Flea collar on cat: Can I pet her? Is she safe if she groomed herself?

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. If she is licking the flea and tick collar occasionally, this should be fine. She should not experience any adverse side effects. I do tend to find that the flea / tick collars are not as effective as the oral preventative medications such as Bravecto. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

These flea collars are extremely toxic and one should not use them anymore. Tetrachlorvinphos toxic to the nervous system and likely to cause cancer. The collar could indeed have caused these signs in your kitty. There are quite a few flea and tick medications on the market, such as spot-ons that are not detrimental to the health of your cat. Here are safe flea products: Spot-ons and/or chews Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, Simparica, Nexgard Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well)

Some flea medications can cause problems in cats. If the product you used is labeled for cats and is dosed appropriately Bella is unlikely to suffer any ill effects other than foaming at the mouth if the taste is unpleasant. If she begins acting strangely, vomiting or trembling I would recommend that you have her seen by your veterinarian. Most companies will list a customer service number on the package so you may contact the company with your concerns as well.

Cats are exquisitely sensitive to flea treatments, so there is a potential this could cause problems in Monty. I would wash him off thoroughly with warm water and Dawn dish soap. Watch him for signs of toxicity which include excessive salivation, paw flicking, ear twitching, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, incoordination, and muscle tremors. If you see any of those, rush Monty into a vet immediately.

It could be the flea collar, as this frothing at the mouth can be a sign of flea treatment toxicity. Take the collar off Molly. Wait a few days, and apply a spot on treatment like Revolution or Advantage.

Oh that's not good! If it's a topical medication, wash it off now and monitor your kitten for signs of toxicity. Signs include tremors, excessive drooling, ear twitching, vomiting, or diarrhea, take her into a vet immediately. Best of luck.

The safest thing to do is remove the collar and bathe her. If she is having a contact reaction removing any of the residual from the collar may help. There are some flea products that are not safe in cats so if you want to take a picture of the packaging including the ingredients in the collar and upload in a second question we can let you know more about the collar. I hope this helps and thank you for using Boop by Petco!

You were very smart to wash the medication off Cookie. If you did not use dish soap, I would recommend to rewash the area using dish soap as it is very good at stripping the coat. While I cannot be 100% positive that everything is ok (as I cannot physically examine her), it's generally a good sign that she has calmed down and is acting more normal. You have two options, take her into the veterinarian or monitor her. If you want to be as safe as possible, you could get her into the veterinarian tonight for an examine as they would be the best ones to determine if there are any neurologic abnormalities or any other causes of concern. If you choose to monitor her, you need to watch her closely for increased respirations, open mouth breathing (panting like a dog would), stupor, dizziness, trouble walking, seizures, hyper salivating or other abnormalities that involve her central nervous system. If Cookie displays any of the above abnormalities, I would recommend to take her straight away

The only flea collars on the market that I've found to be both safe and effective are the Seresto collars. The other flea collars at best don't work, or at worst, can cause some pretty toxic reactions. With any of the collars, it's always best to wash your hands well if you touch them. The safety margin for these collars is pretty variable depending on active ingredients and carrier mechanism in the collar. Other good flea treatment/prevention options for cats include topical medications, such as Advantage (available over the counter), or Bravecto or Revolution (prescription-based from your veterinarian).

Thanks for using Boop by Petco! It does sound like Puppet has fleas and is allergic to their bite. Some over the counter flea medications are not safe for cats. I recommend taking Puppet to a vet for an exam and safe flea preventions. She needs treatment for the flea allergy too as that won’t go away until the fleas are properly addressed. A collar will help stop the licking but the need to scratch won’t stop unless you take care of the fleas with veterinary approved products (not purchased from a store). Good luck and kisses to Puppet!