Spot-ons / Stripe-ons
There are two types of spot-on products - traditional products packaged to be applied to the skin (il.e. Biospot) and proprietary products like Frontline.
Frontline/Frontline Plus
Pros: Specially formulated to stay in the skin layers - Frontline is very safe, very effective and convenient to use. It protects your cat for weeks yet it stays in the skin and does not get absorbed into the cat's system! Frontline Plus also kills flea eggs and larvae.
Cons: Aside from the price, a small percentage of animals may be sensitive to the product and have some irritation at the application site.
Many veterinarians carry and recommend Frontline to their clients because it's safe and it works!
Biospot for Cats and similar products
Pros: Protect against fleas, ticks and additional parasites and insects, convenient to use, slightly less expensive than Frontline.
Cons: Contains traditional pesticides. Not as long-lasting. Some pets may experience skin irritation.
Flea and Tick Sprays
Pros: Inexpensive, moderately effective.
Cons: Messy to use, not to mention being sprayed with smelly liquid is very distressing to most cats!
Flea and Tick Powders
Pros: An older method of preventing fleas and ticks, powders are relatively inexpensive.
Cons: Messy to use, not all THAT effective.
Flea and Tick Collars
Pros: Especially effective especially against ticks.
Cons: Some cats mey be sensitive to the chemicals and suffer allergic skin reactions. Consider alternatives if you have multiple pets who play by mouthing each other as ingesting the chemicals in the collar can be toxic.
Warning: Only use breakaway style flea and tick collars on cats!
Flea and Tick Shampoos
Pros: Good for removing an infestion of fleas from your pet
Cons: Won't prevent re-infestation.
