Choosing between Oral and Topical Medications for Fleas and Ticks in Pets

Fleas in dogs and cats are known to lay up to 50 eggs each day. By the time you detect their presence, your pet might be carrying hundreds of flea offspring. Ticks carry disease agents that can transmit diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Alpha-gal, Lyme disease and more. In short, these tiny terrors can invade your loving pet's body and make their life hell. Fortunately, there are many effective pet medications that can control these situations.

However, the pet owners often get confused between oral and topical pet medication for fleas and ticks. Here’s a small guide to help you decide.

Oral Flea and Tick Medications

According to the Veterinary Parasitology Journal, oral dog and cat medications have 99.9% success rate. These are available in the form of chewable tablets and pills, the most popular ones being:

1. NexGard
2. Bravecto
3. Comfortis
4. Trifexis

Oral pet med can be difficult to administer if your pet doesn’t like taking tablets or pills. Moreover, they release the chemicals directly in the bloodstream, increasing the chances of side-effects. However, an oral pet med would start working against fleas and ticks in just 30 minutes or so.

Topical Flea and Tick Medications

The Veterinary Parasitology Journal quotes 88.4% as the success rate of topical cat and dog medications. Some of the popular medications in this category include:

1. Advantage II
2. Frontline
3. Cheristin
4. Revolution

Applying them on the pet's skin can be a messy task. Moreover, it is important that the pet stays away from water for at least two days after the medication. The chances of side-effects are less as no chemicals enter the bloodstream. However, these medications may take up to 48 hours to start working.

Depending on these evaluations, you can choose the right medication according to your own convenience. The pet pharmacy OnlyVetMeds offers online pet meds in each of these categories, apart from flea and tick shampoos, sprays and collars.

Please Note:

1. You may also choose a single medication that work against fleas, heartworms, tapeworms and roundworms.
2. Flea and tick medications for dogs should not be given to cats and vice a versa.
3. Prescription from an authorized veterinarian is necessary.