Fleas!

          I have been a pet owner all my life.  I was born into the care of a Border collie mix named Blue, a crazy Siamese cat and a Cockateil named Eli that sang Yankee Doodle dandy to your big toe if you took your socks off.  They were my siblings and they were followed by many more four legged family members in the years to come.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way and the bond we shared is very likely the reason that I am in the field I am today.

          When I was a kid, fleas were a fact of life.  If you had pets, you had fleas.  Some of my less fortunate friends did not grow up with pets, hence the horror their parents experienced when they occasionally came home from a sleepover with a sleeping bag crawling with little black hitchhikers.

          My parents certainly tried to get rid of them, my mom kept a pretty tidy house back then.  She vacuumed, sprayed, flea bathed and steam cleaned, but no matter how much we battled them, those little bastards only retreated further into the thick, green, shag carpet.  A month or so later they’d rear their ugly little heads and we’d start all over again…

          The only thing that ever made a dent in our population of freeloading houseguests was when professional exterminators were called in.  I remember that day.  The dogs and cats were sent to a kennel for two whole days and my sister and I were sent off to Grandmas.  We even had to move the fish bowl lest the nasty chemicals give us all cancer.  We didn’t see another flea in that house for years!  But was it worth it? 

Years later, while glancing through one of my mom’s Good Housekeeping magazines, I spotted an advertisement for a promising new flea treatment made by the trustworthy people at Bayer- the makers of Aspirin.  It just so happened that we were having a flea problem in our new house so off to the vet we went!  WOW!  Two applications and NO MORE FLEAS!  Amazing!

          Now, as a veterinary professional, I love being able to hand out such an effective treatment to pet owners.  It never fails: someone walks through the door, scratching just a little too much with just a hint of shame on their face, approaches the counter, and confesses… “We’ve got fleas…”  Then they glance over their shoulder just a little to see if there is anyone in the lobby listening and judging.  “No big deal!” I always say,  “We’ve all been there.”  Then I start in on the “flea talk”.  It’s a lot of information to hand out all at once, and there are so many choices for treatment now that it can get a little confusing.  Thus this blog entry J

          To understand flea control, you first need to understand a little about their lifecycle.  Adult fleas live, feed, and reproduce primarily on the pet.  They feed on the blood of the host animal, (which could be a human), then they lay eggs which roll off the pet into the environment (bedding, carpets, floor crevices and dirt).  In the environment, the eggs hatch and grow into larvae, the larvae then morph into pupae which hatch into adult fleas.  The average life cycle of the flea is approximately 6 weeks depending on environmental conditions.  If conditions are favourable (fleas prefer warm, moist conditions, ie: Vancouver Weather) the life cycle can be as short as 2 weeks.  A little known fact about fleas?  While in the pupae stage they can actually remain in their cocoon for over 12 MONTHS!!  When conditions are cold or dry fleas can decide not to hatch and remain in a kind of “suspended animation” for over a year!  This allows them to survive all kinds of unseasonable weather and re-emerge when you are least suspecting it. 

(Go to http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/flea-lifecycle.html for a diagram of the flea's life cycle)

How do you know if your pet has fleas? 

1.       You can actually see them crawling on your pet or hopping through your carpet like Heidi through the alpine meadow.  (This visual is especially accurate if you have the aforementioned green shag carpet) 

2.       Your pet is scratching and chewing frantically, sometimes to the point that they are losing hair and causing skin sores. 

3.       YOU are itchy and finding “mosquito bites” in the middle of February. 

4.       Flea dirt.   Fleas eat and therefore they poop.  Flea poop looks like little black specks of dirt.  If you brush some off your pet onto a white paper towel and drip water on it, it will turn red because flea poop is digested blood!

5.       Your vet saw any of items 1-4 and told you.  Just take our word for it okay? (Oh and there’s no need to expose yourself to show us your bites, we’ll take you at your word.)

