Beating fleas is something that all pet owners should be committed to. Whether or not your cat goes outside, they can pick up fleas anytime. For many pet parents, anti-flea topical treatments are a preference, but there are some caveats to making sure that you get the best and safest treatment. If you've had frustrating experiences with these medications or don't know where to start, you should consider buying them directly from a veterinary clinic. Here's why.
First-Hand Experience (bad reactions)
When it comes to anti-flea topicals, not all medications are created equal. If you look around on the internet for reviews from pet parents, you'll often see concerns regarding bad reactions to medication, like drooling, lethargy, or even more serious problems, like poisoning. Unfortunately, some over-the-counter anti-flea medications are more likely to cause problems than others, and this is where a vet can help.
Your vet has likely dealt with dozens, if not hundreds or more cats in their practice. As a result, they've likely seen pets who have been treated with anti-flea medications that have caused negative experiences. Rather than taking advice from the internet, a vet can provide you with practical experience and scientific understanding of how these medications work, and which is the most likely to give your pet the results you want without any dangerous side effects.
Knows What Works
If you've used anti-flea topicals before, you may have experienced those topicals not working as well as they once did. Any surviving fleas pass along their genes to offspring, which may inherit the resistance against the medication that their parents had. If enough generations are allowed to thrive this way, you can end up with a full-blown infestation despite your best efforts.
Vets can help here, too. They not only know what works best in your region, but they have access to a wide range of prescription-only anti-flea topicals. These are less likely to be overused in any area, since they require a prescription to obtain, rather than just being available over the counter, and should work better as a result.
Help With Application
Finally, treating a cat with these medications isn't always the easiest thing. Cats often dislike the smell or become fidgety when someone touches the back of their neck. If you've struggled with the application process or just don't know what to do, a vet can teach you. If it's still too much trouble, you can bring your cat in and have it applied whenever your kitty needs it, saving you time, trouble, and potential scratch and bite wounds.
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