Fleas, Ear Mites And Worms

[Are93]

I have two cats suffering from fleas and ear mites and I'm assuming worms, is it safe to treat all three at the same time.

 

[cheesycats]

It is but let me warn you, Fleas and ear mites can be a real problem. Make sure you’re working with a vet and using decent medications and flea preventatives. Fleas have a life cycle of three months give or take so it will take at least that long to properly eliminate them from each cat. Maybe longer depending on the infestation. Make sure to vacuum weekly and wash bedding and keep your cats inside. If they are indoor outdoor they will always have this issue so something to think about if they do go outside.
And I would treat for the worms multiple times as well. Cats gets worms from fleas/being outside so I would treat for worms this first time then again after you feel you have irraticated all the fleas. Good luck. Two cats can be a lot and all of these parasites can’t be done away with cheaply so I hope you have a good savings made up for them to get rid of all the pests

 

[lavishsqualor]

You absolutely need to enlist the aid of a vet to help you. DO NOT purchase over the counter flea/worm medications! The chemicals can be very dangerous and many cats have died from them. Please do the safe and responsible thing for your awesome cats and get them to a vet.

And thank you for being such a great custodian to them!

 

[duckpond]

A vet will be able to give you a medication that will take care of all 3 problems at one time. You will want to continue the treatments, usually a topical, for several months or all summer to make sure the problem is under control.

I am also not a fan of over the counter, those normally will not take care of everything, and i do think they are more dangerous. Especially if you start mixing different ones.

 

[maggiedemi]

You don't have to get flea topicals at the vet anymore. The patent ran out on Frontline Plus after many years, so now it can be sold in stores. It is the exact same thing, Fipronil. Stay away from anything with Etofenprox in it, that was the one sold at Walmart that was killing cats apparently. For worms, I would go with Drontal from the vet. For some reason the patent never ran out on that after 20 some years, so you still have to get that one at the vet. For mites, Frontline doesn't say it kills ear mites, but it did for my cat Demi. When I put it on the back of his neck, the fleas and ear mites disappeared. Or you could get Revolution at the vet, that kills just about everything.

 

[lacy2000]

It is safe to treat all three things at once. Ear mites might require you to clean their ears using a special solution (depending on how severe it is). Fleas will require a flea preventative (and you can wash them with dawn dish soap to kill adults as well as use a flea comb), and worms will require a dewormer (pyrantel, fendebdalzole, albon, ponazuril, drontal, etc.).

With fleas one of the most important things is cleaning bedding every day and vacuuming carpets every single day along with washing out the vacuum with hot water after dumping it. Try and contain them to one area or room for easier cleaning.

 

[Willowy]

I recommend getting some Revolution or Advantage Multi from the vet. Those will treat all 3, safely and easily. Ear mites are the most annoying. . .I don't recommend anything OTC for them.