November 21, 2023 • 22 mins
Let's talk about fleas, baby!
Dr Kath Briscoe joins Jenna & Sam for an in-depth discussion about all things flea, tick and worm-related. Trust us, your cat/s will thank us!
Click here to learn more about NexGard SPECTRA® Spot-On for Cats.
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Hosted by Jenna Benson and Samantha Clarke
Produced by Samantha Clarke
Social Media and Video Content by Jenna Benson
Inspiration from Connie, Bluebelle and Blossom
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
I hear that you are crazy Katley Best. I love cats.
Cat basket, Two Girls, three Cats.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Congratulations begun your transformation into crazy Catleen.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hello, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
This is two Girls, three Cats with me Sammy and
me Jenna. We are here to talk about.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Cats as always.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You know what else we're here to talk about what flease?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Please?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
We have got doctor kat with us on the line
today because every pet owner has had some experience with
fleas in their life.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Oh right, absolutely, and it's not just with cats, not
just with just with you generally, yeah, just in general,
Dr Cat, Have you ever had fleas yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Look me personally, I have never had a flea, but
certainly I have dealt with fleas. I remember as a child,
we all had to evacuate the house while my parents
flea bond because we well, let's just say that the
flea prevention in those days was not as good as
it is now, and so we don't know what chemical
(01:06):
it was that we managed to get ours, our entire
home with in order to try and get on top
of fleak problem. But it was revolting and suffice it
to say, I don't ever want to go back there again.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I have experienced the same.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Have you ever had fleas no in your place yet?
I had fleas my couple of years ago. Yeah, Stanley
Persian cap beautiful boy. He somehow got fleas and we
had like a three story house at that time, so
flea bombing.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
That house was a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
So we had to take Stanley out of the house
so that we could flee bomb it and then just
like trying to get through his thick persian fur to
get all it was a nightmare. So I know firsthand
the importance of not getting fleas.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Doctor cat.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
People always say to me frequently, Yes, they say, Sam,
What do they say, Sam, why do you need to
treat your cat for fleas? For prevention of fleas if
it's and indoor cap.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, there's lots of reasons. So the first thing I
would say to that is that prevention is of fleas
is much much easier than treating the fleas. So it's
much harder to get rid of a flea population once
it's a stab established. So what we the general rule
of thumb is that of the flea population, of the population,
(02:24):
will of the fleas will be on your actual pet,
nine will be in the environment, which is why it's
so important too, I know it's gross. Why it's so
important to do things like the flea bombing of the
house and treat the environment. So the first thing is
prevention is much better than trying to achieve cure of
(02:46):
a flea problem. Why do we need to treat indoor cats.
There are lots of reasons why we need to treat
indoor cats as well as outdoor cats for fleas and
other parasites. We are I mean, in reality, an indoor cat,
although it might not roam outside, they're not isolated, they're
not living in a bubble in that home. People come
(03:09):
in and out of the home, other animals come in
and out of the home, and so you can you
can get exposure to fleas even if you're not an
outdoor cat. So, for example, lots of people have cats
and dogs, dogs that go outside. They'll roam, they'll come
in contact with other other dogs, you know, and so
the cycle can can continue because they're getting infections from
(03:34):
other or infestations, I should say, rather than infections from
other from other animals, and we ourselves can bring in
you know, parasites and flea eggs and things on our
you know, on our clothing. If we go to a
friend's house and they've got a cat and they sit
on you and you're padding them, then you know you
can it's easy to transfer the fleas from one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, one zone or one home to another.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think as well. I mean, I know Jenna is
guilty of this and I am too. If you're in
the street and you see a cat, oh yes, there's
no where you're not going to go, and.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So hello to course I am.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
But it's interesting because there is that misconception that indoor
cats can't get fleas, So what about worms and all
of that? Yeah, what about absolutely, yes, we also hear
about fleas and everything, but then there's the worms.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, so I think if we're talking parasite prevention in cats,
we do need to extend it beyond fleas. So so
sort of the parasites in general are your fleas, ticks,
heartworm infection, and then you know mites I guess is
less common but certainly a potential problem. And then your
(04:49):
internal parasites, so you're worms what we consider kind of
our intestinal worms. Although so outdoor cats will will generally
have a potential exposure to to internal parasites, but certainly
indoor cats can still get internal parasites through through their behavior.
