Frugal Pet Care ?

Recently, I was listening to the Today Show as I was getting ready in the morning. They presented a segment about the cost of pet ownership and how to cut pet care costs. They discussed the usual, cost of foods, cost of adoption, when they turned to the topic of medical care my interests were peeked. The commentator explained that there are ways to save on medications. The example she used was a comparison of Frontline (a non-prescription product, available through veterinary offices as well as stores) and another brand (which I cannot recall). She went on to describe that these flea and tick control products were the same, but the other brand was a fraction of the cost. However, she followed that statement with the provision that Frontline was able to eradicate more stages in the flea life cycle. Obviously, the products were not the same. Thank goodness she did not launch into other ways to save on the pets health care, I was already incensed! After that she discussed pet clothing, sweaters costing 95.00, and designer leashes and collars. It certainly seems this would be an area where cost cutting could be instituted a little more readily.

Last year, as we were discussing the need to order heartworm, flea and tick control products for our hospital, a representative of a drug company visited with us touting a product to control fleas and ticks that was less costly, sold exclusively to veterinarians and as good as products like Frontline and Advantage. Believe it or not, we veterinarians are always interested in trying to provide our clients with the most economical alternative. We want to be sure each of our clients can afford the best care possible for their pet. So we listened carefully and before we decided to purchase this product I spoke with some folks that had dispensed the product from their hospital and I heard stories of increased reactions to the medications and white dogs developing green discoloration of their coats. The medication may very well kill fleas and ticks, but the potential consequences of using it seemed too high a price to pay. 

So in response to the economically minded commentator on the Today Show I would say,’ when it comes to health care, don’t make your decisions based on what you read on a label’. Ask questions of your veterinarian. We are very interested in helping you make good choices for your pet, we want your pet to remain healthy and safe. If there is an economical and safe alternative, we will help you in deciding the best choice for your pet’s care. Just because the label or the commercial says that something is ‘just like’ name brand X, it may not be true. You may end up with a green dog or worse, a dog or cat that has fleas and ticks or a pet that has contracted one of the many serious illnesses these pests carry.

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Unraveling the Mystery Of Flea and Tick Control

Michigan is my home state. However, half my family hailed from a small town in western Arkansas, just on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. Every summer we visited. It was a wild place, a kids dream. Thick woods, horses, goats, cows, snakes and wily farm dogs that roamed freely as there were no neighbors for at least a mile in all directions. It was a wonderful place to play and explore. The only hitch to outdoor exploration was the preparation. The bug spray, long pants and long sleeve shirts my mother, a native of Michigan, insisted we wear. In her estimation, Arkansas was a tropical parasite and insect laden, poisonous spider and snake infested waste land.

The perimeter of the farm house yard was treated with chemicals to prevent the encroachment of these pests and dogs were regularly doused with flea powder. But there were still ‘bugs’. The parasites and other threats were very egalitarian dog, cat, kid, it did not matter. I recall a few episodes of chigger infestation that led to itchy, sleepless nights.

Back in Michigan no one knew what a tick or chigger was and fleas were an infrequent bother. As time has passed, we traveled more, our pets accompanied us more often, and our winters have become warmer, and the pests that were isolated down south have crossed our borders. Recently, the whole of the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care was devoted to emerging infectious diseases. I was struck by how many of these increasingly more common diseases were spread by fleas and ticks. Many of these diseases are zoonotic diseases, that means that they are diseases that can also infect people as well as their pets.

Over the past two summers, as we have been developing our general medicine and surgical service, VCS Pets First, I have struggled with counseling people about flea and tick control. I advocate the judicious use of all medications, including flea and tick medications, and trying to achieve a balance between chemical use and adequate protection is a challenge. Our office recommends separating flea and tick medications from the heartworm prevention since there is no need for a flea control product, in most cases, from December to May. So, initially we offered a product that killed fleas and ticks for the spring and summer seasons, and then a separate year round heartworm preventative. However, I now feel we need to consider the risks carried by being bit by these parasites. Most flea and tick products act by killing the parasite after it has bit your pet. This is not very helpful if you want avoid the infectious diseases that are acquired by being bit or if the pet is allergic to fleas and their bite triggers allergic responses.

This spring we changed our recommendations to a product called Advantix made by Bayer. It is topical, once monthly, it repels fleas, ticks and biting flies and is well tolerated. There is also a similar product that we suggest for cats and it does have a heartworm preventative, since cats that go outside should be protected from fleas, ticks and heartworm from April to November.

The choice of which product to recommend is not an easy one and it actually is not a decision that you or I should take lightly. Not all flea and tick products are of the same quality, consistence, or efficacy. Recently I have had a few pets presented through the emergency service that have had serious reactions to topical, inexpensive, flea products they purchased at the pet store or grocery store. Their choice was driven by the low cost and the claims that they did everything the more expensive product did. Here is how the ‘grocery store alternatives’ vary from the veterinary recommended products:

1. The chemical/drug being used – the cheap stuff has old school pharmaceuticals, they are strong and they have a small margin of safety, that means the dose that is therapeutic can also be toxic in more animals than a product with a higher margin of safety. These drugs also have more potential side effects. This is exactly why the other products have been formulated, to create a product that is more safe and effective.

2. Topical flea and tick control products are not as tightly regulated as other medications. It is up to the companies to make the effort to provide the safe products. The companies that are true pharmaceutical organizations, that have ties to veterinary medicine and a reputation to maintain go the extra step to be sure that their product is safe and adequately labeled so that professionals, ie. veterinarians, will support their products.

3. Higher grade chemicals, more research, accurate and complete labeling, all these things result in a safer, more reliable, product.

Keep this in mind when you are making choices regarding flea and tick control: The skin is the largest organ system in (or on) our body. Even if these chemicals remain solely distributed in the skin, they are affecting our pets whole body by affecting a major organ system. Be careful, choose wisely.

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