It isn’t difficult to use topical flea medicine but it is important that you get it right. There are a few key points to ensuring you get the whole benefit from those flea drops.
- Firstly get your cat to sit still. Take the time to relax both yourself and your pet before trying to administer their topical flea treatment. Otherwise you know they’ll make a dash for it at the last second.
- Secondly, grab yourself some tissue or kitchen roll in case you spill anything.
- Okay, time to get on with it. Snap the top off the spot on flea treatment and keep it upright till the last moment. You mustn’t waste a drop as they provide the right amount of flea drops for your pet’s size.
- Part the fur between the shoulder-blades to reveal a good patch of skin. Squeeze the vial of flea medicine so the liquid makes contact with the bare skin. If you cannot see much skin, squeeze on half and wait for it to sink in a little before squeezing on the remainder.
- For large dogs over 25 kilos it is beneficial to put half the flea drops between the shoulder blades and half at the base of the tail. This allows easier coverage of the animal’s whole body.
- Wait for the liquid to sink in before releasing your pet.
- Always keep an eye on your cat or dog following their flea treatment. This is to ensure they show no signs of allergy to the product and also to check they do not rub or lick all the flea drops off before they have a chance to sink in properly.
- Wash your hands and do not handle your pet for a few hours to ensure all the flea killing power stays on them rather than being rubbed off onto you!
Flea drops are designed to be safe for our pets if used correctly. Always ensure you have the correct product for the size and type of your pet. Dog medicines should never be used on cats for example. If your pet ingests the product (usually by managing to lick where the drops are placed) do not panic. Usually there is no problem with such behavior. Part of the manufacturer’s safety tests include animal’s ingesting the flea medicines, but obviously keep an eye on your pet in case they do show any signs of allergy.
Remember modern flea medicines are toxic to some aquatic life so never dispose of unused products yourself. Take them back to the vet or a pharmacy for safe disposal. Never use your flea drops more often than recommended by the manufacturer. Usually such flea medicines are only used every thirty days. For initial severe flea problems a product may need to be used at a smaller interval of time during the first month of use. Check the safety instructions, many will be fine to use again after only a fortnight but you need to ensure the safety of your pet first. All the different brands of topical flea treatments are based on different active ingredients so if you’re used to one don’t assume all the alternatives can be treated the same. Read the packet to make sure!
For information about flea drops, choosing and buying discount flea treatments and other online pet meds click on the links.
