Worm & Flea Treatment

Fleas are a year-round source of dogs and cats, particularly prevalent in summer. They feed on the blood of cats and dogs and then lay their eggs on the animals' coat, which drop off everywhere your pet goes, and hatch and develop into new young adult fleas in carpets, furniture and bedding. One flea can lay up to 500 eggs in one month! Due to the sophisticated lifestyle, solving your problem may involve you treating your pet and home as well.

The most effective products for flea control come under the legal category of 'Prescription Only Medicines' (POM). This means we can only dispense them to clients who are registered with our practice. Furthermore, animals to be treated must have been seen by our vets during the previous 6 months.

If you are not registered with us, please make an appointment with one of our veterinary surgeons and we will examine your pet for fleas whilst charging only for the treatments dispensed.

Flea Products

Advocate "spot-on" A highly effective easy to apply spot-on solution that treats fleas, worms and mites - all in a simple to use, single application for dogs and cats. Advocate should be applied once a month. Advocate kills fleas, flea larvae, roundworms and hookworms and ear mites. In dogs it also treats biting lice and is effective against the mites Sarcoptes and Demodex.

Advantix "spot-on" A rapidly acting spot-on that kills adult fleas on your dog and flea larvae in your dogs surroundings. Advantix also kills ticks and effectively blocks them before they can attach to your dog. It also repels ticks, sand flies and mosquitoes - highly desirable if your dog is travelling to a warmer climate e.g. - on the DEFRA PETS travel scheme. Advantix should be applied monthly and is suitable for dogs (but not for cats.)

Capstar This is a tablet that rapidly kills live fleas on your dog or cat. One tablet is given when fleas are seen and effects may be seen as soon as 15 minutes after administration, with all fleas being killed within 24 hours with the drugs' effects lasting for 24 hours. Capstar can be used conjunction with other flea treatment, e.g. program injection for cats or program plus tablets for dogs.

Program Plus Tablets for Dogs A flea lifecycle inhibitor. Program Plus will sterilise fleas that bite your dog so that any eggs which are laid will not hatch. Hence Program plus prevents a flea infestation developing in the carpets and furniture of your home and also contains a worming ingredient to kill roundworms and hookworms. Program Plus tablets are given once a month with food and are sold in a packet of six tablets, i.e. a 6 month course.

Program Injection for Cats A single injection of "program injection" will give 6 months continuous protection against fleas for your cat. It is highly effective at making the adult flea sterile and therefore preventing flea eggs from developing and hatching. This must be administered by the veterinary surgeon.

R.I.P. An aerosol spray for treating your carpets and furniture in your home. This safe and effective insecticide spray will kill adult and larval stages of fleas and also house dust mites. RIP has a residual effect for up to 12 months. Not to be applied to animals.

Animals with worms may or may not show visible signs all the time, so it is up to you the owner to treat your pet regularly against worms. Some worms, particularly roundworms from dog faeces present a real public health risk, especially for small children when infected soil is ingested. More information can be found in the sections below.

A very difficult question to answer for a number of reasons. Both Roundworm and Hookworm eggs voided in the faeces are invisible to the naked eye, so unless you are lucky enough, or unlucky enough, depending on your point of view, to see the adult worms or Tapeworm segments, your dog could easily have worms without you knowing.

Puppies

The vast majority of puppies have Roundworms as they can be infected before birth, the migrating larvae being able to cross the placenta. Young puppies can also become infected through drinking their mother's milk which may also contain infective larvae.

Treatment Regime: Puppies could be wormed from 3 weeks of age, every 2 weeks until 15 weeks of age, then every 3 months. This will be provided at the time of your puppy's vaccination.

Adult Dogs

Roundworm 

In most adult dogs the number of worms is few and as a result there are few clinical symptoms. Eggs take 2 weeks to become infective after being voided in the faeces. Young adult dogs, pregnant bitches and bitches in season are responsible for most of the environmental contamination with Roundworm eggs. Humans infected with Roundworms, usually from ingesting contaminated soil, can show respiratory, abdominal and eye problems, occasionally leading to blindness.

Tapeworm

Heavy infestations can cause anal irritation, digestive disturbances and ill thrift. They are aesthetically unpleasant as the segments, which resemble rice grains, leave via the anus to deposit their eggs. The most common Tapeworm in dogs is Dipylidium Caninum which is contracted when the dog eats an infected flea, so for obvious reasons tapeworm treatment should be accompanied by vigorous steps to control any associated flea problems. Humans can be infected by ingesting the eggs of a particular type of tapeworm.

Hookworm

These can cause anaemia and, because they burrow through the skin, can also cause skin and feet lesions. Hookworm infestation is common in greyhound and hunt kennels, but can occasionally be encountered where large numbers of dogs congregate - especially if it is damp underfoot.

Treatment Regime: Advice on the control of Roundworm, Tapeworm and Hookworm along with the most suitable medication can be acquired from the practice. At Braid Vets, we recommend worming 4 times a year. Treatment may be purchased at the practice, and will be routinely encouraged at your dog's health check and vaccination visit.

A very difficult question to answer for a number of reasons. Roundworm eggs voided in the faeces are invisible to the naked eye, so unless you are lucky enough, or unlucky enough, depending on your point of view, to see the adult worms or Tapeworm segments, your cat could easily have worms without you knowing.

There are two types of worm that can infect cats, Roundworms and Tapeworms.

Kittens

Roundworm

In kittens, Roundworm infestation can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties and a pot-bellied appearance and a failure to thrive.

Treatment Regime: Kitten should be wormed every 2 weeks until 15 weeks of age, then every 3 months. This treatment will be provided at the time of your kittens' first health examination.

Adult Cats

Roundworm

Unlike dogs, cats are not thought to be the major source of roundworms to humans. Young cats (less than 1 year old) and pregnant or nursing queens are responsible for most of the environmental contamination with roundworm eggs.

Tapeworm

Heavy infestations can cause anal irritation, digestive disturbances and ill thrift. They are aesthetically unpleasant as they resemble rice grains, leave via the anus to deposit their eggs. The most common Tapeworm in cats is Dipylidium Caninum which is contracted when the cat eats an infected flea or louse. For obvious reasons, Tapeworm treatment should also be accompanied by vigorous steps to control any flea associated problems.

A second type, Taenia, is usually contracted through hunting. The time between eating an infective stage of worm to show segments varies from approximately 3 weeks in the case of Dipylidium to 2-3 months in the Taenia species of worm. In adult cats, worms are usually acquired through hunting, resulting in few clinical symptoms.

Treatment Regime: Advice on the control of Roundworm and Tapeworm along with the most suitable medication can be acquired from the practice. At braid, we recommend worming every 3 months. Treatment may be purchased at the practice, and will be routinely at each checkup and vaccination visit.