When you think of pet travel arrangements, no doubt the obvious tasks spring to mind. I mean, even non-pet owners have heard of a Pet Passport! But an important topic that’s sometimes forgotten is the protecting the wellbeing of cats and dogs when they travel to a foreign destination. Sure, the Rabies Vaccination required for dogs to travel offers protection against this serious, contagious disease. But there’s many other pet illnesses that, whilst not contagious between animals, still pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of your cat or dog. In tropical and subtropical destinations, your pet may encounter mosquitoes, sandflies, fleas and ticks that carry dangerous diseases. In some cases, such as Leishmania and Heartworm, these vector borne infections can be life-threatening. When we relocated to Portugal with Django, the vet carried out the necessary preparations to meet the EU Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) rules. However, it’s important to also discuss with your vet any extra precautions you should take to safeguard your cat or abroad. Here are our top five recommendations for shielding your beloved cat or dog in a foreign destination.
1. Scalibor Dog Protection Band for Ticks, Fleas, Mosquitoes & Sandflies
On asking our vet if there was anything additional to the Pet Passport that we should do to protect the health of our dog, she kindly did some research between our visits for the rabies vaccinations. Her recommendation was a Scalibor Dog Protection Band and we’ve used this on our pooches ever since. The Scalibor Collar is effective for up to six months for ticks, fleas and mosquitoes, and up to 12 months for sandflies.
Puppies from the age of 7 weeks can safely use the Scalibor Dog Protection Band. For all dogs, it’s best to start using the collar one week before you travel to a foreign country.
While the Scalibor Collar isn’t available for cats, a great choice for felines is the Seresto Cat Collar which offers up to eight months’ protection against ticks and fleas. But, if you’re cat is of the adventurous nature like ours, it’s best only to use breakaway collars, or they can get stuck on branches and fences. For this reason, we don’t use protection collars on our cats, and since they lose at least one breakaway collar a month during their endless escapades, it’s a good decision!
Seresto is also available as a dog collar, but as we’ve used the Scalibor Collar without any issues, we’ve never tried Seresto.
Always buy your cat or dog protection collars from licensed retailers, as there are many fakes in circulation that can cause serious adverse reactions.
2. Leisguard Syrup to prevent Canine Leishmaniasis from Sandflies
Here in Portugal, we give our dogs Leisguard Syrup every day during the months of June and October. Other countries with sandflies transmitting Leishmania may require the treatment to be administered during different times of the year. The recommendations for Leisguard Syrup for dogs depend on when the threat from sandflies is most severe.
If you use a Scalibor Dog Protection Band, this already protects against sandfly bites, therefore the risk of your dog catching Canine Leishmania is greatly reduced. However, vets do recommend an holistic approach to prevent dogs developing this deadly disease. So a specific treatment targeting Leishmania is highly endorsed.
Each day during the specific months, you just measure out the number of mls required in the marked syringe provided. It can then be dropped directly onto your dog’s tongue, or mixed with their food. With three pooches in our house that like to steal from each other’s bowls, we use the former approach. A treat afterwards keeps them coming back for their next prescription the following day!
If you don’t fancy administering a daily dose of medication, there’s now an annual Leishmaniasis Vaccination to protect the health of your dog. This option can be used for dogs aged 6 months and over, with protection starting 4 weeks after the vaccine is administered. It’s then effective for a full year and must be repeated annually. However, similar to the COVID-19 vaccine for us humans, the Leishmaniasis Vaccination doesn’t prevent your dog from contracting the disease. But it does teach the immune system how to respond if your dog catches Leishmania.
Felines can usually give this one a miss, as Leishmania is less common in cats than in dogs and humans. But do check with your vet for advice on taking your cat to your chosen destination.
3. Bravecto
Available for both cats and dogs, Bravecto is our go to here in Portugal. Bravecto offers three months protection against ticks and fleas for dogs. For cats, Bravecto Plus provides not only safety from ticks and fleas, but also internal worms and Heartworm from mosquitoes. Bravecto Plus is effective for two months, so it cuts in half the annual struggles to give the treatment to your feline!
For dogs, Bravecto is available as a chew or topical twist-cap solution. Cats only get the topical spot-on since they’re too smart to be fooled by a ‘tasty’ medicinal treat!
4. Milbemax for Heartworm from Mosquitoes
For both cats and dogs, Milbemax tablets are effective for three months against roundworm, lungworm, tapeworm and numerous other species of intestinal worm.
But, if you’re taking your cat or dog to a country which has mosquitoes carrying Heartworm, you need to give them Milbemax on a monthly basis. If only administered every three months as standard, the treatment doesn’t offer protection against Heartworm.
Again, if you’re using a Scalibor or Seresto collar, this will hopefully deter mosquitoes from biting in the first place. But, as they say, prevention is better than a cure, and vets do recommend additional measures to ensure the wellbeing of cats and dogs.
5. Identity Collar
While your feline or canine buddy will already be microchipped to travel, it’s really important that they have an ID collar. The details should include your name and phone number with dialling code. Not only will this ensure your beloved pet gets back to you if they’re lost in a strange place, but it also ensures holidaymakers and locals know they have a loving home. There’s lots of stray cats and dogs in Portugal, and many wonderful volunteer animal shelters here and across the globe with microchip readers. But save your pet the stress by making sure they can easily be identified and returned home without the trauma of a kennel visit first. A very important item in protecting the health and wellbeing of your cat or dog.
