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Do Indoor Cats Need Flea Protection?

By: Author Paris Permenter

Posted on Last updated:

This post is sponsored by Ceva Animal Health, makers of Catego® for Cats. All statements and opinions are entirely our own.

As our regular readers know, our three cats are indoor-only cats. Other than in their screened patio, they never set foot outdoors for their own safety. We’re adjacent to a bird preserve that spans thousands of undeveloped acres, and coyotes are daily visitors to our property, both at night and during the daylight hours:

Even though they’re indoors, our cats are at risk for fleas and ticks so it’s important that they receive monthly protection. As much we’ve tried to keep the insect screens tight on their patio, we know that small ticks (attracted by the dark area beneath the floor) can work their way up the wall and into the patio itself:

And we know that the dogs (not to mention us) can easily bring in fleas and ticks after a walk in the woods…

So we protect the cats with Catego® for Cats. Made specifically for cats (over 1.5 pounds and over 8 weeks of age), Catego® is a topical preventative that protects against fleas, ticks, and lice.

Catego® kills fleas within six hours of application. It’s quick drying (especially important when you have multiple cats who like to groom one another). The patented applicator tip is rounded, to minimize skin abrasion as you apply the parasite control to the base of your cat or kitten’s head.

While fleas are the more common problem at our home, ticks are probably the more worrisome to us. With the large wildlife population near us, ticks can be spread from wildlife to our pets—and to us. Ticks carry a wide variety of diseases including Lyme disease, cytauxzoonosis, haemobartonellosis, ehrlichiosis, babesios and anaplasmosis.

Just last month, I was sitting on the couch with Jetty and looked down—to see a tick crawling across my shirt. I’d recently come in from a hike in the woods, and fortunately found the tick before it attached to me or to Jetty.

The Lone Star Tick is the most commonly seen variety here in Texas (after all, Texas is the Lone Star State) but Catego® protects against several types of ticks in all life stages:

  • Brown Dog Ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)
  • American Dog Ticks (Dermacentor variabilis)
  • Lone Star Ticks (Amblyomma americanum)
  • Deer Ticks (Ixodes scapularis)

Think you don’t have to worry about ticks because you don’t live out in the country? Think again. Squirrels are notorious for carrying ticks as are other rodents.

If you travel with your cats—including non-vacation travel such as family moves or evacuation due to storms—parasite protection is also crucial. Pet-friendly hotels (and boarding kennels) expect all four-legged guests to be current on flea preventatives. You also don’t want to run the risk of possibly picking up parasites left by previous guests. This fall, we spent four days evacuated to a hotel during Hurricane Harvey. Of course, our cats and dogs went with us to the hotel:

Whether your summer plans call for some travel with your cats, boarding of your cats when you travel, or exposure to the ticks and fleas you may bring in from your time outdoors, it’s important for indoor-only cats to be protected!

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This post originally appeared on CatTipper.com and is the sole property of CatTipper and LT Media Group LLC.