Publish date: 2023-12-05

What to look for in cat flea medicine

When shopping for flea medication for your pet, we recommend evaluating them using the same standards we applied to our top picks. As always, it's best to talk to your vet before beginning any treatment.

Safety and efficacy: The product should be FDA- or EPA-approved.

Number of parasites treated: Flea preventives that treat additional parasites are ideal. Generally, the more parasites a preventive product covers, the higher we rated it. Among our recommendations, the exceptions are Capstar, the only treatment available for kittens younger than 8 weeks, and our OTC pick, Frontline Plus, which treats fleas, ticks, and lice.

Ease of use: Look for products that are easy to use. When comparing two similar products, the easiest one to apply may be your best bet. For instance, we ranked products lower if a person must wear gloves to apply the treatment or if children and pets must be kept away from the treated animal for a specified time.

Minimum age and weight: Cats must be above a minimum age and weight to use flea medications. For this reason, there are fewer options for young kittens.

Prescription vs. OTC: Some flea control products are available over the counter, while a veterinarian must prescribe other products. Prescription flea control products are usually more expensive than OTC options because they protect against more parasites, most importantly, deadly heartworms. 

There is no treatment for cats with adult heartworms, and they will eventually die from the infection. Veterinarians recommend using a year-round heartworm preventive for all cats, whether they live indoors or out. They also recommend year-round intestinal parasite prevention. For these reasons, prescription flea control products that prevent heartworms and other parasites are the best choice for your cat. The more parasites you can prevent with one treatment, the better off your cat will be. 

You can purchase prescription medicines from your vet or at online pet stores like Chewy, Petco, and Petsmart.

Types of flea and tick medications: There are various medications, including topical, oral, collars, shampoos, and sprays. They vary by cost, convenience, ease of use, and effectiveness. Your vet can help you choose the best type for your cat. 

• Topical preventives, often called "spot-on," kill fleas and prevent flea infestations.
• Oral flea control products, or "flea pills," are given to a cat by mouth to kill fleas and prevent fleas. 
• Flea collars deliver medication to a cat's skin and coat. 
• Flea sprays are applied to the skin and coat; we do not recommend them because topical and oral products are more effective. 
• Flea shampoos kill fleas that are currently on your cat, but topical and oral flea control products are far more effective. Some flea shampoos are even harmful to cats since many contain pyrethrins.  "Nowadays, flea shampoos are rarely if ever needed because the topical and oral flea products are much more effective and safer," Sawyer says. "For flea-infested animals, we typically give a fast-acting oral product such as nitenpyram [Capstar] and follow with a bath in Dawn dish detergent or another mild cat shampoo. You can use a flea comb to assist in removing dead fleas and flea dirt [flea feces]."

Natural vs. synthetic: All three veterinarians we consulted do not recommend natural products, as they do not work nearly as well as topical and oral flea control products. "They are just not proven to be really effective," says Bourgeois. "My biggest concern with natural products is, even if they're safe, if they're not effective, that's not helping our pets." If you're considering using natural flea control products that contain essential oils, exercise caution because some essential oils can be toxic to cats.

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