The best tick and flea treatment for cats

Flea drops for cats - composition and mechanism of action, application rules and dosage, list of the best drugs and reviews of cat owners. The Best Flea Treatments for Cats Fleas cause more than just pain and itching from their bites in cats. Blood-sucking insects can be carriers of many diseases, including helminthiases, skin diseases, fungal infections or hemobartenellosis. Therefore, flea drops for cats, reviews of which help you choose the best ones, are an effective remedy in the fight against insects.

Which brand of flea drops for cats is best to choose?

Concentrated solutions with insecticidal action are offered by many popular and new pharmaceutical companies. You can judge the quality and effectiveness of goods in absentia by the reputation of the manufacturer, its operating strategy and position in the world market. The following companies that produce the best flea drops for cats and other medicines enjoy the greatest demand and trust from customers:

Bars (AVZ) is a brand of pet products owned by the Russian company. Currently, this is the only manufacturer that has certificates of compliance with GMP rules issued by Rosselkhoznadzor and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. Products bearing this name are exported to 18 different countries around the world. The assortment includes several categories - products for animals, pest control products, scratching posts, beds, houses, sleeping places, leashes, and other veterinary drugs.
Inspector is a brand of veterinary drugs and various pet products, owned by the Russian company Ecoprom. The production is built on high-tech equipment from Germany. The Inspector line of comprehensive products protects against 14 types of external and internal pests. But unlike other analogues, these drugs protect against re-infections for much longer.
Bayer Animal Health GmbH is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company that began its activities back in 1863. The company gained great popularity thanks to the development of aspirin and heroin. Today the company has 3 subsidiaries and 3 service companies. Among them is the manufacturer of an insecticidal solution for dogs and cats, Bayer Animal Health.
Celandine is a series of preparations and cosmetics for the care of pets. The owner is Russian. The wide range consists of antiparasitic tablets, drops, sprays, shampoos, etc. Insectoacaricidal collars and polymer tapes have also proven their effectiveness.
Agrovetzashchita is a Russian company of drugs for the prevention and treatment of domestic and farm animals, birds and aquarium fish. Founded in 1993. The company has 58 patents, which indicates successful large-scale activities. The products of the research and development center have gained a strong position in the veterinary medicine market. The factory complex is equipped with modern Italian equipment.
BioVax is a cosmetic line owned by the Russian company. All products produced under this name are intended for the care and behavior correction of four-legged friends. These are predominantly natural remedies that do not have a toxic effect on the animal’s body. Their insecticidal and repellent action does not kill insects, but repels them.

List and brief characteristics of flea drops

The best flea treatment for cats can be chosen from the following drugs:

Beaphar - the products of this Dutch company have an excellent effect in the fight against blood-sucking insects. Drops developed by Beaphar for kittens can be used no earlier than 6 weeks of age. BIO drops are completely natural, as they consist of pyrethrum and margosa extract. The product is valid for a month. Flea Drops protect a cat from fleas for 3 weeks, and are used as a second-stage drug in a 4-stage program for protecting cats from ectoparasites and contain diazinon. Caniguard Spot On - includes permethrin and protects animals from flea infestation for 5 weeks.
Hartz - flea drops for cats made in the USA, destroy parasites at all stages of development; cats cannot be treated.
Advantage - the drug is applied to kittens only from the age of two months. The safe formula of the active substance, imidacloprid, allows the drug to be used even during pregnancy. German quality from Bayer guarantees the effectiveness of the drug for 4 weeks after a single use. After application for 2 days, the drops destroy up to 98% of fleas. Has protective properties.

The list includes the most popular and effective drugs in different price categories. But in order for the medications to be safe, it is necessary to take into account the age and weight of the pet. Which drops are better can only be decided by comparing the results. Veterinarians advise alternating drops after 4-5 applications. When choosing remedies for blood-sucking insects, it is a good idea to analyze reviews from veterinarians and cat breeders.

Rating of flea drops for cats

Any flea remedy for cats on sale has its own individual parameters, according to which you need to make a choice. Experts first looked at demand indicators to identify the most purchased drugs. Next, we got acquainted with the recommendations of veterinarians and their experience in treating cats. After this, each candidate for inclusion in the review was tested against a group of criteria:

Composition – active ingredient, additional substances;
Efficiency – therapeutic properties of the composition;
Activity – to fleas, ticks, worms, and other pests;
Operating principle: paralysis, suffocation, repelling pests;
The result is speed of action, period of protection against re-infection;
Safety – degree of toxicity, risks of side effects;
Smell – neutral or pungent;
Consistency – oily, quickly absorbed into the skin;
Directions for use – ease of use according to instructions;
Dosage – the ratio of the dose to the weight and age of the animal;
Contraindications – pregnancy of the animal, health status.

Real reviews from the owners of cats and cats determined the advantages and disadvantages of each nominee included in the top rating of 2020. This information also helped determine the level of demand, the degree of trust, and whether the manufacturer's stated warranties correspond to reality. Since for most buyers one of the main criteria for choosing a product is price, the review included budget offers from domestic manufacturers.

