We often only seek medical advice or treatment to cure our pets once they have fallen ill.
But, like with human medicine, prevention is nearly always better than treatment as it saves you time, hassle and money in the long run. Especially when it comes to fleas and ticks as you and your pet can get seriously ill from them. We found that not enough people are choosing to prevent rather than cure so the team here at VetBox sought to change things.
Read on to find out why parasite prevention is better than parasite treatment!
Why prevention is best:
Fleas are irritating!
Imagine feeling itchy or like something is biting you over and over but you can’t seem to get it to stop. Pets with infestations are uncomfortable and often stressed as well.
Fleas carry diseases that can make your pet (and you) unwell
Fleas can be the source of diseases like Mycoplasma and Bartonella in cats, and historically were known to be carriers of human diseases like the bubonic plague and typhus (yuck!). Fleas also are known to carry the species of tapeworm Dipylidium, and pets that ingest infected fleas will often develop the GI tapeworm.
Ticks ALSO carry diseases that can make you and your pet unwell.
While there is a long list of serious tickbourne illnesses known, one major one in the UK affecting both pets and people is Lyme disease. Lyme disease can cause acute illness in pets and people including fever, lethargy and joint pain. While acute disease can be managed, there are often long term health implications.
Fleas can be challenging and time consuming to get rid of.
All pets in the house will need to be treated monthly for at least a few months. You also have to clean the house multiple times to break the flea life cycle.
Just because you don’t SEE fleas, doesn’t mean they aren’t or haven’t been there.
Fleas are small and quick. Even just a few adults can cause irritation or spread disease. Females can lay 40 eggs each per day! Eggs can be seen with the naked eye but are even harder to spot.
Some pets are actually allergic to flea saliva, and prone to a condition called flea allergy dermatitis.
These pets have a more severe reaction to even just a single flea bite! FAD can cause major redness, hair loss, skin infections, and pain for your pets. While regular flea prevention is important for all pets, for those suffering from FAD it’s a must!
Costs of treatment for flea or tick borne disease can be immense and ongoing.
Flea and tick prevention will always be more cost effective for owners over treating existing disease.
Owner costs at the vet for severe cases of flea allergy dermatitis can easily reach several hundred pounds per trip, and in more serious cases like cats sick from Mycoplasma or dogs that acquire Lyme disease, treatment costs easily can reach the thousands of pounds range.
For more information about prevention, you can contact VetBox’s friendly support staff to help!