(05:10):
So for example, they're grooming behavior, they can they'll you know,
they'll lick things off their fur, and so if any
if there are any other sort of like you know,
flea eggs or what have you, then they'll ingest them
and potentially get flea tape worm. People can carry in
worm eggs on their shoes or in their clothing. Again,
(05:32):
other animals might come into the home and bring parasites
with them. And although a lot of people will consider
their cat to be an indoor cat.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
We know from studies that.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Even the cats that are considered to be indoors by
their owners, about one in five of cats that had
internal parasitism were considered to be entirely indoors. So we
know that although we think they're entirely doors, they're still
going to be exposed to parasites. So so I've forgotten
the question now, but yes, it's certainly a potential problem
(06:09):
regardless of whether they're indoor or outdoor. And again, prevention
is better than sort of the consequence in terms of
the treatment and what have you.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I think that with prevention treatment in cats, it can
get really confusing. It can be really confusing. So at
one point I was doing like a three month flee thing.
The worming has been a real problem for me because
one of my girls Blossom, she will not swallow a
worming tablet. She's not motivated by treats. So the vet
tries to wrap it up in chicken. She's like, I'm
not going to have that. You try and use them.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
It's like, why would I Why would I do that?
Why would I want that? That chicken is contaminated. I
don't want that.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I'm not stupid, Like I know, I know what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
She's like, you're trying a dog trick, not a cat,
and that is never going to work.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
She's like, no, mate, She's like no, She's like, I
just I am. You can.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
You can take that chicken and do with it what
you will, but I am not going to eat that pill.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And I'm also a fish cat, you like fish.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And then there's the and quite frankly, she's just offended.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Now She's like, I saw what you're doing. You're going
to try and put it in the pill pop now
and I'm absolutely not going to do that. I'm going
to cause such a fuss you're going to have scrange marks.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
By the end of it, someone is going to end
up bleeding and it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Me me, So like, what is the solution then to
to a cat that will not swallow a worming tablet?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Let's say, yeah, absolutely. So look, I'm not going to
lie to you. I am a bit as a professional
and occasionally administering medications to my own cat can be
very challenging. And I do find the you know, the
worming tablet seemingly hours afterwards in a place that I
never thought that he even entered.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So you know, it's it can be challenging. One.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I mean, I guess that we're lucky now one of
the one of the sort of more recently developed and
I guess in the last ten, sort of twenty years
or so developed sort of technologies are the application of
top spot. So we'd all be familiar with the flea
prevention in terms of top spots, tip prevention in terms
(08:24):
of top spots and so on, But what we now
have available to us is an only one preventative for cats.
So we have next Guard Spectra spot on for cats,
which is an all in one does fleas, ticks, mites,
intestinal worms, and heartworm all in one application as a
(08:44):
top spot. So from the perspective of those patients or
those cats who don't want to take tablets, owners find
it very challenging to administer the medications, vets find it
very challenging to administer the medications. Then the all in
one top spot is a really you know, a really
useful and very timely, a sort of advance in the market, definitely.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
But the problem I have is I know that my
cat Connie would never have tablets, so this helps tremendously.
But what's the best way to apply I know, you
apply it to the neck, but as soon as I
get it out of the pack, Connie knows what I'm
going to do. She just knows.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So yeah, look what the cats are very wily, they know,
They absolutely know I they they're very very smart. The
trick with the application is to have everything ready, So
you need to have everything ready before you are sort
of even contemplating it. If they do sort of, if
(09:49):
they respond to treats, then that can be a really
sort of positive reinforcement. So I like to use things
like what I fondly refer to as kitty crack, the
sort of little dye creamy treat Yes, exactly, yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Said, kitty crack.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I'm like, that's the pure, the pure, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, the pure.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I don't know what they put in it, but cats
go nuts for it. I have one of my patients
who knows in every console room where I work, he
knows where we keep the treats, and sorry, she rather
will absolutely find those treats out and she just breaks
into them. She choos through the outside. She's nuts, but
(10:31):
she's they're they're amazing. So using a positive reinforcement is
a really good idea. So, and it doesn't have to
be like after with those creamy treats, we stand there
and we sort of feed them to them. But if
you can kind of create a line along a table
or along a plate or something so that they've got
something to focus on while you're sort of doing the application. Again,
(10:51):
it doesn't always work. Cats very wily, and they don't
they don't like sort of, you know, being being deceived,
but it does help. Or even using the tree after
you've applied it, or giving one before and one after
can help when you do actually applying the product. What
you want to make sure is that so with the
(11:12):
next guard Spectra spot on for cats. What you have
is it comes in kind of a little plastic a
plastic sleeve, ears pair of scissors to top to cut
the top off, and then you peel back the outer layer.