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Insecticides used and their characteristics

Flea products for cats contain one or more insecticides that belong to hazard class 3-4 - harmless to warm-blooded animals, but fatal to insects. The products are non-toxic for adult cats and safe for kittens if the instructions and dosage are followed exactly. The most commonly used classes of insecticides and acaricides include:

Permethrin belongs to the group of pyrethroids and has a paralyzing effect on fleas, lice, and ticks. Only 2% of the substance penetrates the blood through the skin, which breaks down in the body to inactive metabolites and is excreted in the urine. The effect of a single application lasts for 2-3 weeks and depends on the form of the drug.
Fipronil is a contact insecticide of the phenylpyrazoles group. It has a wide range of effects against blood-sucking arthropods - fleas, lice, scabies and ixodid mites, lice-eaters, mosquitoes. When applied to the skin of cats, it almost does not penetrate into the bloodstream, but accumulates in the upper layer of the epidermis, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands. It has a damaging effect on insects for 1.5-2 months. The validity period depends on the type of blood-sucking insects. The substance prevents the transition of juvenile forms of insects to adulthood.
Pyriproxyfen is an effective insecticide that is included in sprays, drops and formulations in collars against fleas, ticks, lice, and lice. The substance is an analogue of juvenile hormone, which affects the development of insects, including fleas.
Ivermectin is a drug that acts on many endo- and exoparasites. An aqueous solution of ivermectin is approved for the treatment of helminthiases in humans, removes subcutaneous larvae of gadflies, and effectively destroys blood suckers, ticks, fleas, and lice. The drug is a derivative of streptomycete fungi and is a semi-synthetic drug with a minimum of contraindications.

Often, in order to save money, cat owners treat their animals with drugs in quantities less than those indicated in the instructions. As a result, arthropods “get sick” but do not die, producing offspring resistant to insecticides. Therefore, more than 50 species of insect pests have reduced sensitivity to many groups of poisons.

Flea treatments for cats contain one or more of the following substances, which enhance the effect of each other. Additionally, synergists are added to the preparations - substances that inhibit the enzymes of fleas and other insects responsible for the development of resistance.

The use of deltamethrin in drops and sprays provides an instant repellent effect.

Increasingly, insecticides of the avermectin group are used in preparations - substances produced on the basis of waste products of certain strains of streptomycete fungi. Thus, flea spray for cats Foline, drops Inspector and Fiprex, as well as IN-AP Complex for cats and dogs contain an avermectin derivative.

Which flea drops for cats are best to buy?

The cat's body is vulnerable to various insects, helminths, and parasites, especially in the warm season. Therefore, for prevention, protection or treatment, a proven and effective medicine should be selected. These are all the nominees in the expert review. The following results of a comparative analysis will tell you what to buy from these drops:

Inspector Total K – activity against different types of parasites, long-term protection;
Bars - the best ratio of quality, results and price, the highest demand;
Advocate (Bayer) – high quality, no risk of side effects;
Celandine Bio – natural ingredients, no contraindications;
BioVax – antifungal, antiseptic effect, safe composition.

Treatment of an animal with any of the presented means is carried out according to one scenario. The liquid solution is applied pointwise to the withers, avoiding spreading. It is important that there is no damage to the skin in this area. Before starting the procedure, you need to compare your weight and age with the permissible dosage. If the composition contains essential oils, you can test the drops for an allergic reaction. To do this, apply a couple of drops to the withers and wait about half an hour. If there is no reaction, treatment can be carried out.

Rules for using drops

Flea drops for cats, cats and kittens should be placed on the animal’s withers (between the shoulder blades) or where the back of the cat’s head ends to prevent licking of the drug. Some are applied along the spine, increasing the area of exposure.

For greater contact, the fur on the withers is parted, a few drops, according to the instructions for use, are applied to the skin and rubbed. In order for the drug to act as long as possible, it is necessary to prevent the fur from getting wet, so the animal should not be washed for 2-3 days.

The amount of active ingredient in drops for adult cats can cause intoxication or an allergic reaction in kittens, so special drops are being developed for kittens. Before purchasing the drug, you need to carefully read the instructions and choose products in accordance with the age and condition of the animal.

Often, a good flea remedy for cats cannot be used to treat weakened, sick or pregnant animals.

Cats, dogs and many small animals have a body temperature that is 1-2 degrees higher than that of humans, so fleas are more likely to parasitize pets. This feature was used by ladies in the Middle Ages. To get rid of fleas, noble beauties carried various small animals in their arms. “Lady with an Ermine” by Leonardo da Vinci and “Portrait of a Lady with a Small Dog” by Lorenzo depict just such beauties.

Do not worry if the cat was able to lick the drops; they do not contain enough insecticide to cause serious harm to a healthy animal. However, when licking kittens treated with a flea drug, so much toxic substance can accumulate in the female’s body that poisoning occurs. Therefore, flea drops for kittens are not recommended for use during the period while the kittens are with their mother.

In isolated cases, remedies for blood-sucking insects can provoke an allergic reaction, accompanied by itching, dry skin, hair loss or dermatitis. The severity of the allergy depends on the individual predisposition or sensitivity of the animal, so a skin test can be performed before application to ensure there is no reaction.