Cat Flea Allergy Treatment With Capstar

Fleas are tiny jumping insects that live in animals' fur and feed on their blood. A cat flea allergy is a cat's allergic reaction to the fleas' saliva. An allergic reaction is when an organism's immune system identifies a substance as more harmful than it really is, which can cause discomfort and, in very extreme cases, shock.

The best way to treat a flea allergy in a cat is to prevent any contact with fleas, as the condition itself is usually untreatable, and in cases where it is treatable, the treatment can take an extended period of time. Capstar is one way to eliminate a flea infestation in your cat. It is a daily oral pill that can kill 98% of the fleas on your pet in six hours.

How Capstar Works

Capstar tablets contain nitenpyram, a chemical that is not harmful for cats, but is very toxic to fleas. The active ingredient enters the blood stream in about twenty minutes, and when the fleas bite the cat to suck its blood, they ingest the nitenpyram, which kills them. The fleas start dying around thirty minutes after the cat ingests the Capstar tablet. The most effective way to administer Capstar to your cat is to place it directly into the cat's mouth, and hold the mouth closed to make the animal swallow the pill.

If you are not comfortable force-feeding your pet, it may be easier to hide the tablet in the cat's food, but then you will have to watch the cat eat to make sure it really eats the pill. If you are not sure whether your cat has eaten the Capstar tablet, it is okay to give it another one just to be safe. Capstar is a daily medication, and so it can be administered every day for as long as the infestation persists. A few minutes after you administer Capstar, you may notice that your cat is actually scratching more than it was before. This is only a temporary reaction to the fleas as they start to die and remain in the cat's fur. The cat scratches more to remove the dead fleas.

Why Use Capstar?

There are topical flea medications for cats that you only have to apply once per month, so why should anyone use a less convenient, daily medication? Well, the longer-lasting flea medications tend to be much more expensive, and the infestation is usually wiped out long before the medication is out of the cat's system. You can save money by only medicating your cat for as long as fleas are actually present. Capstar is also preferable in the case of a cat flea allergy, because it starts working much sooner after administration. While a non-allergic cat will only experience minor discomfort with each flea bite, a cat that is allergic to fleas will experience severe itching and even pain each time it is bitten.

Capstar is a good option if you want to rid your cat of fleas in a matter of hours, rather than days. Cats who are allergic to fleas experience intense discomfort when infested, so, at least in the case of allergic cats, the faster the medication works the better.

 

Comments