Written by Dr. Morag Maskery
The weather is changing and with this warming up we are heading into Flea Season! All dogs and cats are at risk for fleas if they go outside, live in a household where one pet goes outside or have visiting animals or other pets in an apartment building living in close proximity.
Fleas are nasty little blood suckers that are incredibly difficult to kill. These little vampires live on your pet for a few days and can lay 1000’s of eggs in their lifetime. The eggs drop off into places your pet spends time (your bed, your couch, carpets) and can start hatching within a few days. Immature fleas can survive in the environment for months just waiting to turn into adults when the time is right.
Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to fleas. There are several products available to prevent fleas. We have both topicals and tablets available. They are used once monthly starting in June and given for 6 months.
If your pet already has fleas we can help. First we need to treat both the pet and the house environment for 6 months (remember the flea lifecycle is long). We also need to treat all other pets in the house as fleas can jump from one pet to another quickly. If you pet is itchy or has a rash we may need to prescribe medication to heal this up and stop the itching.
Pets can get tapeworms from ingesting fleas if they chew and bite at themselves. Treatment for this is a single dose of a deworming tablet intended to get rid of tapeworms.
Fleas are one of the most common parasites we see on our pets in Northern Ontario and can be very bothersome for our furry friends. Let us help you prevent flea infestations this summer! Contact our Sudbury veterinary hospital to book your appointment for parasite testing and a tailored parasite prevention plan.
