Why is my cat's skin suddenly flaky, even with a flea allergy?

From the appearance in the picture, it looks as though Jet is missing a bit of hair from his ear in addition to the scaling skin. There are several possible causes for this scaling, including allergies, ringworm, and mange. As a starting point, make sure that Jet is receiving a good quality flea preventive. Advantage is a good OTC option, but your vet will have other prescription flea preventives, like Bravecto or Revolution. I also think it's worth having him examined by your vet, particularly because ringworm and one form of mange (scabies) can be transmitted to people and other pets. It's important to rule out those contagious issues! During a physical exam, your vet may recommend taking samples to examine under the microscope, as well as samples for a fungal culture to rule out ringworm. Then, based on their findings, they'll be able to determine the best course of treatment for Jet. I hope that everything goes well!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I hate to hear that Kitty is having the skin issues. I would recommend to leave the lesions alone and stop medicating for now. See if the systemic medications given by your vet heal the lesions. If these lesions persist, the vet may look for underlying allergies, thyroid issues or ringworm (which can have variable appearances). If Kitty is scratching at the lesions, then I would recommend that he wear an elizabethan collar to protect the area. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

There are several things that could cause this. If it is in the location of a joint like an elbow then this could be a callous from laying on hard surfaces and nothing to worry about. Otherwise, this could be a fungal infection (ringworm), a bacterial infection, or simply allergies or dry skin. I would have your vet take a look at it so they can recommend the best oral meds if needed to help her improve. You could also try to bathe her with an oatmeal based shampoo to see if it improves. I hope this helps

Flicka may have allergies or some other skin condition that allows her fur to pull out or break more easily than it should. She might benefit from a diet high in omega fatty acids or a food allergy specific veterinary diet as well. The best place to start would be an exam by your vet to evaluate her skin and see if she needs diagnostics like a skin scraping or food allergy trial. Hope that helps!

Leo's skin could look like that for any of the reasons you listed and add skin mites to the list as well. The problem with skin conditions is that they all clinically look the same. Diagnostics or sometimes a response to treatment is the only way to know what is the underlying condition. For a young cat like Leo, fleas, skin mites or ringworm is more common but allergic reactions are not impossible. That lesion on his head looks pretty inflamed. if you don't see any obvious cause like fleas, I recommend to have him examined by his veterinarian. The veterinarian who will look for other clues on the physical exam to get a better idea what the underlying cause is. Ringworm and mites can be ruled out with some simple diagnostics and he can receive medication to heal the lesions. You may start an omega 3 fatty acid for cats as this can help with inflammation and skin health but it may not fix the problem. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.