What is it about FLEAS?

Summer is here at last but as the temperature increases so does the number of fleas!

Fleas are a parasite that live on pets feeding on their blood. Dogs, cats, rabbits and ferrets can pick up fleas outside on walks, in the garden from wildlife, through contact with other pets and from visiting other houses where fleas are present.

Adult fleas can lay up to 40 eggs a day which are distributed around the home by the pet. The eggs develop into larvae which live off human and animal skin scales and flea droppings (partially digested blood). Flea larvae will burrow deep into carpets, under furnature and into cracks in floor boards where they pupate. Adult fleas emerge, sometimes months later, in response to vibrations of passing pets and people - their next blood meal!

Fleas cause skin irritation and disease in pets and people, they are responsible for transmitting diseases including the bacteria Bartonella henselae which causes ‘cat scratch’ disease in people. Dogs and cats can also become infected by tapeworms if they swallow fleas while grooming themselves.
Prevention is better than cure - don’t wait for your pet to start scratching before applying flea control products. Some people don’t realise that indoor living cats and rabbits can become infected by their owners and visitors bringing fleas or flea eggs into the home. We are very fortunate to have lots of very effective flea control medications available these days and some are available without a veterinary prescription, although we would always recommend seeking veterinary advice before applying any spot on product on your pet.

Frontline spot-on is now available without a veterinary prescription (although a prescription is still required for the spray and spot-on combo preparations). The active ingredient fipronil is distributed across the skin and kills fleas within 24 hours and ticks and lice within 48 hours of application.
We have recently seen other products containing fipronil brought to the market, all of which are available without a veterinary prescription. We are currently able to offer the following fipronil products for very reasonable prices: Effipro spot-on; Fiprocat; Fiprodog; Fiproline; Fiprospot and Frontline.
For dogs and cats that cannot be treated with spot-on products, we also have Capstar and Program available in oral preparations.
To view all the flea, worm and parasite treatments available without prescription please click on the links below:
Non prescription flea products for CATS
Non prescription flea products for DOGS
Non prescription flea products for SMALL ANIMALS

We are also able to supply prescrition only parasite treatments on receipt of a signed written prescription from your veterinary surgeon, some of the products protect against fleas, worms and mites in one monthly spot-on. You will be able to save money and protect your pets by purchasing year round flea and parasite control products from us.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 7:59 pm and is filed under News, Parasites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.