Alarming story about spot-on flea treatments...

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Just saw this story:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/01/vets-pesticide-flea-treatments-river-pollution-pet-owners-toxic-insecticides-hands

Our cat never goes out but we've been faithfully treating her with flea treatments since I think it's required for the conditions of her pet insurance (which we've never claimed on). Now I'm concerned we've been getting neurotoxins on our hands. Any thoughts?

Gosh! That is alarming. My parents never treated their old moggy for fleas and she never ever had any. Maybe they were just lucky. Although this was in the 80s. Not sure if flea treatment was such a big thing then.

It is. My understanding is it's required by the terms of our pet insurance, which is the only reason we do it at all.

I don't think most pet insurance policies have clauses for flea treatment.

I hate the way the vets push for flea treatment for my indoor cats saying things like we could bring a flea in on our shoes. I refuse the treatments and my cats remain flea free.

I'll check ours, thanks for that @Gingerkittykat. I'm going to stop using them if that's the case.

Also, if you don't use spot on flea treatments for indoor cats, do you use spot on worming treatments?

God that's worrying. I wax always v careful to wash hands thoroughly and not touch my cat until the spot on was dry. No idea it kept being an issue for a month!

My cat goes out though and I've had flea infestations before and don't want another one. They are a nightmare to deal with. I have to say just washing pets bedding regularly is not going to cut it if your has fleas. The eggs go everywhere into all your soft furnishings.

A few months ago my vet switched us to a tablet. Which does fleas and ticks. Much easier to get her to take it as we pop it in a pill pocket. I wonder though if there are the same issues with the tablets or not? Would be good to know.

Agree with pp if I had an indoor cat I would not be applying flea treatment unless needed.

And yes in the 80s/90s there was much less vet treatment generally certainly for cats. My cat then wasn't treated for fleas until it became a problem and then she went in for quarterly I think but was program injections. Not sure on the safety of those but I don't think program is effective any more.

She didn't have her jabs at all. Vet treatment generally was also much more reasonably priced than it is now if you did need it but there was no percentage which had pushed prices up. People also didn't generally treat their pets as children and wouldn't have given expensive vet treatment as a rule.

That is true. I think their cat was taken maybe twice for vaccinations then never again. No idea how old she was when she died as she was a stray when they took her in and was already full grown but she died of kidney failure when I was in my late teens so must have been pretty old.

It's a tricky balance, without regular treatment there's a risk of ending up with a household infestation before spotting the fleas on the cat and then needing a shedload of flea spray and sometimes multiple treatments for the cat.

Back in the 80s we used that awful flea spray Nuvan Top which terrified the cats, smelt awful and went everywhere. Before that it was flea powders. Flea collars were the big thing before spot ons.

I really don't know what the answer is.

I only use spot in treatment when cat starts scratching or gets worms as our spot on dies round worms too. So mostly in the summer. Gets fleas when we go on holiday often - not sure what he's up to in our absence... ( Cat allowed outdoors but shut in at night usually) I wouldn't think about indoor cat needs treating

My cat has all her vaccinations (otherwise she wouldn't be accepted by the cattery) but I stopped using spot-ons some time ago because I was concerned about pesticide being shed onto my children's beds, and also outside (neonics are the pesticides that are heavily implicated in the "hive collapse" phenomenon in bees and reductions in populations in all insects).

I now use a wormer tablet (Drontal, I think) and VetIQ Fleaguard sprinkled over her food. It's made from brewers yeast and garlic, and apparently makes her blood taste less appetising to fleas. So far (about six months), no fleas! - although we don't have many other cats coming into our garden.

I've been using drop on flea treatments on my cats for decades. I either wash my hands after applying it, or use a disposable glove. I apply it just before bedtime, so it has dried by the time I see the cats in the morning. It isn't pleasant, but a flea infestation is even less pleasant.

The quoted expert is vague and doesn't actually state (or know) what the risks are to cat owners. I've been using drop-ons for nearly 30 years so there isn't much point worrying about it now.

As another poster said I too remember pre-drop-ons - those horrible sprays and puffer things of flea powder - it was disgusting and I felt so sorry for the cats when we had to do that, it was terrifying for them.

We've been having the Program injections for ours for many years (they didn't tolerate spot-ons) and never had an infestation. But last time the vet said they thought it might be being discontinued so we are going to have to think again.

Thanks all. Will investigate VetIQ Fleaguard @CatSighs

Isn't garlic considered highly toxic for cats and dogs?

Going to have to stop but we have ongoing flea issues. I knew it was toxic but gutted I’ve been risking the family health with it.

All alliums - causes blood cell damage.

Well, yes, which is a bit concerning considering there's a flea repellant being marketed with garlic powder in it.

Does indorex have similar ingredients?
We've had to spray the whole house with that in the past.

I was lucky to have one cat that never had fleas.

I have indoor cats but current one came back from the vet after staying in for surgery with fleas. I used Diatomaceous Earth and a lot of brushing. Unfortunately needed to treat the house with a spray though and I know those are particularly foul as they affect the nervous system if inhaled.

A lot of the insecticides we use can end up in the water, household cleaning products are also full of toxins but people use so much laundry stuff that they can be smelled from the opposite end of a supermarket, no-one looks at what they are using in the 'perfumes' and 'natural fragrance'. The household stuff is never featured in these articles though, the big companies wouldn't allow it.

We are blindsided into using these spot ons on pets in the same way we are sold dry food by vets. They are told to sell it as a money making excercise, or charge a lot for a prescription to buy elsewhere. When I first had a cat we used Fullers Earth for fleas, now use Diatomaceous earth if possible or consider one of the natural repellents after checking the ingredients. I won't buy dry food, even the so called prescription stuff and if I need a toxic chemical treatment I order one online but rarely need it.

Better for the pets to not use poisons on them when a pill will do. If you can pill your pet that is... gardening gloves might be useful.

I belong to a walking forum and people have raised quite a while ago. I think the problem is either if you don’t clear up after your dog or if you let your dog go into rivers or lakes/ponds where the fish and other wildlife may be killed by the effects of these treatments. I think dog owners should consider wildlife and remember that it is important to clear up everywhere.

If they’re concerned they’re that harmful to humans, arent they equally or more harmful to the cats and dogs who are actually getting dosed with this stuff?

It seems odd that the article is raising concerns about the impact on humans and the wider environment, but has nothing to say on the health of pets?

And yet another reason not to let your cat wander.

thishttps://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/english-environment-agency-europe-government-spain-b2439421.html

It says on there that there are safer alternatives. I wonder which are safer? A lot of the older flea treatments just don't work any more.

We have outdoor cats but we only flea and worm treat as a cure not as a preventative. Curiously (and very unusually) our cats have been completely flea free since just before Covid hit. So we've had no excessive chemicals for our cats for the last three years or so.