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My cat has a neck scab. Is it fleas, scratching, or something else?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 21 years old | 13 lbs

my cat has a scab on his neck, i’m not sure why it’s from fleas? or him scratching it.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on April 25th, 2022

The fleas don’t cause visible damage like this, so it’s probably from scratching. Fleas could certainly cause enough irritation to cause self-trauma from itching, ear infections are another cause. I would recommend staying a good-quality monthly flea preventative and you may need to have Tigger checked out by a vet to check for infections.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Tomasz Wnuk
Veterinarian
Published on June 30th, 2020
Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It looks like self-inflicted trauma from excessive scratching. It is often caused by ear infection, ear mites or skin allergy.
Please, take Robin to your local vets for an appointment. Full clinical examination and checking ear canals with an otoscope should suffice to make the final diagnosis and to prescribe correct treatment for him.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS
Veterinarian
Published on October 21st, 2018
There could be a couple of reasons why Stewie is scratching around the neck and causing scabs. It could be he has fleas, mites, ringworm, allergies, or an ear infection. I would take him into the vet on Monday. The vet can diagnose what is causing this problem, and can treat him for it. Best of luck, I hope this helps!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on January 3rd, 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, 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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