There are now a large selection of products available for use on your cat to control Fleas and Ticks

The most familiar brands to cat owners are probably Advantage, Frontline and Revolution.

These are each topical medications, applied as drops on the skin once a month.

They are dispensed in different size tubes with dosages suitable for one cat up to enough to treat a large dog.

For a cattery with a number of cats to treat, the most cost effective way of purchasing the medication is to purchase the large dog size dosage and using it to treat multiple cats. This is possible because the medication is the same for cats or dogs, only the dosage changes.

However a topical flea killer product brand called BioSPOT Flea & Tick Control by Farnam Pet Products MUST NOT be used in this way.

Do not use BioSPOT on cats. It is toxic to cats and has been known to cause fatalities even in dogs.

The main active ingredient in BioSPOT is a pesticide known as Permethrin (it is used in more than 18 similar products, including Bayer K9 Advantix, Defend EXspot, and Hartz Control OneSpot). A few drops of it can be deadly to a cat.

Toxicological studies have linked this pesticide to serious acute and chronic health effects. The EPA has classified it as a possible human carcinogen because it causes lung and liver tumors in laboratory animals. It suppresses the immune system. Permethrin is also suspected to have played an important role in the development of illnesses known as the Gulf War Syndrome.

In a recently published journal entitled, Experimental Neurology, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that frequent and prolonged use of Permethrin on adult rats lead to cell death in their brains. In another recent study, researchers at Virginia Tech found that low-level exposure to Permethrin caused changes in the brain that could lead to Parkinson's Disease.

Many people believe that commercially available pesticides, such as those found in pet products, are tightly regulated by the government. In fact, they are not. Just because these products are on store shelves does not mean they have been tested or can be presumed safe.

BioSPOT is not safe for use on cats - so beware.