The syringe itself has got a clear so it's not
like a lot of the top spots where they're kind
of in a little tube and you can't really see
(11:33):
how much is still in the container and how much
is on the cat and what have you. This is
a syringe, so it's a very easy sort of device
to be able to tell you that you've administered at all.
What you want to do is you want to part
the hair right at the back of the neck, so
not between the shoulder blades, which is where we're quite
used to putting the top spots, but right at the
(11:55):
back of the neck, so kind of between their skull
and their shoulder.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Blades, basically right on the top of the neck.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
There you part the hair and you can even use
you know, just a little bit of sort of you know,
use your fingers to really part the hair, take the
cap off, the off the top of the syringe, and
then in a line, all in one right on the skin, you.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Apply the top spot. There's also.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The company that make next Guard Spectra have developed some
really nice resources for clients on the internet. So there's
a website if you just search next Guard Spectra spot
on for cats. There's a video that will actually demonstrate
demonstrate how you apply it, featuring yours truly, but it
(12:45):
is actually a really useful video to show people how
to do it and make sure that you've applied it all.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
And if it does go on the hair the fur
a bit, do you just leave it? You don't wipe
it off.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, you don't try and wipe it off. No, you
don't try and wipe it off.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
So the only real risk if you don't put it
on the skin directly is that not all of it
might be absorbed. Now, the reality is that whilst that's
not ideal the cat, you're still going to get predominantly,
like most of the product absorbed into the system.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And the worst case scenario.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Is that if you've not quite got a sort of
complete absorption, the next month when you apply the product,
all of it will be absorbed and so you're still
going to have pretty good coverage really of the in
terms of internal and external parasites.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
What about if they accidentally lick it.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, so that can be an issue.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Again. By putting it on right at the back of
the neck, that can help because they can't really easily
lick that site. If you've got a long haired cat,
it might make things a little bit easier because what
you can do is you can part their hair at
the back of the neck and apply the product and
then jush them up so that their hair kind of
comes back over again, and that can help sort of
(14:09):
stop them from getting access if they do happen to
lick it. It's not harmful to them from the perspective
of it's not going to cause them any toxicity, but
it doesn't taste good, and so they might they might
hyper salivate and sort of do their lip sort of
lip smacking, and go, what the heck is that? Like,
(14:30):
what poison have you just put on my mouth? And
things they're going to they're going to react to it.
It's not a poison, it's not going to hurt them.
It just tastes bitter. So it's a bit like when
you've just you know, just taken a big bite of
a lemon. You're just like, oh, I'm not really loving that. Process,
and so they hyper salivate a little bit, and then
(14:54):
once that sort of bitterness is gone, they get over
it and they carry on their very little way.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
What if your cat is a bit sensitive to it,
because I know in the past, Connie, I've used certain
flea products and she's got a little rash from it.
