I've had cats at my house for 12 years and in other places for a total of nearly 20, and no flea problems, so I don't even consider it optional. I consider it unnecessary. My cats never go outside, ever, except the walk from the car to the vet inside the carrier. At home the car is in a garage connected to the house.I noticed that many of you don't include flea treatment in that number and I'm curious why. Is flea treatment considered optional if your animal's feet never touch the outside ground?
Maybe I've been lucky. I know there are cats that come by outside, and we do walk from outside directly in on occasion. But Amber lived here nearly 10 years and never got fleas, and another cat lived here 3-4 years that all overlapped with Amber, also no fleas. Current cats are going on 2 years with no sign of flea issues. They would have had flea treatment in the shelter but since coming home they have had none.
It would actually get pretty frustrating if I suddenly had to put flea treatments on my cats regularly, as it would be something new and feel like I'm putting these chemicals on my cat all the time. That may happen someday when I move, but for now it seems like I will not have to worry about fleas.