If you know anything at all about house cats, you know they’re full of tenacity, and audacity. Once your indoor cat gets a taste of the outdoors, it’s just about impawsible to keep them from wanting to be outside all the time! That’s what happened with my cat The Baroness Meowtilda Von Softiepaws (street name: Tilly). Tilly slipped out the back door when I opened it to let my smelly little dogs out. Of course I freaked out thinking she’d run away and I’d never see her again. But Tilly stayed in the back yard and came inside after a few minutes. I vowed to never let her out again. But 1) she’s a cat with quintessential cat-like reflexes and is better than I am on her worst day, when I’m on my best day. 2) The audacity I mentioned earlier is STRONG in her 3) she DOES NOT like to be picked up/held, or confined in any way, and I value the use of my hands. She’s never been aggressive with me, but I prefer not to make too many waves.So keeping her from slipping outside from time to time was not a job for which I am well equipped. Over time I got more comfortable with it since Tilly always stayed close to the house, and was always in the house over night. She has never been injured on her excursions.Then, we had a big problem. Remember the smelly little dogs? Well they suddenly became smelly AND itchy! And that’s when I saw it. The dreaded flea infestation. The dogs are treated for fleas and ticks, so that meant the harbinger of the plague was feline, in species.Now imagine gentle reader, if Tilly is not the type of cat to allow cuddling, what are the chances she’s the type of cat to allow herself to be bathed with flea soap? Nil. The answer is, nil.Several essential oils sprays, and flea combing sessions later- I had finally eradicated the infestation. Unfortunately Tilly developed some harsh looking ulcers on her skin which the vet advised was due to an allergy related to the flea bites. I felt awful, but I got her ulcers treated and cleared up quickly (thankfully, because they were shocking to look at and I doubt they were comfortable). My vet recommended the Soresto Flea and Tick Collar for several reasons. She said 1) it works, 2) it’s made for cats and dogs, 3) it lasts for up 8 l months. She did say “it’s one of the pricier options…” but she swore by its effectiveness, and said it was worth it the price. Of course this had my anxiety riddled brain thinking these collars cost enough to make me have to decide between purchasing one, or paying my mortgage. Turns out the collars are about $68, and since they’re supposed to last 8 months, that breaks down to about $8.50/month, or ~.28/ day! So I bought one and decided to give it a try. If it didn’t work, I’d know for the future and I would try something else.Well, guess what? IT WORKS!There is no chemical scent to it, it’s made of a flexible rubber type material, and it’s adjustable. I thought I’d have to fight with Tilly to get the collar on her (she prefers to go au naturale), but since the collar is adjustable with a lot of extra length, it was really easy to slip it on her neck and then pull it to tighten it. It helps to have a lickable treat at the ready to occupy your cat, if they’re resistant to being collared. The collar even comes with little plastic reflectors you can attach which is great if your cat goes out in the evenings at all. Tilly scratched at her neck and the collar for the first day or so, but then she accepted it, and now I don’t think she even notices it. I haven’t had a single flea or tick on ANY of my Fuzz Butts since using this collar, and we are going on 3 years.If I had one request, it would be for whoever is in charge to make this an item you can set up as a subscription, and automatically get a new collar every 8 months. I know I forgot to replaces Tilly’s collar for about 10 months (and it still worked!), and I don’t want to take the chance of forgetting again. For now I have a reminder on my phone, along with the reminder to change my air filter and to test my smoke alarms. But it would be much easier if I could get a new one automatically.Other than that- 10/10 recommend and your fuzz butts and sanity will love you for it!