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Cat Forum / General Topics / December 2005Cat still tearing its fur out even after flea eradication
Hello, Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of fur around and I can see some almost bald patches where he has been chewing his fur off on his sides and back. He has even romoved skin in small patches. What can be the cause of this? How do I treat it? Thank you. Al D On Mon 05 Dec 2005 04:26:33a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it AL D? > Hello, > Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and > long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of > fur around and I can see some almost bald patches where he has been > chewing his fur off on his sides and back. He has even romoved skin in > small patches. What can be the cause of this? How do I treat it? Dry skin perhaps. You might try a non-detergent shampoo witha colloidal suspension of oatmeal. This is very soothing for dry, itchy skin. "Human" shampoos of that particular type would be perfectly safe for cats.  SignatureWayne Boatwright *¿* _____________________________________________ A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken! In addtion to a gentle shampoo, brushing him with a soft brush might stimulate the natural oils in his skin. > Hello, > Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and > long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of > fur around and I can see some almost bald patches where he has been > chewing his fur off on his sides and back. He has even romoved skin in > small patches. What can be the cause of this? How do I treat it? It could be a allergy to something other than fleas. It's a tough thing to track down, I have a cat going through something a bit similar. Some days I think she's just a bit OCD, starts to groom and forgets to stop. Fish oil (Omega-3 EFAs) supplements are said to help dry skin and sometimes allergy. >>AL D wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >>Fish oil (Omega-3 EFAs) supplements are said to help dry skin and sometimes >>allergy. Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm already giving him conditioning tablets (i.e., vitamin pills for cats) which make his for beautiully soft (presumably due to natural oils) but it dosn't seem to be helping. I will try the fish oil suggestion and the dry-skin shampoo idea next. I think it's probably an allergy because that's what a vet said when he had something like this a few years ago. (I had forgotten about that when I posted my message). Unfortunately, the vet didn't have any useful suggestions about how to deal with the allergy, bar vinding out what's causing it (and that is anyone's guess). Al D > Fish oil (Omega-3 EFAs) supplements are said to help dry skin and sometimes > allergy But avoid cod liver oil. A friend of mine used to give her cat one cod liver oil capsule a day to keep the coat healthy and yes the cat had a magnificent coat but cod liver can cause other health problems due to Vitamin A excess Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and > long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of > fur around and I can see some almost bald patches where he has been > chewing his fur off on his sides and back. He has even romoved skin in > small patches. What can be the cause of this? How do I treat it? Have you changed the detergent you use to wash whatever surface the cat sleeps on? Or used a different brand of carpet cleaner, or floor wax, or any other surface the kitty comes in contact with? :> Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and : > long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] : sleeps on? Or used a different brand of carpet cleaner, or floor wax, or : any other surface the kitty comes in contact with? How did it go away the last time? carola >>> Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and >>> long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >>sleeps on? Or used a different brand of carpet cleaner, or floor wax, or >>any other surface the kitty comes in contact with? He sleeps in a different place almost each day, sometimes on a sofa, sometimes on the carpet, sometimes on a bed. Most of these seem pretty clean. The carpet is probably the main suspect as far as allergens go. He always spends at least some time sitting on one of the carpets somewhere. Al D > He sleeps in a different place almost each day, sometimes on a sofa, > sometimes on the carpet, sometimes on a bed. Most of these seem pretty [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Al D Same with my cats. Some of them sleep a few hours every day on the bed, some sleep most of the day on the sofa, most of them curl up occasionally on the carpet. Changing the detergent you use to wash bedding could cause an allergic reaction, as could a change in how you care for the the sofa, carpet, etc. Starting to use Febreze, or changing to a different carpet cleaner, or changing the cat's food - any of those could lead to an allergic reaction. >>> He sleeps in a different place almost each day, sometimes on a sofa, >>> sometimes on the carpet, sometimes on a bed. Most of these seem pretty [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >>Starting to use Febreze, or changing to a different carpet cleaner, or >>changing the cat's food - any of those could lead to an allergic reaction. I see. That's interesting... I'll have to give that some thought. Many thanks for your input. Al D >Hello, >Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and >long