The most frustrating external parasites we deal with in small animal veterinary medicine involve flea and tick infestations on dogs and cats. Not only are these pesky pests irritating to pets, often leading to excessive skin itching, allergies, and secondary skin infections, but they also carry many diseases that are a risk to both the pet and their human family. Thus, thorough and effective flea/tick control is an essential part of owning a dog or cat. Over the past decade there has been a tremendous expansion of effective flea/tick product options, many of them involving easy to apply topical medications often between the shoulders or behind the neck. Some of these include Frontline Plus, Advantage, K9 Advantix, Comfortis, Promeris for Dogs, Promeris for Cats, Revolution, and Bio Spot to name the most common ones used.
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However, there has been recent concern of short and long term safety with the expansion of use of these products. Prompted by a spike in the number of reported adverse reactions to spot-on flea and tick control products from 2007 to 2008, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada in April 2009 both began an investigation into the safety of the treatments. |
Currently there are no definitive conclusions regarding certain products. Some of the reported reactions, which manufacturers are required by law to notify the EPA, when reported by pet owners, ranged from mild effects (skin irritation/hair loss/itching at application site) to more serious side effects (seizures and in very rare cases death). And while the EPA is intensifying its reaction of all spot-on products, most animal guardians are still finding these products safe and effective in the vast majority of their canine and feline companions, and that reactions are rare.
However, long term exposure and cumulative exposure to both active and inert ingredients do remain a concern to some animal guardians and many veterinarians. For those dogs or cats that are very sensitive to topical products, oral alternatives for flea control such as Program may be an option. Herbal flea and tick products can also be an option, as well as Be Flea Free Shampoo and Miracle Mist Skin Spray, which contain essential oils that can be effective in repelling fleas and ticks. One must be extra careful in using essential oils on cats because for some cats tea tree oil can be toxic. And while natural products do present an alternative to those very sensitive pets, they are often not as effective as the more commonly used and prescribed topical flea/tick products mentioned above.
No matter which approach an animal guardian chooses, it is essential to keep up with flea and tick control in both dogs and cats to avoid not only physical discomfort but the transmission of diseases carried by these pests to both pets and people. Stay tuned for the EPA’s findings on this hot topic likely soon to be released sometime in 2010, relative to which products may pose excessive risk of reaction.
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