Sydney vet advice – never use dog flea and tick treatments on your cat
Veterinarian Dr Hamish Bathgate advises that sharing isn’t always caring—especially when it can cause harm to your cat.
Learn why our veterinarian advises that dog flea and tick preventives should never be used on cats and what you can do to keep your feline friend safe.
What you know: Flea preventives promote long-term health and wellness.
It’s important to give your cat flea preventive medication as fleas are uncomfortable, cause skin irritations and even anaemia in extreme cases.
What you may not know: Dog and cat flea and tick preventives often aren’t created equal
Many prescription and over-the-counter flea and tick medications that are labeled for dogs (usually ones you apply topically rather than have your dog swallow) contain a synthetic compound called permethrin, which is safe for dogs but toxic to cats.
If a product containing permethrin is mistakenly applied to a cat or eaten by one, it can cause seizures, coma and even death.
Partner with your veterinary team to keep your cat safe (from fleas, ticks and toxic compounds).
Flea and tick products that contain permethrin should always be labeled for use in dogs only. Some of these products also contain warnings to never use on a cat, but these warnings are sometimes small and hard to read.
If you buy flea and tick products from your vet, you have the benefit of being able to get direct guidance from your veterinary team on the best products for your cat for total peace of mind.
Safety tips
- Store your dog’s flea and tick products separately from the products for your cat. Since they have similar packaging and small print, it’s easy to grab the wrong product by mistake. Speaking of keeping things separate, keep your dog away from your cat right after applying flea and tick medicine, as even close contact with permethrin can harm your cat.
- Never split single doses of flea and tick medication between your dog and cat. In addition to toxicity concerns, dosing will be incorrect. Your pets won’t get the protection they need, which could cause a flea infestation or tick problem.
- If you ever have a question about your pet’s flea and tick products, speak up! Your veterinary team is always ready to help.
Flea treatments are important for the health of pets. We have a policy at our luxurious Hotel for Cats that all guests must have a flea treatment on arrival. We do that to keep all of our guests flea-free. If you need advice on the best flea prevention for pussycats, please ask us – 9547 2750.
