Protecting your Pet Against Parasites
Parasites are defined as organisms that live on another mammal as a ‘host’, and feed off them as a source of nutrition.
There are several different types of parasites that can affect your cat, and once your cat is infected you and your family may be at risk too. Some parasites can cause significant disease in both humans and animals, which is why it is so important to ensure that your pet receives proper protection.
Parasites can be divided into two main groups. There are endoparasites, which live inside the host’s body – such as roundworms, tapeworms and lungworms – and ectoparasites, which live outside the body – such as fleas, ticks and mites.
Roundworms Toxocara and Toxascaris are particularly harmful to human health, and may occasionally cause blindness or possibly epilepsy in people. In addition the tapeworm Echinococcus ssp, which is very common in Wales and Europe, can cause severe disease and even death.
For your pet cat, mange or fleas cause significant distress. Additionally, ticks or sandflies are carriers of serious disease and are particularly prevalent if you take your pet abroad. As with many illnesses, the effects can be more pronounced in very young or very old animals.
For cats we recommend Advocate monthly. However, it is important that you discuss your pet’s individual requirements with your vet, as each animal’s lifestyle and habits may affect the parasites they are likely to encounter.
In some cats, for example, we recommend replacing the Advocate dose with Profender once every 3 months.
The reasons for our recommendation are as follows:
- Advocate provides a broad range of parasite control, treating fleas, mange, ear mites, lice, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and heartworm.
- Monthly treatment also helps to control the human health risk posed by roundworms.
If your cat is susceptible to ticks an alternative product such as Broadline may be recommended by your vet.
Please feel free to contact us on 0208 300 8111 for more information about the most suitable parasite control programme for your cat, or discuss this with your vet at their annual health check.
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