Flea treatment for cats with miliary dermatitis

Since your vet has already confirmed miliary dermatitis caused by fleas, you're past the guessing stage — which is helpful. Before I suggest anything, one thing worth flagging upfront: cat flea treatment has a safety consideration that doesn't apply to dogs. Permethrin and certain other insecticides found in many dog flea products are toxic to cats and can be fatal, so it's important to only use products specifically formulated for cats. Can you tell me how much your Scottish Fold weighs, and has your vet already treated them in the clinic, or are you looking for something to continue at home? Also — have you treated your home environment yet?

That makes sense — the steroid will settle the skin inflammation while the flea treatment deals with the source. At 4.5kg, your Scottish Fold is solidly in the adult weight range, so dosing isn't an issue. Given that she's already having a skin reaction to flea bites, you want something that kills fleas fast and reliably. My recommendation is Advantage 80 for cats over 4kg. It contains imidacloprid, which is completely safe for cats, kills fleas within 24 hours, and keeps working for a month. It's available as a single pipette or in packs of four on Amazon UK. One thing to do alongside this: treat your home with a household flea spray — something like Indorex or RIP Fleas — because up to 95% of the flea population lives in the environment, not on your cat. Without treating the home, re-infestation is almost certain.

Good question — they're different products. Advantage contains only imidacloprid and treats fleas. Advocate contains imidacloprid plus moxidectin, which adds protection against roundworm, lungworm, and ear mites. Advocate is a prescription-only product in the UK, so if your vet specifically suggested retail, they meant Advantage. For your situation — confirmed flea allergy dermatitis with no mention of worm concerns — Advantage is exactly the right choice. It's also slightly cheaper and easier to get without a prescription.

No need to wait. You can apply Advantage today. The steroid injection and the spot-on work on completely different systems — one calms the immune response, the other kills the fleas — so there's no interaction to worry about. Apply the pipette to the skin at the back of the neck where she can't lick it, part the fur so it reaches skin rather than sitting on top of the coat, and then crack on with the home treatment this week. That combination — Advantage on your cat plus a home spray — is what will actually break the flea cycle and stop the dermatitis coming back.