What is that common or.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
It's not common, but it certainly can happen, And I
think that that often what we need to do with
those cats is just be sort of, you know, been
mindful of the fact that they are sensitive to it,
try and put it on you obviously want to put it,
you know, have a big enough sort of area that
(15:33):
all of the products can be applied, but it's not
a huge volume that you need to apply to it. Obviously,
this is a new product to the market, and so
we haven't got all of the sort of all of
the information from clients. I haven't It hasn't been used
(15:53):
by my clients for a long time, but so far
I haven't had any any adverse reactions noted in certain
the safety studies indicate that it seems to be very
sort of well tolerated by our fairline population.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
So hopefully that won't happen.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
If it does, then again what you want to do
is just try to you know, try to prevent them
from from licking the sal because sometimes it can be
a bit itchy, and so just try and prevent them
from licking or scratching at that area so that it
doesn't try it doesn't get bigger and make the problem worse.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
But hopefully it won't happen.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I can confirm I've used it on Connie once and
no rush, So yeah, Racice.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, it's funny, and it's really hard bit with those
reactions because you can't pick which cats are going to
have a reaction and which cats are not and so
and you also find that sometimes they'll have a reaction
one time and they won't have it the next time,
and so unfortunately it is just sort of a trial
and error situation and it's and that's obviously not ideal,
(16:58):
but there's not many ways we can avoid that.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
The mystery of cats.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah, oh yeah, the mystery of cat goodness, just because
cat that's.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Just one final question, because I haven't so I've done
it on one of my cats who lost them, who's
just like everything's easy with me. My other cat, Bluebell,
I'm just cautious of doing any flea treatment because in
the past when I've used flea treatment on her, she
gets really clingy afterwards and almost like she won't move
(17:32):
and she will like she'll lie with me, like right
up here all night, and then like she's like she's sick,
and then twenty four hours later she's like, oh, yeah,
it was fine, Like whatever is that normal?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Is she a particularly sensitive little friend? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, So probably she's just like I mean, I know
that I'm entropomorphizing and kind of putting my own feelings
onto her, but what I kind of perceived that probably
she's not loving the factor that there is something on
her coat. Cats are extremely fastidious. We know how much they.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Like to look good. We know how much they.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Groom, and we just and you know, sometimes if you
do anything to them, they don't they don't enjoy the
process of I have sort of been, you know, being
sullied in some way and have the product pride. So
I would think that she's most likely just having rather
(18:32):
than having a reaction from the perspective of it's making
her feel sick.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
She's just like, oh, what is this that you have
applied to me? Mum, like, what is this?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I had spent hours cleaning that and look how beautiful
I was, and now you have put this thing on me,
and so I don't even know what to do. I'm
just going to curl up and come to my happy place,
which is right on.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Top of you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
So so she's just like, Mum, please, please just make
it all better and now.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And so that's kind of how I would perceive that.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And again, it's one of those things where if you
do have a sensitive cat, then it might just be
for that day that she just has to be a
little bit clinging for you. So in order to prevent
her from developing fleas and ticks, and we've spoken about fleas,
but it's certainly in the area where I live, ticks
are a huge problem, and so tick prevention in cats
(19:25):
is absolutely essential where I live because if they fell
at tick peralysis, it's potentially life threatening illness. So it
is best to just it's kind of short term pain,
long term gain basically.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But Next Guard Spectra covers all that correct.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yeah, absolutely, Next Spectra spot On for Cats will do
all of it.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So it's the first time really, and I'm sure you
girls know that up until Now, there have been sort
of products that might do flees and ticks or fleas
and and some of the intestinal worms, or fleas and
ticks and heartworm and some of the intestinal worms. But
this is the first product that will do all of them.
(20:08):
So it's an all in one, don't need to think
about anything else, just one product and applied topically, so
you don't need to give me oral medications and it'll
do fleas, tics, intestinal worms, heartworms.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
That is so good because I've been so confused in
the past with what I've done the same and then
I'm like, yeah, but this hasn't been done in this
kind of worm. And then this I guess, and this.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
One you do monthly, and this one you do three months. Yea,
this one you might do you know. Yeah, absolutely, It's
very confusing because I know all of this. Sam.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
You said, You've asked me do you give Connie worming tablets?
And I'm like, oh, I thought that the flee thing
covered it, and then I looked and it didn't, and
I got so confused.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So something like it is really colusing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
And if you think you're confused, to imagine Paul Vetts,
who are supposed to know all of the differentroducts and
everything that's in all of those products, and and so
now it's it is really confusing, and certainly for you know,
for some of the like I'm involved in teaching a
distance education course, and for those courses, we actually kind
of provide a cheap sheet, so we actually have a
(21:18):
you know, a table which there is these are the
things that all of the different products cover.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
This is what doesn't cover. So if we're needing those for.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Teaching bets, then how do we expect our poor clients
to understand what what what what they're doing and how
often they're supposed to do it. And everyone has super
busy lives. It's it's hard to remember all that stuff.
So this will this will hopefully well. I actually really
love this product. I've used it on my cat and
(21:47):
it is it is very easy to apply, it's well tolerated,
and it's as I said, it's.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
An all in one. So you know, we love it
on product. And you're done.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
That's great, doctor Cas. Before we let you go, what's
your cat's name?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
My cat's name. My cat is mister Pickles. Are cute, Yeah,
mister Pickles, he's the best.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
He's currently sleeping.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So he and I share an office and he's sleeping
in his in his little hut.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
But he very rarely is called mister Pickles.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It's Pickley Woo or Pixie woo or you know, best
boy you know, although usually it's the best boy equals
to Charlie, who's my dog, so they can't they're both boys. Unfortunately,
my son and husband don't get much of a look
in it.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
There's been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you
so much. We really appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Not at all, it's been fun. I'm allergic to cats.
