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Why is my indoor cat itching her neck and face raw, no fleas visible?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 5 lbs

I have a female cat 5yrs old. She weighs approx 5 lbs at best. Inside cat. I month ago started itching constantly it seems. Raw areas around her neck and face where she has itched and bit. I have a male cat 2yrs old and a dog unaffected. I have treated her with frontline but i dont see fleas.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jenny, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 12th, 2018

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

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on July 10th, 2019
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 (even if you have never seen fleas), 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!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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