after any fleas have been seen, my cat is still leaving tufts of >fur around and I can see some almost bald patches where he has been >chewing his fur off on his sides and back. He has even romoved skin in >small patches. What can be the cause of this? How do I treat it? Those approaches to flea control are far from good enough for a cat with a flea bite allergy. My Spooky has such an allergy, and until I discovered Frontline, he never went for long without the torment. Frontline and Advantage - anything, really, that actually works is expensive, but the cost - at least for Frontline - can be reduced by buying the largest reasonable dog size and metering the 0.5 ml/cc dose with a syringe or dropper. There are eight cat doses of Frontline in each dispenser of the largest dog size. You can also save money by buying from one of the Australian companies like www.deadfleaz.com and www.petshack.com, but watch the shipping charges. SignatureT.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) >>>Hello, >>>Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >>buying from one of the Australian companies like www.deadfleaz.com and >>www.petshack.com, but watch the shipping charges. Many thanks for the tip. I have placed an order for some. AL D We have been using the Frontline Plus for about a year and have three more doses from the package for 44-88 lb dogs. The vet gave us a syringe and we open one of the dispensers and draw it all into the syringe and cap it off. That gives you doses for 5 months at the 0.5 ml/cc dose Leanne > >>>Hello, > >>>Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > AL D >We have been using the Frontline Plus for about a year and have >three more doses from the package for 44-88 lb dogs. The vet >gave us a syringe and we open one of the dispensers and draw it >all into the syringe and cap it off. That gives you doses for 5 >months at the 0.5 ml/cc dose I use syringes for all manner of things, including dosing cats with liquid and paste oral medicines, and oiling machinery, so I buy them in bulk from a surplus dealer. They are usually the kind with a Leur Lock fitting which covers most of the nipple (the basic Luer fitting), so I cut the end off the fitting cover and use that to provide the necessary clearance for getting into the fur. It should be noted that we are talking about plain syringes, not syringes with needles. SignatureT.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) SPAM filter: Messages to this address *must* contain "T.E.D." somewhere in the body or they will be automatically rejected. >>We have been using the Frontline Plus for about a year and have >>three more doses from the package for 44-88 lb dogs. The vet [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >>Leanne That's a great Idea. I may do that if I find this stuff works for my cat with no ill-effects. This time I just purchased a 6-dose cat package, since it was only about 20 UK pounds. (AU$31) Actually I can probably get two doses out of one of those cat doses, since my cat is quite small and slim.. Al D : Actually I can probably get two doses out of one of those cat doses, : since my cat is quite small and slim.. : : Al D That's what I do with flea meds and also with worming tablets: buy the size for cats over 5kg and split it in half for my two under 4kg cats. It works well and I save 50%. carola >>>We have been using the Frontline Plus for about a year and have >>>three more doses from the package for 44-88 lb dogs. The vet [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Al D Flea bite allergies can affect a cat long after you've applied Frontline/Advantage. My cat still has some attacks to her fur outta frustration. I caught the flea season too late last summer. Her frustration attacks are diminishing somewhat now...2 months later. It's a skin alergy from flea bites that can last for months after the fleas are gone. >>AL D wrote: >>> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >>Her frustration attacks are diminishing somewhat now...2 months later. It's a skin >>alergy from flea bites that can last for months after the fleas are gone. Hi Leanne, That's very useful to know. I was beginning to doubt that the itching could be caused by fleas since I am very sue that I've eradicated them, all. but what you just said would explain it. I'll be so glad when he stops chewing his fur off. His fur is so thin now, during a season when it should be extra thick. Al D > Hello, > Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Al D It is likely that his skin is irritated by the flea shampoo and flea collar on top of having a flea allergy. Get rid of the collar and do not bathe him with anything except soothing or medicated shampoo recommended by your vet or groomer (especially if he has open sores). Allergroom and Epi-Soothe are two products I have recomm Keep us posted. -L. > Hello, > Even after regular flea-shampooing and the use of a flea collar, and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Al D It is likely that his skin is irritated by the flea shampoo and flea collar on top of having a flea allergy. Get rid of the collar and do not bathe him with anything except soothing or medicated shampoo recommended by your vet or groomer (especially if he has open sores). Allergroom and Epi-Soothe are two products I have recommended in the past. use Frontline or Advantage spot treatment to get rid of the fleas (and nothing else). I suspect your kitty will be feeling better in a week or so. Keep us posted. -L. |
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