Two girls, three cats.
I hear that you are crazy Katley Best. I love cats.
Cat basket, Two Girls, three Cats.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Congratulations begun your transformation into crazy Catleen.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Hello, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
This is two Girls, three Cats with me Sammy and
me Jenna. We are here to talk about.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
Cats as always.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
You know what else we're here to talk about what flease?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Please?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
We have got doctor kat with us on the line
today because every pet owner has had some experience with
fleas in their life.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
Oh right, absolutely, and it's not just with cats, not
just with just with you generally, yeah, just in general,
Dr Cat, Have you ever had fleas yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Look me personally, I have never had a flea, but
certainly I have dealt with fleas. I remember as a child,
we all had to evacuate the house while my parents
flea bond because we well, let's just say that the
flea prevention in those days was not as good as
it is now, and so we don't know what chemical
(01:06):
it was that we managed to get ours, our entire
home with in order to try and get on top
of fleak problem. But it was revolting and suffice it
to say, I don't ever want to go back there again.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I have experienced the same.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Have you ever had fleas no in your place yet?
I had fleas my couple of years ago. Yeah, Stanley
Persian cap beautiful boy. He somehow got fleas and we
had like a three story house at that time, so
flea bombing.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
That house was a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
So we had to take Stanley out of the house
so that we could flee bomb it and then just
like trying to get through his thick persian fur to
get all it was a nightmare. So I know firsthand
the importance of not getting fleas.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Doctor cat.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
People always say to me frequently, Yes, they say, Sam,
What do they say, Sam, why do you need to
treat your cat for fleas? For prevention of fleas if
it's and indoor cap.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, there's lots of reasons. So the first thing I
would say to that is that prevention is of fleas
is much much easier than treating the fleas. So it's
much harder to get rid of a flea population once
it's a stab established. So what we the general rule
of thumb is that of the flea population, of the population,
(02:24):
will of the fleas will be on your actual pet,
nine will be in the environment, which is why it's
so important too, I know it's gross. Why it's so
important to do things like the flea bombing of the
house and treat the environment. So the first thing is
prevention is much better than trying to achieve cure of
(02:46):
a flea problem. Why do we need to treat indoor cats.
There are lots of reasons why we need to treat
indoor cats as well as outdoor cats for fleas and
other parasites. We are I mean, in reality, an indoor cat,
although it might not roam outside, they're not isolated, they're
not living in a bubble in that home. People come
(03:09):
in and out of the home, other animals come in
and out of the home, and so you can you
can get exposure to fleas even if you're not an
outdoor cat. So, for example, lots of people have cats
and dogs, dogs that go outside. They'll roam, they'll come
in contact with other other dogs, you know, and so
the cycle can can continue because they're getting infections from
(03:34):
other or infestations, I should say, rather than infections from
other from other animals, and we ourselves can bring in
you know, parasites and flea eggs and things on our
you know, on our clothing. If we go to a
friend's house and they've got a cat and they sit
on you and you're padding them, then you know you
can it's easy to transfer the fleas from one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, one zone or one home to another.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
I think as well. I mean, I know Jenna is
guilty of this and I am too. If you're in
the street and you see a cat, oh yes, there's
no where you're not going to go, and.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So hello to course I am.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
But it's interesting because there is that misconception that indoor
cats can't get fleas, So what about worms and all
of that? Yeah, what about absolutely, yes, we also hear
about fleas and everything, but then there's the worms.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Yeah, so I think if we're talking parasite prevention in cats,
we do need to extend it beyond fleas. So so
sort of the parasites in general are your fleas, ticks,
heartworm infection, and then you know mites I guess is
less common but certainly a potential problem. And then your
(04:49):
internal parasites, so you're worms what we consider kind of
our intestinal worms. Although so outdoor cats will will generally
have a potential exposure to to internal parasites, but certainly
indoor cats can still get internal parasites through through their behavior.
