marketed as effective ingredients when applied in combination with each other and provide preventive measures to keep your cats safe from getting fleas. But these could be slow and may not act fast or may only lower the chances of getting fleas in fur otherwise finding an immediate effect would be difficult.
Insect growth prevention and regulation
Many of the shampoos and flea treatment collar use the insect growth regulation elements which act slowly but effectively to provide gradual flea prevention by regulating their growth and preventing them from reproducing. They impact on the fleas and stop them from spreading and eventually get rid of them.
The synergists
Synergists work as impact enhancers and may complement or used to increase the effect and its speed when applied in combination to the insecticides. You may find them in shampoos and other spot-on applications for flea prevention and control.
Flea Control And Preventive Measures At Home
To avoid fleas on your pet and keep them safe, you may take the following preventive measures:
- Keep your house clean and disinfect the carpets and rug off and on
- Make sure your cat’s bed and nearby carpet is vacuumed daily
- Use flea control shampoo weekly, monthly or with a certain interval to protect it from fleas
- Use flea control collar
- List ElementMake sure to take your cat to the vet for a regular checkup or make sure to check on your own at home.
Overall you can find a wide-range of best flea medicine for cats as per the severity of the issue, the sensitivity level and behavior of the cats and the safety of the medicine. We can say that finding a perfect flea medicine for your cats requires a lot of careful research and selection to make sure it may treat the issue quickly and effectively and give long-term protection as well. Here we have listed some topical and certain oral medicines which are proven to give the best results for killing and preventing the fleas without harming the cats. You may pick any of these if you need an effective control over your cat’s flea issue.
