Flea treatment for Scottish Fold cats

Scottish Folds with that dense, plush coat can make spot-on treatments genuinely awkward — it's hard to part the fur enough to get the product onto skin rather than just sitting on the coat. Before I suggest anything, there's a critical safety point with cats specifically: permethrin and certain other insecticides that are perfectly safe for dogs are toxic to cats and can be fatal, so it's essential to use only products formulated for cats. Can you tell me how old and how heavy your cat is, whether you're dealing with an active infestation right now or looking to prevent one, and have you treated the home yet?

Thanks — that's really helpful. At 3 years old and 4kg she's a healthy adult weight, so you have the full range of options available. Given the dense coat issue, I'd actually steer you away from spot-on treatments altogether for now — not because they don't work, but because getting them onto the skin properly is genuinely difficult with a Fold's coat, and product sitting on the fur rather than the skin won't absorb correctly. Can I ask: is she indoor-only, or does she go outside? And is there any chance she's come into contact with a dog recently — just so I can rule out any environmental crossover?

Perfect — that makes things simpler. For a Scottish Fold where the coat makes spot-on application unreliable, I'd recommend the Seresto Cat Flea and Tick Collar. It sidesteps the dense-coat problem entirely because it works continuously from the collar itself, releasing low doses of imidacloprid and flumethrin across the coat over time. It kills existing fleas within 24 hours and then keeps working for up to 8 months, so you get both a treatment and long-term prevention in one. At 4kg she's well within the weight range. One important note: Seresto uses imidacloprid and flumethrin, not permethrin — it is specifically formulated for cats and is safe. You'll still need to treat the home though, because roughly 95% of a flea infestation lives in the environment, not on the cat. A household spray like Indorex is the standard recommendation for that.

Seresto starts killing fleas within 24 hours of putting it on, and most existing fleas on her should be dead within 48 hours. The collar needs to sit snugly — you should be able to fit two fingers underneath it, but no looser than that. If it's too loose the active ingredients won't transfer across the coat properly. The collar also has a safety release mechanism which is important for a cat who might snag it on something. Do treat the home at the same time or you'll keep seeing new fleas hatching from the carpets and bedding for weeks — that's not the collar failing, it's just the lifecycle. Indorex or a similar IGR-based household spray will break that cycle.

That's exactly the right combination. Collar on today, spray the home the same day if you can — focus on carpets, soft furnishings, and anywhere she sleeps. Don't forget to wash her bedding on a hot wash too. You should see a significant reduction within a few days, and the collar will keep protecting her for the next 8 months. Good luck — Scottish Folds are lovely cats and you're doing the right thing acting quickly.