(05:10):
So for example, they're grooming behavior, they can they'll you know,
they'll lick things off their fur, and so if any
if there are any other sort of like you know,
flea eggs or what have you, then they'll ingest them
and potentially get flea tape worm. People can carry in
worm eggs on their shoes or in their clothing. Again,
(05:32):
other animals might come into the home and bring parasites
with them. And although a lot of people will consider
their cat to be an indoor cat.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
We know from studies that.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Even the cats that are considered to be indoors by
their owners, about one in five of cats that had
internal parasitism were considered to be entirely indoors. So we
know that although we think they're entirely doors, they're still
going to be exposed to parasites. So so I've forgotten
the question now, but yes, it's certainly a potential problem
(06:09):
regardless of whether they're indoor or outdoor. And again, prevention
is better than sort of the consequence in terms of
the treatment and what have you.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I think that with prevention treatment in cats, it can
get really confusing. It can be really confusing. So at
one point I was doing like a three month flee thing.
The worming has been a real problem for me because
one of my girls Blossom, she will not swallow a
worming tablet. She's not motivated by treats. So the vet
tries to wrap it up in chicken. She's like, I'm
not going to have that. You try and use them.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
It's like, why would I Why would I do that?
Why would I want that? That chicken is contaminated. I
don't want that.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I'm not stupid, Like I know, I know what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
She's like, you're trying a dog trick, not a cat,
and that is never going to work.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
She's like, no, mate, She's like no, She's like, I
just I am. You can.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
You can take that chicken and do with it what
you will, but I am not going to eat that pill.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
And I'm also a fish cat, you like fish.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And then there's the and quite frankly, she's just offended.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Now She's like, I saw what you're doing. You're going
to try and put it in the pill pop now
and I'm absolutely not going to do that. I'm going
to cause such a fuss you're going to have scrange marks.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
By the end of it, someone is going to end
up bleeding and it's not.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Me me, So like, what is the solution then to
to a cat that will not swallow a worming tablet?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Let's say, yeah, absolutely. So look, I'm not going to
lie to you. I am a bit as a professional
and occasionally administering medications to my own cat can be
very challenging. And I do find the you know, the
worming tablet seemingly hours afterwards in a place that I
never thought that he even entered.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So you know, it's it can be challenging. One.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I mean, I guess that we're lucky now one of
the one of the sort of more recently developed and
I guess in the last ten, sort of twenty years
or so developed sort of technologies are the application of
top spot. So we'd all be familiar with the flea
prevention in terms of top spots, tip prevention in terms
(08:24):
of top spots and so on, But what we now
have available to us is an only one preventative for cats.
So we have next Guard Spectra spot on for cats,
which is an all in one does fleas, ticks, mites,
intestinal worms, and heartworm all in one application as a
(08:44):
top spot. So from the perspective of those patients or
those cats who don't want to take tablets, owners find
it very challenging to administer the medications, vets find it
very challenging to administer the medications. Then the all in
one top spot is a really you know, a really
useful and very timely, a sort of advance in the market, definitely.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
But the problem I have is I know that my
cat Connie would never have tablets, so this helps tremendously.
But what's the best way to apply I know, you
apply it to the neck, but as soon as I
get it out of the pack, Connie knows what I'm
going to do. She just knows.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
So yeah, look what the cats are very wily, they know,
They absolutely know I they they're very very smart. The
trick with the application is to have everything ready, So
you need to have everything ready before you are sort
of even contemplating it. If they do sort of, if
(09:49):
they respond to treats, then that can be a really
sort of positive reinforcement. So I like to use things
like what I fondly refer to as kitty crack, the
sort of little dye creamy treat Yes, exactly, yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Said, kitty crack.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I'm like, that's the pure, the pure, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, the pure.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
I don't know what they put in it, but cats
go nuts for it. I have one of my patients
who knows in every console room where I work, he
knows where we keep the treats, and sorry, she rather
will absolutely find those treats out and she just breaks
into them. She choos through the outside. She's nuts, but
(10:31):
she's they're they're amazing. So using a positive reinforcement is
a really good idea. So, and it doesn't have to
be like after with those creamy treats, we stand there
and we sort of feed them to them. But if
you can kind of create a line along a table
or along a plate or something so that they've got
something to focus on while you're sort of doing the application. Again,
(10:51):
it doesn't always work. Cats very wily, and they don't
they don't like sort of, you know, being being deceived,
but it does help. Or even using the tree after
you've applied it, or giving one before and one after
can help when you do actually applying the product. What
you want to make sure is that so with the
(11:12):
next guard Spectra spot on for cats. What you have
is it comes in kind of a little plastic a
plastic sleeve, ears pair of scissors to top to cut
the top off, and then you peel back the outer layer.
