Flea control in the winter?

[cat owner again]

I guess I now have to think about fleas with two new indoor/outdoor cats. My little dog never has had an issue and I only use protection a few months of the year. He is inside most of the time. Do you use flea control year round or just start in the spring?

Does revolution control the fleas as well as other things? I never worried about heartworm before but it is new ball game with the cats. I don't live in a high mosquito area of the country. But there may be some out there somewhere.

[Blakeney Green]

My parents have an indoor/outdoor cat (a barn cat they're gradually managing to tame,) and at her vet appointment a couple of weeks ago the vet found fleas on her. This is in the middle of winter in Upstate New York.

Fleas are hearty little vermin and cold temperatures alone won't fully eliminate or prevent them. They carry bad diseases, so I wouldn't want to chance it. I would recommend using flea control all year.

[Marcia]

Hmm. I would think that a dog that just goes in and out to do his business is not at as great a risk as a cat. Cats stay out for hours and can get in to all sorts of mischievous circumstances. In Blakeney Green's case the cat is a barn cat. Barn cats can be exposed to all sorts of yucky things - rats, mice, chickens; just about anything barn related. SO, I would certainly give it flea control all year, mostly because of staying outside so much longer than the average dog in the winter. Hope this helps....but of course a vet probably is the best one to ask.

[cat owner again]

That is so true. Cat just brought in a live gopher for me the other day. What fun! Has anyone looked into natural products - that actually work?

[Marcia]

Not me. I don't use flea control. All mine are indoor only cats and I've not had a problem since we moved into this dog flea infested house 19 years ago!!

[Blakeney Green]

Originally Posted by Marcia

Cats stay out for hours and can get in to all sorts of mischievous circumstances. In Blakeney Green's case the cat is a barn cat. Barn cats can be exposed to all sorts of yucky things - rats, mice, chickens; just about anything barn related.

I should have explained this more thoroughly. My parents live in a rural area, and the cat was originally their neighbour's barn cat. (My parents don't farm.) The neighbour passed away several years ago, and no one from his family started taking responsibility for the cat, nor did anyone take over running the farm, so all the farm animals were sold and the neighbouring property is essentially abandoned, and is not a working farm. Lucy is gradually getting used to being someone's cat rather than fending for herself, but it's a very slow process with a lot of setbacks. She definitely eats mice and probably rats, though.

All that is probably a bit beside the point.

I have no idea what's best for dogs as I've never had one, but like you say, cats roam around much more freely, and I think could easily pick up fleas.

Lucy's vet recommends flea treatment all year for cats that go outside at all (my own two don't,) although of course, OP, you should consult your own vet before making any decisions.

[jadis]

My cats are indoor but I have a door dasher and I also foster, and you never know what a foster is going to bring in. I keep mine on Advantage multi all but a couple months out of the year. It takes care of fleas but also ear mites and several types of worms.

[Bonnie037]

I get the Program shot for my cats. It protects them for six months and I keep them on it all year. I have found fleas in the winter and I live in Maine where we get a lot of snow. Fleas arent as bad in the winter, but they're still around.