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Article Title:
==============
Flea Control With Cats and Dogs: Summary Review

Article Description:
====================
Fleas are the most common external parasite of pets in North
America. Flea allergy dermatitis is the most common disease
among dogs.


Additional Article Information:
===============================
848 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: Fri Sep 30 13:19:41 EDT 2005

Written By: Mark Smith
Copyright: 2005
Contact Email: mailto:mark@...

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Flea Control With Cats and Dogs: Summary Review
Copyright © 2005 Mark Smith
Vet Depot – Discount Pet Medications
http://www.VetDepot.com



Fleas are the most common external parasite of pets in North
America. Fleas are small wingless insects that use their
specialized mouth to pierce the skin and siphon blood from their
host. When a flea bites, it injects a small amount of saliva into
the skin to prevent the blood from coagulating. Some animals
become sensitized to flea saliva and animals that are allergic
can have severe itching and scratching from a single bite. Flea
allergy dermatitis is the most common disease among dogs.

Current flea control products are primarily either oral or
topical systemic treatments. Most of the products may be used for
prevention as well as to treat existing flea problems. One group
of products control fleas by interrupting their development by
killing or stopping the maturation of flea larvae and eggs. These
drugs are called Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs). One common oral
product used is lufenuron which is found in the Program® line of
products which are administered orally in tablet or liquid form.
Methoprene and pyriproxifen are also IGRs that are available as
sprays or collars. The FDA shares regulation of these products
with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. Because even the same products from other
countries have not been approved by these agencies, it is illegal
to purchase or import these products for use in the United
States.

Currently the most popular flea control products kill adult fleas
(adulticide), are applied topically and work rapidly. Popular
topical products utilize fipronil which is the key ingredient in
Frontline® Top Spot and imidacloprid which is in Advantage®. The
most popular product on the market, Frontline Plus®, utilizes
both an adulticide and an IGR. An oral adulticide that is also
available is nitenpyram which is in Capstar® and begins to kill
fleas in 30 minutes. Frontline Plus also kills ticks which makes
it the most popular product where ongoing tick protection is
required.

Consult with your veterinarian to determine which flea and tick
control products are best for you. The choice of flea control
will depend on your climate, environment, your pet's activities,
and potential for exposure. However, with consistent use, it is
almost always possible to control your flea problem. Using these
products throughout the year typically will eliminate the need
for regular insecticidal use. The following provide additional
summary information on selected popular products.

Program from Novartis®

Program is available as a once a month pill or oral liquid
suspension to be given with a full meal. Adult fleas that ingest
Program's key ingredient, lufenuron, produce sterile eggs.
Program does not kill adult fleas so pets remain susceptible to
fleas hatching and maturing pupa already present in the
environment. Therefore, some time may pass before the all fleas
are killed in an environment. In order to stop the life cycle,
every animal in the environment must receive lufenuron. Pets
should also be sprayed with an adulticide during the first week
or two of starting Program.

Advantage from Bayer®

Advantage is applied topically on both dogs and cats and seems to
be very well-tolerated by sensitive cats. Advantage kills fleas
within 24 hours and 100% protection can be maintained for cats
for 21 days and 90% protection can be maintained for dogs for 28
days. Advantage is susceptible to washing off so dogs that are
active outdoors and dogs that swim or must be bathed frequently
should be re-treated frequently. Up to weekly re-treatment is
allowed. The imidacloprid in Advantage does not effect ticks,
but K-9Advantix, with permethrin does. K9 Advantix is only
labeled for once a month K9 Advantix is ONLY FOR USE WITH DOGS
and MUST NOT BE ADMINISTERED TO CATS.

Frontline Spray, Frontline Plus And Frontline Top Spot from
Merial®

Frontline Spray, Frontline Plus, and Frontline Top Spot comprise
the market leading Frontline flea control product line. The
fipronil in Frontline products is a broad spectrum insecticide
available as a spray or topical. Fipronil works by binding
chemically to the pet's hair and is absorbed through the follicle
by the sebaceous glands. As a spray, fipronil kills fleas at 95%
for over 80 days after application on dogs and for 1 month with
biweekly bathing. Frontline is labeled for puppies and kittens as
young as 8 weeks (10 weeks for Top Spot) and it is not washed off
by bathing. Frontline is also affective against ticks. Some cats
may show minor adverse reactions with high volume use of the
alcohol based spray product which should be applied no more than
once a month. Frontline Plus also contains the IGR, S-methoprene
which inhibits the growth of immature fleas.

Capstar from Novartis®

Capstar is an oral tablet for dogs and cats that may be
administered as young as 4 weeks of age. It offers extremely
rapid and complete killing of adult fleas and is safe enough that
the tablets may be used whenever fleas are seen on your pet as
often as once per day. Capstar may be used in combination with an
IGR to kill fleas immediately to compliment the long-term control
of an IGR such as Program.



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(c) <a href=http://www.vetdepot.com>VetDepot.com – Discount Pet
Medications</a>
Mark Smith is a staff writer for http://www.VetDepot.com. Vet
Depot offers discount and wholesale brand name pet medications
for dogs, cats, horses, and selected products for fish breeders.
All over-the-counter (OTC) pet medications are manufactured for
use in the United States with FDA/EPA approval. Vet Depot
purchases from the same distributors that supply your local
veterinarians. All products are Guaranteed Fresh.


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