What should I do if my cat licks flea treatment?
If your pet happens to lick the topical flea medication, give them a small amount of their food to help relieve the bad taste. Next, contact your veterinarian or the APCC for additional steps to take and signs to monitor for.
When used as directed, such products are safe and effective. However, dogs and cats can easily become sick if too much or the wrong flea product is applied, or the product is ingested post-application. Ingestion occurs if the dog or cat licks the treated area.
Advantage and Advantage Multi (Bayer): “Oral ingestion by cats may result in hypersalivation, tremors, vomiting, and decreased appetite.” Profender (Bayer): “Oral ingestion or exposure should be avoided.”
Some flea medication contains ingredients that can be harmful to cats, such as pyrethrins, pyrethroids and permethrins. Cats are more sensitive to these ingredients than dogs, but the poisoning can be harmful to both types of pets.
Permethrin is used in some flea spot-on products made for dogs, and occasionally (in lower doses) in flea powders and collars for cats. Unfortunately, exposure to concentrated permethrin (as in some dog spot-ons) can result in serious illness and even death in cats.
Ensure that animals do not lick each other until the treated area is no longer noticeable. Oral ingestion of the veterinary medicinal product has been observed to lead to hypersalivation. The safety of the veterinary medicinal product has not been tested in kittens under 8 weeks of age.
What Happens if Cat Licks Frontline Gold? If your cat licks Frontline Gold when it is wet on the fur or scratches the area and then licks its foot, the bitter taste of the product can cause the animal to vomit or become nauseous.
Topical flea and tick treatments such as Revolution Plus kill fleas and ticks within 12 hours of application, and at least 98% of fleas are killed within 24 hours. Oral medications such as Capstar begin to kill fleas within 30 minutes, and continue to rapidly control fleas for 24 hours.
Toxic Ingestion
Pyrethrin based insecticides, often used in flea and tick treatments for both cats and dogs, can be toxic to your cat if ingested and can cause excessive drooling and foaming at the mouth.
Topical medication should be applied directly to the skin, not the hair. You must part the hair so that you can apply it to the skin at the base of the neck.
What happens if you put flea treatment in the wrong place?
But used improperly, they can cause cats and dogs to vomit, have seizures and in extreme cases, they might not survive.
FLEA & TICK MEDICATION
For example, sprays often contain insecticides called pyrethroids which can cause an allergic-type reaction if sprayed in the face (sneezing, coughing, runny nose) or an upset stomach if ingested in a small amount.
Side Effects (Cats): Monitor your cat after application. Side effects, although very rare, may include signs of skin irritation such as redness, scratching, or other signs of discomfort. Gastrointestinal signs such as hypersalivation, vomiting or diarrhea have also been reported.
Giving medications labelled for dogs to your cat, or any other animal, can cause serious illness such as seizures, or even death. ” An overdose can easily occur with cats or smaller animals. Some flea and tick over-the-counter medications contain ingredients that are highly toxic to cats and should never be used.
CBC Marketplace has discovered that more than 2,000 animals are reported to have died in North America since 2008 as a result of exposure to flea and tick treatment products, which can contain dangerous chemicals that kill fleas but can also harm pets.
Clinical signs of permethrin intoxication in cats are characterized by tremors, muscle fasciculations, twitching, hyper-salivation, mydriasis, pyrexia, and, in severe cases, seizures and coma. Other clinical signs include ataxia, tachypnoea, hyperexcitation, and hypothermia.
The most common treatments for permethrin poisoning are:
Decontamination consists of bathing the cat in warm water. Using a mild detergent, the vet will remove as much of the product as possible to prevent further absorption through the skin. Induced vomiting: This will help if your cat has ingested the poison.
Avoid petting your cat for 24-48 hours in the spot where you applied a topical medication. These treatments aren't harmful for humans, but it's important that as little as possible is removed from the cat and soaked through human skin.
Many cats will gag and foam after being medicated. This can be due to bad taste of the medication, not swallowing initially, or stress. Foaming is only rarely due to an allergic reaction to the medication, so do not panic if your cat begins to drool.