My cat has scabs. Could her milk cause an allergic reaction? How to help?

Hello. This may be a condition called military dermatitis, a type of allergy. You can try changing the things in her environment like the litter & food, but you cannot change what she touches & breathes in. You can try switching her to Science Diets Sensitive Stomach & Skin, but she may need a true hypoallergenic diet, or it may be something completely different causing her allergies. The best thing to do is to see your vet who may decide to give Mittens a long acting steroid shot. If it clears up her skin, then she may periodically need an additional injection. The alternative is allergy testing, but again this is something to discuss with your vet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Ciciregularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy. This isn't an emergency by any means.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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!

The first thing I would do with Bonnie is put a flea prevention on her. Even if she doesn't go outside and you do not see fleas she can be very allergic to them. The reason I jump to this first is the two locations for fleas to go are at the base of the tail and the belly. Cats typically you cannot see the fleas or flea dirt since they groom so much so you will just see hairloss and sometimes scabs. If she has scabs or she is licking a lot, a veterinarian can give medication to make her feel more comfortable. If this does not help then I would pick a salmon based formula food and gradually wean her onto it. It can take up to 12 weeks for a food to help. If either of these doesn't work then it is most likely behavioral and your veterinarian can prescribe medication. If this is a new thing then it is more likely a flea jumped on her at one point creating an allergic reaction. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I have a flea-allergic cat too and it is very frustrating. Ask your vet about giving her an over-the-counter allergy medication to help relieve the itching. Chlorpheniramine and cetirizine (Zyrtec) are commonly used to help cats with itching. Something else to consider is that your cat may have other allergies that are contributing to the problem. A common allergy is to the protein source in the food. Ask your vet about a limited diet or about getting Boris started on a product like Prescription Diet z/d. This diet is formulated with hydrolyzed proteins, a process that changes the protein in the food in such a way that the body doesn't recognize it as an allergen, and it still provides the nutrition your cat needs to be healthy. Also, consider asking for a recommendation to a veterinary dermatologist. They have more and better testing available to them as well as specialty education in skin problems that may make them better able to help you and your cat.

Hi there! The most common cause of excessive itching like this in cats is allergies - either food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment. You may want to talk with your veterinarian about allergy testing to help identify the source of the problem so that you can put together a treatment plan based on this information. If he's allergic to something in his food, he may need to be on a prescription diet like Hills z/d or Purina HA to help resolve the itching. If he has environmental allergies, you could consider hyposensitization injections or long-term daily medication like prednisolone or Atopica.