Affordable, quality veterinary care for your pet.
It is hard to miss when your pet has a flea infestation, no matter how few they may have. These little black, jumping, biting bugs can cause your pet and you to itch like crazy. You may also notice black specks left behind where your pet had been laying. This is known as "flea dirt" and is actually flea excrement. Your pet can pick up fleas anywhere- in the park, at the vet, at the groomer, or just taking a walk in your neighborhood. He can even pick them up from you! With the ability to lay thousands of eggs at a time, fleas can quickly become a major issue in your household. Beyond itching, your pet can develop hair loss and a skin infection as a reaction to the fleas. Tapeworms are also a by-product of fleas, as they carry the tapeworm eggs in their stomach and when ingested by your pet, are the catalyst of an active tapeworm colony.
What can be done about fleas?
With advances in veterinary medicine, there are many quick, safe ways to relieve you and your pet of fleas, with generally no need to bomb, fumigate, or spray your house. The easiest way to rid your pet of fleas is to obtain prescription flea medication from your veterinarian. Topical drops such as Revolution®, Frontline®, and Advantage® are applied to the back of the neck and rid your pet of all live fleas and flea eggs within approximately 24 hours. Pills such as Sentinel® or Program® act to prohibit the fleas from reproducing, killing all the eggs upon administration of the drug. As a result, these medications take a little bit longer to remedy an active flea problem, but can also generally are effective against some intestinal parasites. Any topical drop that is purchased at a grocery store, super store, and even some purchased at pet stores are generally ineffective and can be potentially hazardous to your pets health. Any flea medication other than the ones listed above should be avoided. Flea collars are potentially toxic and should also be avoided.
If you have a severe problem with fleas, you may need to treat the area where your pet generally stays or even your entire house. RASCAL recommends Siphetrol®, which is a safe and effective area spray made by the Vet-Kem® company. This can be purchased at their website, www.vetkem.com, or at your own veterinarian.
Find more information on fleas and safe flea products here.
Tapeworms are long, flat worms that live in your pets intestines. You may notice your pets inability to gain weight, vomiting worms, or rice like segments that may be moving around your pets back end. All of these are indicitave of an active tapeworm infection. Tapeworms are transmitted by fleas, as mentioned above, but your pet can also ingest them while feasting on infected prey. (i.e. mice, squirrels, moles) Tapeworms are transmissible to humans and should be dealt with immediately upon diagnosis.
What can be done about tapeworms?
Prescription worming medication from your veterinarian is the quickest and most effective manner of eliminating tapeworms in your pet. Generic worming pills or liquid purchased at pet stores, super stores, and grocery stores rarely take care of the problem. To prevent your pet from becoming re-infected, the best way to eliminate the intermediary host, which is most commonly fleas. Keeping your pet on prescription flea medication will go a long way to prevent a future tapeworm infestation. If your pet roams outdoors and eats wildlife on a regular basis, your pet should have a fecal exam at least once a year to check for intestinal parasites.
Ear mites are tiny mites that live and produce a black "dirt"-look inside your pet's ear. They are extraordinarily uncomfortable to your pet and will generally cause them to excessively scratch their ears and head or hold their ears in a down position. Left untreated, ear mites can cause inflammation, infection, and open wounds on their heads from scratching. This is generally a disease that affects only cats, although it is sometimes also seen in dogs.
What can be done about ear mites?
Treatment for ear mites is relatively inexpensive and provides instant relief for your pet. A good cleaning of the ears by your veterinarian and prescription drops are the most effective way to eliminate the parasites. Revolution®, a prescription flea medication, will also aid in treating a mild case of ear mites and acts as a preventative for up to a month.
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