Capstar– An Effective Flea Control Treatment

for Dogs And Cats

Protecting your pet from fleas is an important part of keeping your pet healthy and happy. Fleas

are parasites that feed off the blood of your pet. They are not just annoying but may cause

allergies, anemia, and even tapeworms. Fleas aren't very dangerous, but they're still very

irritating. Thankfully there are a lot of medications available which can help prevent and control

fleas.

Flea and tick control medications are available in various forms. You can choose to administer

flea control medication in oral or topical forms. Oral treatments like Program Plus, Capstar and

Revolution are among the most popular medications available to control fleas in your pets. If

your pet has trouble swallowing then you can opt for topical treatments. There are a wide

variety of topical treatments like shampoos, baths, collars and spot on medications available to

control fleas. Before deciding on which product to use, it is important to devise a flea control

strategy in consultation with your vet as some products could interact with your pet’s existing

medications.

A product that is recommended most often by

vets is Capstar flea control. Capstar is the

treatment of choice for many pet owners

because it starts working within 30 minutes of

administration and has very few side effects.

Capstar is an orally administered flea treatment

manufactured by pharmaceutical company

Novartis. It is available in two forms: Capstar for

dogs and Capstar for Cats. It is available in

different sizes depending on the weight of the

pet.

The active ingredient of Capstar tablets is Nitenpyram, an insecticide that is commonly used in agriculture and veterinary medicine to destroy external parasites on pets. It is a neurotoxin which blocks the ability for neural messages to transmit through the flea's central nervous system causing immediate paralysis and death of the flea.

According to the manufacturer, adult fleas begin to die within 30 minutes of administration and

100% of the adult flea population are dead within 7 hours. Capstar does not have any smell so it

can be given directly into the mouth or mixed into a small portion of food and given

immediately. It can be given any time that you see fleas on your pet however not more than

one treatment should be administered in a day.

Capstar for dogs can be used to treat puppies

that are over four weeks old and weigh more

than 2lbs. It can also be used to treat dogs that

are pregnant or nursing. Similarly, Capstar for

cats can be used to safely treat kittens that are

over 2lbs and over four weeks old. It can also be

used on cats that are pregnant or nursing.

Bear in mind that Capstar is a short term treatment therefore, it is recommended that other long-term treatments are used along with

Capstar to prevent re-infestation.