How to treat fleas & heartworm in a stray cat I can't touch?

Question

There is a stray cat I call Coconut who comes to my house every night to eat. He has an ear tip. Yesterday, I noticed him itching. Is there a good oral flea medication I could put in his food? I can't get close enough to him to put on topical flea meds. Also, is there good heart worm preventative? Or something else it would be good for him to get? Thank you. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

There are not any effective over the counter oral flea prevention that will last a month. There is one called Capstar which works well but it only lasts 2 days at most. Products that last for 30 days need to client patient relationship to be sold by the veterinarian which means the pets need an exam once a year. Topical products would be your only option. Frontline is the best option for an over the counter product but there are some resistance issues. Nothing with heartworm prevention is sold over the counter so you also need the see the veterinarian for that. Unfortunately, without being able to touch him, there's not much you can do. Work on building trust and hopefully you can work up to applying medication. If he is not sterilized, you may look into the local humane society to see if they have a trap, neuter release program. Intact cats tend to have more health problems than sterilized cats. Cats can quickly reproduce which then leads to fighting and disease outbreaks. I hope this helps.

How to treat fleas & heartworm in a stray cat I can't touch?

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