Feline Tick Prevention
For Our Feline Friends
Milton Village Vet’s 100% companion animal focus makes us the ideal first choice for any pet owner looking for a cat friendly vet. As my feline medicine lecturer told us at Sydney Uni, “Cats are not small dogs!”.
At Milton Village Vet we have a separate cat ward and immediately separate stressed cats from the smell, sound or sight of any naughty canines. We have adopted cat friendly handling techniques including examining cats as much as possible in a clean room, preferably within the tray of their deconstructed cat carrier and we use Feliway spray and diffusers to help calm stressed moggies.
Feline Tick Prevention
Unlike dogs, cats have limited tick preventative options. The very best tick prevention is to keep your purring puddy inside at all times. This will also decrease their risk of snake bite, motor vehicle trauma, cat fight abscesses or upsetting the bird and wildlife loving neighbours.
If they must roam then Frontline or the cheaper generic Frontera spray is your only registered option. Cats should be sprayed all over every 3 weeks with particular attention paid to the forequarters, head and neck. Do not spray directly in eyes. Most cats unfortunately hate being sprayed and tend to struggle, scratch and salivate so we have been trialling a new method of application where a coloured sponge foam dishwashing pad is first soaked in the fipronil solution before the cat is “sponge bathed” all over. Give it a go!
Off label and untested is the Seresto cat collar by Bayer which promises a degree of prevention.
Unlike Bravecto or Nexgard neither Frontera spray or Seresto collars will be 100% effective so owners will need to be extremely vigilant over the coming months. Cats should be tick checked daily by “finger combing” the entire coat and then parting the hair on any bump or lump detected. Tick affected cats breath heavily and often just look quiet and withdrawn before becoming weak and wobbly. If you are worried your cat might have a tick but can’t find one drop them gently in standing position from hip height. Tick affected cats land heavily, frequently with their chins hitting the ground. Seek veterinary attention immediately!
