Yes Or No To Flea Medicine On A 5 Month Kitten

[lindalisten]

My kitten, Zoey, is about 5 months old. When I first got her at 2 months she had tapeworms coming out of her butt. I did not see any fleas on her. The foster mom where I got her from said none of the other kittens had signs of tapeworms.

I took her to the vet and they gave her another round of dewormer. She has not had worms since then. My second visit to the vet for shots the vet gave me a 3 month supply of flea medicine (vectra). I have never noticed any fleas or her nor has she been scratching or grooming excessively. Should I give the flea medicine to her even if she does not have fleas? It seems like there is a lot of medicine in 1 tube for such a little cat. She also sleeps very close to my head.

 

[LTS3]

I personally would just to avoid a flea or parasite infestation. Both of my cats have been on a montly parasite prevenative since they were kittens. Theyr'e indoors only, too.

 

[Neo_23]

I have never given indoor only cats flea medication as a preventative and have never had an incident.

 

[inkxpencil]

I think it's really a personal choice. I use flea medicine on my cats over the warm months as a preventive measure. I don't put it on them over the winter though.

 

[kristenann]

I absolutely use monthly flea medications on my two indoor cats. It is a lot easier to avoid a flea issue than to tackle an infestation. Fleas can easily be brought in on your clothes so being indoor only does not mean they are necessarily safe. My husband has a flea allergy so if any were to get in that house it's a big problem.

I like the prescription flea meds (like revolution and advantage multi) because they also kill many intestinal parasites. My cats sleep on my pillow so I like that comfort of knowing they don't have parasites. They also kill heartworm disease and while unlikely in cats, in the event they do get infected there is no treatment.

So better safe than sorry!

 

[ArchyCat]

I live on the Texas coast, south of Houston. When ever the weather. is warm + 70f or so, you can pick up fleas and bring them indoors. You can pick them up on your legs when you walk over a lawn. A decade or so ago, the five story building where I work was shut down for three days a Friday and the weekend, because every office floor had large areas of fleas infestation. I think they had to gas the whole building for at least a day, then change out the A/C filters, then air out the building for a day.

 

[lindalisten]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! I think I will definitely give her flea medicine now since we live in California and it's pretty warm most of the year. Better save than sorry!

 

[Yanaka]

I'm wondering, too. I live on the East coast and have found fleas on them only when they were babies and just came out of the shelter. Now, I use a comb to monitor flea dirt and don't seem to find any, but they still scratch a little. I guess I'd be more at peace just treating them, but I'm not sure it's worth it...

 

[EmmiTemmi]

I guess I'd be more at peace just treating them, but I'm not sure it's worth it...

It's worth it. It's better safe than sorry.

And if you want to stretch it, you can wait more than the time you're supposed to before administering more. My boys were 6 or 7 months when I discovered at least one had fleas, and getting rid of that was more of a pain than just giving them flea meds (Frontline) every so often. I do wait longer than 1 month before each dose, about 1.5-2months since it's winter now, but I haven't again had trouble with fleas! Once spring hits, I might go back to giving them their meds every month since dealing with the fleas was a huge pain in the rear.

 

[Furballsmom]

It just scares me so much to even think about putting a chemical on a feline whose nervous system etc isn't developed yet. I don't have an answer other than bathing and housecleaning. Diatomaceous earth isn't without it's problems either. (Sigh)

 

[Blakeney Green]

Kittens can die from fleas.

Because they're so small, a kitten can pretty quickly become dangerously anemic from a flea infestation.

That's not to say every kitten must be on a chemical flea preventative. That decision really depends on the risk factors in your individual situation. When you're weighing those risks, though, the danger to a kitten from fleas goes beyond just discomfort or itching - it can rapidly snowball into a major medical concern.

Personally, I flea treat all my cats (including the kittens) year-round despite living in a fairly cool climate because I have a much higher than average risk of bringing them home due to my job.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I have given Frontline to 3/4 month old kittens but at 1/2 the dose . Prevention of fleas is a must .

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm also one who doesn't treat their indoor-only cats. But my mother is currently dealing with fleas. In the middle of winter. Her cats do not go outdoors anymore; but she has a dog also. I'm not sure how long this has been going on; but it's still noteworthy to me that her cats have not been outside in quite some time and NOW they have fleas. So it's something to consider.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I don't treat either but now I'm wondering if I should. I live in a high rise condominium almost twenty stories up.

 

[EmmiTemmi]

I don't treat either but now I'm wondering if I should. I live in a high rise condominium almost twenty stories up.

Fleas are super good at hitchhiking in on almost anything. Clothing, shoes, backpacks, etc. It's not as likely, especially if you're in a big city, I think, but theoretically it's possible.

 

[Yanaka]

Do you think monitoring with the flea comb works? I mean, if the comb comes out clear, does that guarantee that they're flea-free? I guess I know the answer, but I've been doing that for a few months now, and I thought it was enough.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I just went through both of my cats with a flea comb too. All this talk of fleas has me concerned (and itchy)! Thankfully I didn't find evidence of any critters.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Do you think monitoring with the flea comb works? I mean, if the comb comes out clear, does that guarantee that they're flea-free?

My belief would be yes. If you don't see any evidence of fleas, flea dirt or bites then I would safely assume that the cat is flea free.

 

[Blakeney Green]

Do you think monitoring with the flea comb works? I mean, if the comb comes out clear, does that guarantee that they're flea-free? I guess I know the answer, but I've been doing that for a few months now, and I thought it was enough.

I would think so. If your cats were good at eating fleas you might not find a live one while flea combing, but I can't imagine you wouldn't find at least some amount of flea dirt if your cat had a flea issue. Obviously just make sure you are combing onto a white/light surface so you can see the dirt, rather than into the air, and are checking very regularly - all of which I'm sure you already do.

 

[kat hamlin]

Do you think monitoring with the flea comb works? I mean, if the comb comes out clear, does that guarantee that they're flea-free? I guess I know the answer, but I've been doing that for a few months now, and I thought it was enough.

No, I don't think it does. I'm almost certain that I was once in a situation where the HOUSE had fleas and the animals DID NOT. The fleas would jump onto an animal to bite and die, but they kept alive as a population because there were people in the house that weren't on flea preventative, and no one treated the house.
I believe in the looking at the symptoms. Let's say you have an itchy cat, and you flea-combed the heck out the cat and came out with nada. No dirt, no live fleas. But you see what looks like FAD on the cat, and the cat's still itching, and the cat's not on flea preventative. The chances are good that there ARE FLEAS SOMEWHERE. Maybe they found one place to hide that you didn't comb or maybe they are living in the cat's bed and just jumping on to bite. It's not normal, but I think it's what is happening in this hypothetical situation.
Now, if your cat is not itchy and your flea combing reveals nothing, you might be safe...for now.
I had a flea infestation a few years back. We had to change flea treatment modalities and fleabomb the house. Gross and chemically toxic, I know, but it worked. During this, my Great Dane, who is mostly white, I never saw a flea on her. Never found any dirt on her. But she got hot spots from the flea bites, anyway. This is why I now treat year-round for fleas and ticks. If I didn't have dogs going in and out, and cats coming in all the time, I might not treat, or maybe not year-round, but the prevention is so much easier and cheaper than the cure...and doesn't involve evacuating the house.