The Last few Days for Special Advantage Multi Pricing!

I know I've said it a few times lately, but I cannot stress it enough. The special on Advantage Multi ends on August 31! This means that a box of 6 doses goes back to it's regular price of $87.96 from it's special price of $58.64. Huge difference! Because we do recommend giving the Advantage Multi year-round, it would make the most sense to stock up now, as it won't expire for a year or more.

I know, I know, historically we've always said to give until after the first frost. However, in the last couple of years we've realized that only treating for part of the year doesn't fully take care of the issue at hand. Fleas and ear mites are perfectly capable of surviving through the winter in a warm house, mosquitoes (the carriers for heartworm) will happily take a snooze until there is a day that they think is warm enough to venture forth again. This means that when we get that warm snap in February, they are ready and waiting to pass on their charming parasites! Plus, fleas grow a tough shell for winter, making a winter infestation much harder to kill than a summer one. Ear mites, while they don't seem to get harder in the winter, they can appear at any time, and cause itchiness and ear infections, which can cause ruptured ear drums if left untreated.

Before anybody starts to say that their cat doesn't go outside, I want to point out that it has absolutely no bearing on whether your cat ends up with fleas, ear mites or heartworm. All of these things can come through an open window, on a shoe, on your clothes, on a mouse that decides to visit. Just because you have never had a flea issue doesn't mean that it cannot strike at any time!

Fleas and ear mites are really the least of the issue, though. They mostly cause itchy bug bites (unless you have a cat allergic to them - then it's a huge issue), but heartworm...that is a big scary deal. It turns out that Michigan has a very high heartworm rate in cats, and about 25% of the cats that are found to have it are indoor only cats. That's right - 1 in 4 cats that are diagnosed with heartworm do not go outside at all. Ah, thank you lovely Michigan mosquito population! The even scarier fact is that many of the cats that likely have had a heartworm, we will never even know it until the damage is done. Unlike dogs, heartworms almost never end up in the blood stream, so we don't have much concern for artery blockage. The issue for cats is that the heartworm ends up in the lungs, causing damage that becomes asthma. By the time the asthma shows up, the worm is already dead, and not necessarily detectable on a test.

Since all of this (plus protection against some intestinal parasites) is available in one easy monthly dose, doesn't it make sense to protect your kitty?