The simple answer is yes. We recommend year-round flea and tick prevention for your kitten, regardless of whether they’re indoor only or sometimes get to enjoy the great outdoors.
Flea and tick preventives control infestations on your kitten and some inside your home. Both fleas and ticks bite your kitten and feed on their blood, potentially transmitting disease. Parasites can reach your indoor-only kitten by jumping or flying through open doors or windows, on other pets or on you.
Fleas are renowned for causing itchy skin and allergic reactions, but they can also transmit tapeworms, cat-scratch disease (bartonellosis) and murine typhus. Once they establish themselves in your home, they are very difficult to get rid of. They can live for months in your carpet, and with a host (your kitten) providing them with meals, the infestation can continue indefinitely. Ticks transmit dangerous diseases that affect cats, including cytauxzoonosis (bobcat fever), anaplasmosis and more. Luckily, many products kill both fleas and ticks.
Flea and tick preventives come in several forms, including topical solutions, oral medications and collars. Most are monthly treatments, but there are options that are given every three months as well as collars that last up to 8 months. Your VCA care team is happy to review options with you to find the best preventive for your kitten.
We also recommend setting a reminder on your phone or calendar for when your kitten’s preventive is due to avoid missing a dose, or download the myVCA app to get personalized automatic reminders.