The syringe itself has got a clear so it's not
like a lot of the top spots where they're kind
of in a little tube and you can't really see
(11:33):
how much is still in the container and how much
is on the cat and what have you. This is
a syringe, so it's a very easy sort of device
to be able to tell you that you've administered at all.
What you want to do is you want to part
the hair right at the back of the neck, so
not between the shoulder blades, which is where we're quite
used to putting the top spots, but right at the
(11:55):
back of the neck, so kind of between their skull
and their shoulder.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Blades, basically right on the top of the neck.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
There you part the hair and you can even use
you know, just a little bit of sort of you know,
use your fingers to really part the hair, take the
cap off, the off the top of the syringe, and
then in a line, all in one right on the skin, you.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Apply the top spot. There's also.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The company that make next Guard Spectra have developed some
really nice resources for clients on the internet. So there's
a website if you just search next Guard Spectra spot
on for cats. There's a video that will actually demonstrate
demonstrate how you apply it, featuring yours truly, but it
(12:45):
is actually a really useful video to show people how
to do it and make sure that you've applied it all.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
And if it does go on the hair the fur
a bit, do you just leave it? You don't wipe
it off.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, you don't try and wipe it off. No, you
don't try and wipe it off.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
So the only real risk if you don't put it
on the skin directly is that not all of it
might be absorbed. Now, the reality is that whilst that's
not ideal the cat, you're still going to get predominantly,
like most of the product absorbed into the system.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And the worst case scenario.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Is that if you've not quite got a sort of
complete absorption, the next month when you apply the product,
all of it will be absorbed and so you're still
going to have pretty good coverage really of the in
terms of internal and external parasites.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
What about if they accidentally lick it.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Yeah, so that can be an issue.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Again. By putting it on right at the back of
the neck, that can help because they can't really easily
lick that site. If you've got a long haired cat,
it might make things a little bit easier because what
you can do is you can part their hair at
the back of the neck and apply the product and
then jush them up so that their hair kind of
comes back over again, and that can help sort of
(14:09):
stop them from getting access if they do happen to
lick it. It's not harmful to them from the perspective
of it's not going to cause them any toxicity, but
it doesn't taste good, and so they might they might
hyper salivate and sort of do their lip sort of
lip smacking, and go, what the heck is that? Like,
(14:30):
what poison have you just put on my mouth? And
things they're going to they're going to react to it.
It's not a poison, it's not going to hurt them.
It just tastes bitter. So it's a bit like when
you've just you know, just taken a big bite of
a lemon. You're just like, oh, I'm not really loving that. Process,
and so they hyper salivate a little bit, and then
(14:54):
once that sort of bitterness is gone, they get over
it and they carry on their very little way.
Speaker 4 (14:58):
What if your cat is a bit sensitive to it,
because I know in the past, Connie, I've used certain
flea products and she's got a little rash from it.
What is that common or.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
It's not common, but it certainly can happen, And I
think that that often what we need to do with
those cats is just be sort of, you know, been
mindful of the fact that they are sensitive to it,
try and put it on you obviously want to put it,
you know, have a big enough sort of area that
(15:33):
all of the products can be applied, but it's not
a huge volume that you need to apply to it. Obviously,
this is a new product to the market, and so
we haven't got all of the sort of all of
the information from clients. I haven't It hasn't been used
(15:53):
by my clients for a long time, but so far
I haven't had any any adverse reactions noted in certain
the safety studies indicate that it seems to be very
sort of well tolerated by our fairline population.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
So hopefully that won't happen.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
If it does, then again what you want to do
is just try to you know, try to prevent them
from from licking the sal because sometimes it can be
a bit itchy, and so just try and prevent them
from licking or scratching at that area so that it
doesn't try it doesn't get bigger and make the problem worse.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
But hopefully it won't happen.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I can confirm I've used it on Connie once and
no rush, So yeah, Racice.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Yeah, it's funny, and it's really hard bit with those
reactions because you can't pick which cats are going to
have a reaction and which cats are not and so
and you also find that sometimes they'll have a reaction
one time and they won't have it the next time,
and so unfortunately it is just sort of a trial
and error situation and it's and that's obviously not ideal,
(16:58):
but there's not many ways we can avoid that.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
The mystery of cats.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah, oh yeah, the mystery of cat goodness, just because
cat that's.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Just one final question, because I haven't so I've done
it on one of my cats who lost them, who's
just like everything's easy with me. My other cat, Bluebell,
I'm just cautious of doing any flea treatment because in
the past when I've used flea treatment on her, she
gets really clingy afterwards and almost like she won't move
(17:32):
and she will like she'll lie with me, like right
up here all night, and then like she's like she's sick,
and then twenty four hours later she's like, oh, yeah,
it was fine, Like whatever is that normal?
