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Guide · Flea & tick
How to choose flea protection for cats
Five things to check before you buy — each one an attribute you can verify in the listing itself, with the pick in flea & tick that answers it best.
Duration first
Monthly topicals ask you to remember 12 dates a year. An 8-month collar asks for one fitting.
Check: Be honest about your calendar — missed months are unprotected months.
Seresto Collar — see the reviewSpeed when fleas are already there
If fleas are on the cat today, hours matter: some treatments start killing within 12 hours.
Check: Check the 'starts killing fleas' line in the listing.
Advantage II — see the reviewCollar or topical
A collar is set-and-forget but worn; a topical is invisible but monthly.
Check: Cats that hate collars do better with a topical — and the other way round.
Seresto Collar — see the reviewSize and dose
Topicals are dosed by weight class. A large-cat dose is not for a small cat.
Check: Match the dose to your cat's actual size class.
Advantage II — see the reviewWater habits
Baths and rain matter: look for water-resistant collars and waterproof-once-dry topicals.
Check: Check the water line in the listing before the first bath.
Seresto Collar — see the reviewThree mistakes to skip
- Using a dog flea product on a cat — cat and dog formulas are not interchangeable.
- Skipping a month because you saw no fleas; protection is a schedule, not a reaction.
- Guessing the dose size instead of checking your cat's weight class. If in doubt, ask your vet.
Good questions
Questions
Duration first?
Monthly topicals ask you to remember 12 dates a year. An 8-month collar asks for one fitting. Be honest about your calendar — missed months are unprotected months.
Where do these rules come from?
From the listings of the products in this category — the same specifications our Spec scores use. Nothing here is a lab result or a hands-on test.
Which product should I start with?
Start with the category's top Spec score, then read its skip-if line: it is written to talk you out of the wrong pick.
