It can become overwhelming to try and find the right flea and heartworm prevention for your dog or cat. With this post we hope to answer some of your questions.
Unfortunately we are in an area where fleas are year round and we have to keep pets on preventatives most of the time. In the past we looked for “Frontline” or “Advantage”. We have found a resistance to topical flea preventatives for dogs.
Dogs: If you have a dog we recommend that you look for a chewable preventative. Lucky for us, companies have now made the chewables tasty so that our pets think it is another treat.
There are two products that are working great at the moment and they help for fleas & Ticks!
Nexgard= a chewable treat given once a month (can be given as early as 8 weeks)
Bravecto= a chewable treat given once every 3 months (pet must be 6 months or older)
Nexgard and Bravecto cover fleas and ticks. You will need to add Heartgard to cover for heartworm. This should be started after 4 months of age and be given every month.
* All products mentioned go by weight range so use the one that correlates to your pets weight.
Cats: As for cats, they do not handle pills well and they have yet to make something chewable. All products that we recommend for cats are topical.
Bravecto (far left) is a topical for fleas and ticks that you apply every 3 months. This is nice because you do not have to do it as often and it’s the only product that covers ticks.
There are two sizes so just get the one that works with your cats weight. 6-13lbs (blue box) 13-27lbs (purple box)
Revolution (middle back) is a monthly topical that covers fleas, heartworm, hookworms, roundworms, and ear mites.
Cheristin (far right) is a topical that covers fleas only.
*There is Heartgard for cats, which we do not carry in office. Most cats are indoors and are not exposed to mosquitos as often as dogs. You can always order this online if it is something you would like to get through an online pharmacy like pet360.com or drsfostersmith.com.
