We see several hundred animals a week, and the most common “error” we see is owners trying to treat their pets’ conditions with over the counter treatments –many of which do not work.
Here is our best advice on safe and effective OTC treatments for common conditions.
- Never use any product made by Hartz. Their products have a long and deadly history.
- Never use a dog product on a cat. One common ingredient in dog flea/tick medications is a death sentence to cats.
- The only OTC flea/tick collar that is effective is the Seresto collar.
- Praziquantel is the only treatment for tapeworms. Pyrantel is the historical treatment for roundworms, hookworms, etc., but resistance to it has increased and while it is an OTC product, it is not the most effective treatment and up to 3 courses of it 2-3 weeks apart may be necessary.
- Capstar/Nitenpyram starts killing adult fleas within 30 minutes. HOWEVER, only 5% of the flea burden of an animal is in the adult phase. Frontline is a good OTC flea treatment but it is not perfect. For dogs, we recommend Frontline, along with adding capstar at least once a week, for recurring infestations. For cats, we recommend Catego.
- It traditionally takes THREE MONTHS of treatment to eradicate fleas. The environment needs to treated as well as the animals. Flea bombs do not work. The ONLY environmental flea treatment that works (in our experience) is Virbac Knockout-ES. Anything that can’t be steam cleaned or put in the washing machine (cat trees, furniture, mattresses) gets sprayed according to the instructions.
- Untreated earmites can lead to infection, inflammation, ear hematomas and lifelong damage and thickening of the ear canal resulting in chronic pain.
There is no OTC ear mite treatment formulated for cats that works. None. OTC ivermectin made for cattle DOES work. The treatment is to thoroughly clean your cats’ ears then put ONE SMALL DROP down each ear canal and massage the outside of the cat’s ear to help rub it in. For cats over 8 lbs. you can give TWO DROPS. Always weigh your cat before doing this. This can be done once every 3 weeks up to a maximum of 3 times.
Best wishes,
Dr. Amy