My outdoor cat is itching and biting. Could it be fleas or allergies?

This could be a sign of several things including environmental allergies, mites, ringworm, and food allergies. Without doing a physical examination on Shyannne it's difficult to say what it causing her to itch. Even if you are not seeing fleas, if she is not currently on a good quality flea preventative like Revolution you may want to start. You may want to try bathing with a soothing shampoo. Once a veterinarian checks her out they may prescribe a medicated shampoo. The Douxo line makes medicated shampoos and also mousses for animals that are more difficult to bathe. Omega-3s are naturally anti -inflammatory so these may help as well. If Shyanne's symptoms persist then she should be taken to your veterinarian. Her skin can be tested for mites and other types of infections. There are many treatments for allergies available as prescription medication. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Shyanne's skin issues resolve quickly!

Hello, sorry to hear about Patchez. This could be associated with allergies or an ear infection. Other causes may include ear mites or skin mites. Cats may be allergic to their environment especially if Patchez is going outside. Other sources of allergies may arise from flea saliva known as flea allergy dermatitis. If you are unable to find fleas and have Patchez on monthly flea control, then you should have her evaluated by your veterinarian. He will likely examine her ears for any infections or ear mites. Your veterinarian may then give Patchez medications to control her itchiness. Hope this helps and best of luck.

What a handsome boy! There's a few things you may try. To absolutely make sure fleas are not the cause (remember, if you have a pet who is sensitive, tit only takes 1 flea to cause a reaction), talk with your veterinarian about using an oral flea prevention called Comfortis. Try this for 2-3 months and see if it helps. Kahlua looks a little heavy, sometimes this can prevent them from being able to clean the lower back/around the tail. Weight loss will allow him to adequately clean that area and in the mean time, shampooing the area every 4-5 days or using a dry shampoo and a brush every 3-4 days will help to decrease the oil production and decrease itchiness. Continue using a fish oil though I prefer an omega 3 fatty acids supplement. Changing the food to Royal Canin may also help improve the skin quality. Allergies can also cause itchiness but I recommend to rule out the fleas first. I hope this helps.

Poor kitty! It's possible it's the Revolution but reactions are generally localized to the area where the product was applied. The only way to know for sure is to change your product and see if things get better. Advantage Multi is another product similar to Revolution but a different make up. Other reasons for chronic skin lesions and itching are allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Fleas are less common since you are using a medication like Revolution. You may want to use a flea comb and check your kitty and the kitten for any evidence of fleas just to be sure there are none. Comb around the lower back and between the hind legs. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for petss, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having your cat wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

If you see one flea, there could be many more. I would recommend that Alice be on year-round flea prevention for this issue. What you describe could be an eosinophilic granuloma. I recommend that Alice get checked out by a vet to confirm this possibility, or to see what else could be causing it. These granulomas can certainly flare up with inflammation or allergies, which would be caused by fleas. Other possible causes of itching include mites, ringworm, or other allergies. Here is some more information about eosinophilic granulomas: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=656

There could be a couple of reasons why your cat is licking and biting himself. This behavior is a sign of itchiness, and it can be caused by fleas and allergies. Even though he's an indoor cat, he still get them. You could have brought them into the home yourself on your clothes, or a visitor could have brought them in. This does happen; in fact, it happened to my brother and his cats. They were indoors only, and their cats suddenly have terrible fleas that were brought in by a visitor to their home. If your cat isn't up to date on his flea treatment program, I can give you one for him. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. As for the grain free diet, less than 10% of cats suffering from food allergies, it's the least common type of allergies in pets. If a cat does have a food allergies, it's most commonly related to a protein source, not grains so there is no need for your cat to have a grain free diet unless it's been specifically proven by a vet that he has it. You can switch your cat back to it's regular food. If you are sure he doesn't have fleas, then I would have him seen by a vet. The vet can diagnose if he does have allergies and can prescribe medication to treat his symptoms.

What you are describing sound like a possible allergy. It can be from something in the food or something in the environment or her own immune system just being weaker than the others. It can be known as military dermatitis. I would consult your vet about a treatment as there is medicine to stop the itching and some antibiotics to clear the related bacterial infection