          So, what do you do if you have fleas?  First off, don’t be embarrassed.  It happens to every pet owner, and it doesn’t mean that your house is dirty.  Don’t blame it on the neighbors, or your kids’ friends, or God.  Get to your vet clinic and ask for help.  We have some amazing, safe and effective products.

Capstar (nitenpyram)- This is an oral tablet. It acts very quickly, taking only about 15 minutes to kill all the adult fleas on your pet.  The problem with this drug is that it only lasts about 48 hours.  Capstar is meant to be used in conjunction with another product for long term flea control.

Program  (lufenuron) – This is an oral tablet for dogs and an oral liquid for cats.  This is flea birth control.  It inhibits flea reproduction and lasts for one month.  Given monthly it is a safe and effective way to prevent a flea infestation in your home.  This product is probably not the best one to use if there is an active flea infestation.  It does however work very well with Capstar.  For Cats this product is also available in an injection that lasts 6 months.

*Sentinel  (Lufenuron/Milbemycin) Oral tablet.  This is an oral tablet like Program, but with an added ingredient that deworms your pet monthly as well..  In areas affected by heartworm, this product is a lifesaver!  Once again, if there are a lot of adult fleas, this product should be used in conjunction with Capstar for more immediate relief.  This product is not available for cats.

Advantage (imidicloprid) This product is applied topically to the skin over the shoulders.  It spreads out in the oily layer of skin and lasts for a month.  When fleas come into contact with a treated pets skin their nervous system is affected and they are unable to bite and feed and they quickly die.  This is an excellent choice for pets that have an allergy to flea bites.  This product will leave a crusty residue for a couple of days and does have a bit of an odour for a few hours after it is applied.  Dogs that get bathed frequently with shampoo may need to have this product applied more often than once a month.

*Advantage Multi (imidicloprid/moxidectin) This is a topical product,  the same as Advantage, except that it contains a de-wormer and heartworm prevention.  This product will leave a crusty residue for a couple of days and does have a bit of an odour for a few hours after it is applied.  Dogs that get bathed frequently with shampoo may need to have this product applied more often than once a month.

Advantix (imidicloprid/pyrethrin)  This product is Advantage with an added ingredient that repels ticks.  It is applied topically to the skin over the shoulders.  This is an excellent choice for people that live/hike in areas with a lot of ticks.  This product is for DOGS ONLY and should be used with caution in households where the cats and dogs share close quarters.  This product will leave a crusty residue for a couple of days and does have a bit of an odour for a few hours after it is applied.  Dogs that get bathed frequently with shampoo may need to have this product applied more often than once a month.

*Revolution (selemectin) This product is applied topically to the skin over the shoulders and is absorbed into the bloodstream.  Fleas ingest it when they feed.  It lasts for a month and kills adult fleas quickly.  This product dries quickly and has less odour than Advantage.  Because it is absorbed into the bloodstream, this products efficacy is not affected by bathing.

*Comfortis (Spinosad) This product is an oral tablet that kills adult fleas very quickly (within 15 minutes) and lasts for one month.  The drug remains in the bloodstream and thus the product is waterproof and not affected by bathing.

*Trifexis (Spinosad/mylbemycin) This product is the same as Comfortis but has an added de-wormer and heartworm prevention.  The drug remains in the bloodstream and thus the product is waterproof and not affected by bathing.

          Most of the above products are available from Sechelt Animal Hospital.  The products with * next to them are prescription products and require an up-to-date (within the past year) Wellness Exam with a veterinarian before they can be purchased.  If you are unsure which product is best suited for your situation, please contact one of our Client Service Team members.  They are well versed in parasite control and would be happy to assist!

          Finally, don’t forget to do a thorough clean-up of your pets environment once you have treated your pet.  Wash all bedding (including yours- you know they sleep on your pillows when you’re not home right?) in hot soapy water.  Vacuum carpets and crevices well and make sure to throw the bag away or empty the canister into an outside garbage bin.  In extreme cases you may need to use a premise spray to treat your home but in my experience, if you use one or two of the above products there is no need to spray.

~By: Meghan Graves