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Is she a particularly sensitive little friend? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, So probably she's just like I mean, I know
that I'm entropomorphizing and kind of putting my own feelings
onto her, but what I kind of perceived that probably
she's not loving the factor that there is something on
her coat. Cats are extremely fastidious. We know how much they.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Like to look good. We know how much they.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Groom, and we just and you know, sometimes if you
do anything to them, they don't they don't enjoy the
process of I have sort of been, you know, being
sullied in some way and have the product pride. So
I would think that she's most likely just having rather
(18:32):
than having a reaction from the perspective of it's making
her feel sick.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
She's just like, oh, what is this that you have
applied to me? Mum, like, what is this?
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I had spent hours cleaning that and look how beautiful
I was, and now you have put this thing on me,
and so I don't even know what to do. I'm
just going to curl up and come to my happy place,
which is right on.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Top of you.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
So so she's just like, Mum, please, please just make
it all better and now.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
And so that's kind of how I would perceive that.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
And again, it's one of those things where if you
do have a sensitive cat, then it might just be
for that day that she just has to be a
little bit clinging for you. So in order to prevent
her from developing fleas and ticks, and we've spoken about fleas,
but it's certainly in the area where I live, ticks
are a huge problem, and so tick prevention in cats
(19:25):
is absolutely essential where I live because if they fell
at tick peralysis, it's potentially life threatening illness. So it
is best to just it's kind of short term pain,
long term gain basically.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But Next Guard Spectra covers all that correct.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yeah, absolutely, Next Spectra spot On for Cats will do
all of it.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So it's the first time really, and I'm sure you
girls know that up until Now, there have been sort
of products that might do flees and ticks or fleas
and and some of the intestinal worms, or fleas and
ticks and heartworm and some of the intestinal worms. But
this is the first product that will do all of them.
(20:08):
So it's an all in one, don't need to think
about anything else, just one product and applied topically, so
you don't need to give me oral medications and it'll
do fleas, tics, intestinal worms, heartworms.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
That is so good because I've been so confused in
the past with what I've done the same and then
I'm like, yeah, but this hasn't been done in this
kind of worm. And then this I guess, and this.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
One you do monthly, and this one you do three months. Yea,
this one you might do you know. Yeah, absolutely, It's
very confusing because I know all of this. Sam.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
You said, You've asked me do you give Connie worming tablets?
And I'm like, oh, I thought that the flee thing
covered it, and then I looked and it didn't, and
I got so confused.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So something like it is really colusing.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
And if you think you're confused, to imagine Paul Vetts,
who are supposed to know all of the differentroducts and
everything that's in all of those products, and and so
now it's it is really confusing, and certainly for you know,
for some of the like I'm involved in teaching a
distance education course, and for those courses, we actually kind
of provide a cheap sheet, so we actually have a
(21:18):
you know, a table which there is these are the
things that all of the different products cover.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
This is what doesn't cover. So if we're needing those for.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Teaching bets, then how do we expect our poor clients
to understand what what what what they're doing and how
often they're supposed to do it. And everyone has super
busy lives. It's it's hard to remember all that stuff.
So this will this will hopefully well. I actually really
love this product. I've used it on my cat and
(21:47):
it is it is very easy to apply, it's well tolerated,
and it's as I said, it's.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
An all in one. So you know, we love it
on product. And you're done.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
That's great, doctor Cas. Before we let you go, what's
your cat's name?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
My cat's name. My cat is mister Pickles. Are cute, Yeah,
mister Pickles, he's the best.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
He's currently sleeping.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So he and I share an office and he's sleeping
in his in his little hut.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
But he very rarely is called mister Pickles.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It's Pickley Woo or Pixie woo or you know, best
boy you know, although usually it's the best boy equals
to Charlie, who's my dog, so they can't they're both boys. Unfortunately,
my son and husband don't get much of a look
in it.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
There's been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you
so much. We really appreciate your time.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Not at all, it's been fun. I'm allergic to cats.
Two girls, three cats.
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