
In a session at the 2026 Fetch National Harbor conference, Nathanael Oster, VMD, MBA, walked attendees through the biology, diagnosis, and treatment of the flea tapeworm in dogs and cats, including why cats are affected more often than dogs.
Make sure parasites have no place on your veterinary patients.
"Lighting a match behind an embedded tick and covering it with Vaseline or alcohol are old wives' tales," says Dr. Julie Clark-Blount, owner of Laurel Oaks Animal Hospital in Kingsland, Ga. "Actually these actions can aggravate ticks and make them throw up, essentially shooting Lyme disease right into the pet."


