Parasites such as fleas, ticks and worms are active all year round and can have a serious impact on the health of our pets. The good news is that they can be treated and often prevented. Here’s how to keep your cat safe from fleas, ticks and worms with the proper parasite control.
How can I prevent parasites on my cat?
Prevention is the best cure for all kinds of parasites, so it’s important to establish an effective parasite control program for your cat while they are still young. Use our Flea, Tick and Worm Treatment Finder to understand the best parasite prevention options for your cat based on their age, lifestyle and environment.
Over-the-counter cat parasite prevention can be administered as a tablet, spot-on, spray or collar. These products have unique benefits with some providing protection from more than one cat parasite, including fleas, ticks, intestinal worms and even heartworm.
Do I still need to protect my cat if they’re kept indoors?
Yes, it is important for your cat’s health that you regularly treat them for parasites all year round, regardless of whether they are kept indoors or outdoors. Parasites like fleas, ticks and worms can easily find their way into your home for example by hitching a ride on you or your other pets or from under your back door.
What parasites do I need to protect my cat from?
Fleas
The flea life cycle can be difficult to beat. Flea eggs go from larvae to pupae stage and will stay present in your cat’s environment (including bedding and toys), waiting for the ideal temperature and humidity to hatch. Maintaining flea control for your cat year-round will help to avoid an infestation of fleas on your cat and in your home during peak warmer seasons.
Are fleas considered a parasite? When are fleas more common?
Fleas are considered a parasite. While we normally associate spring and summer with fleas and ticks, these parasites are resilient, and depending on where you live, can stay active all year round. If you don’t maintain a regular parasite prevention program, your cat is at a higher risk of health problems associated with fleas and ticks.
Product recommendations for flea control
Ticks
The regular application of tick control products will reduce the likelihood of your cat contracting the life-threatening illness associated with tick toxicity. However, it is still important that you check your cat’s skin and fur daily for ticks, especially if they are allowed outdoors. If your cat shows symptoms of a paralysis tick bite, take them to your local Greencross Vets immediately.
Intestinal worms
Intestinal worms are nasty parasites that can affect pets, and some species can even be transmitted to humans. The types of intestinal worms that can affect cats, include different types of tapeworm, hookworm and roundworm. The best way to protect your pet and your family is to regularly treat your cat with worming tablets or spot-ons, or a treatment that covers all types of worms.
Kittens are susceptible to intestinal worms passed on from their mother, for example while nursing, and require more frequent worming treatments than adult cats. Kittens need to be wormed every two weeks from when they are 2 weeks old until they are 12 weeks old, and then every month until they are 6 months old. After that, depending on the product, you need to worm your cat routinely every three months for life.
Worming should be performed as a form of preventive health care whether worms are seen in droppings or not, as many worms are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Symptoms that may identify whether your pet has worms include weight loss, diarrhoea and weakness.
Can cats get worms from fleas?
Cats can get tapeworm from fleas which generally occurs when ingesting fleas infected with worm eggs. It is important to use a combination of flea, tick and worm treatments to tackle all of the nasty parasites that might cause harm to your cat.
Heartworm
Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes and can be fatal for your cat. Speak with your Greencross Vets to understand which heartworm treatment is the best for your cat, and protect them with our wide range of topical treatments. Certain geographic areas are more prone to heartworm disease than others and depend on the presence of mosquitoes.
How to treat parasites in cats
Petbarn has the best range of parasite prevention products for cats available online and in-store. Try our Flea, Tick and Worm Treatment Finder for recommendations on the best parasite prevention schedule for your cat based on their lifestyle.
