My cat has neck scratches & fleas. Should I use Hartz or see a vet?

Question

My cat was recently in a fight and has scratches on the back of her neck. We also discovered a flea problem with her and our dog. Is it safe for me to apply Hartz flea OneSpot topical medication to her skin anywhere? and if so where on her body should apply it since her neck is not an option? Or is the vet the only option at this point? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 1815 years and 6 months old | 6 lbs

Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS · Accepted Answer

Poor Royce! I would not recommend using Hartz even if she didn't have injuries to the back of her neck. It is not an effective flea treatment in my opinion, and there have been reports that it's safety is questionable. I would recommend using a flea treatment such as Revolution or Advantage. I have used both with success in my animals. Flea treatment on cats should actually be applied to the back of their head to prevent them from licking it off, so it would be safe to apply it to Royce now. If you are seeing fleas on her now, I would give her Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes, and it is safe to use with Advantage or Revolution. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. I would recommend taking her to the vet in the morning to have the scratches on her neck checked out. That's because cat wounds from fights often turn into abscesses due to the bacteria in other animal's mouths, so she could probably benefit from a course of antibiotics to prevent that from happening.

My cat has neck scratches & fleas. Should I use Hartz or see a vet?

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