What's the best way to treat feline scabies on my cat and myself?

Hi and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry that you are having to deal with this with Nina. Scabies is a mite that can be difficult to find on skin scrapings and luckily in cats does not often cause them to be as itchy as it does in dogs. I do hope Nina is not extremely itchy and just has the skin abnormalities (ie crusting, scaling or even missing hair). I am glad that you have Nina quarantined from the other cats in your household; however, you may still consider treating them all. Scabies is a mite that can live transiently (ie temporarily) on humans which means we can transport it from animal to animal as well. Treatment can be complete for Nina after just the two injections although sometimes it can take up to four injections. Monitoring her response to treatment, ie if she is currently itchy then her improvement in that; improvement in her skin crusting, scaling and/or hair loss is an indication that the scabies is improving. In addition skin scrapings can be done to evaluate for the mite as well. This will help guide the number of injections needed. Finally, the mite does not live well in the environment; however, the recommendation is to wash or throw out all bedding, in addition to a general thorough cleaning. Please follow up with your regular veterinarian for continued care and to discuss the risk level of the other household cats.

It is not recommend you use ivermectin yourself without the guidance of a vet - it is too easy to overdose. All you need to do is apply a product called Revolution (sealamectin - a derivative of ivermectin). It is a topical spot-on treatment you would use once every few weeks until the skin is cleared. You should be able to get this from the vet. Lime sulphur dip is fine to use but since cats don't tolerate bathing that well it will probably be a fight.

There are a couple of different types of skin mites that can affect cats. I am attaching more information about the different types of mites below which include a discussion of treatment options. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951886 https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951396 Demodex gatoi must be treated with lime sulfur dips. Demodex cati can be treated with dips or with ivermectin. Notoedres cati can be treated by a number of different options including dips, ivermectin and topical products including Revolution and Advantage Multi. So, your veterinarian will need to perform a skin scraping to determine what type of mite is present in order to determine what treatment options are available.

The first thing I would do is treat her with Advantage or another flea prevention product until you can get her in for an exam. Fleas can cause some of these lesions and she most likely has ear mites also. If you are able to take her in they can examine her ears and skin and give her medication to stop the scratching and antibiotics or an antibiotic injection to treat the skin infection. If she is a stray I recommend a blood test first for feline leukemia and FIV as these are serious cat diseases that there is no cure for and are infectious to other cats. If she is negative for those getting her skin treated and getting her neutered are important for her health. I'm glad you are taking care of Baby as she certainly needs veterinary care. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Baby.

See your veterinarian for an exam. Sky may need antibiotics to prevent or treat infection of the sores. A short course of steroids followed by antihistamines may provide relief from the itching. Your vet can also dispense Capstar to kill any adult fleas on Sky. Follow up with a topical preventative such as Revolution or Frontline. Either should be applied monthly for at least 3 consecutive months, preferably year round. Vacuum your home/apartment. Clean everywhere Sky has been. Dispose of the bag outdoors. Wash all bedding in the hottest temperature allowed by the fabric. To prevent reinfestation, use an environmental treatment such as Knockout ES.

I don't believe there are any over the counter medications that are safe to administer to a 4 week old kitten. Additionally, I'm not sure there are any that will kill scabies. Typically I use Advantage Multi or Revolution to kill scabies. You can get these from your veterinarian. Best of luck with your baby!

Hi there! Scabies is generally fairly easy to treat. Your veterinarian should prescribe a medication such as Bravecto or ivermectin, which will clear it up without any problems. I'm not aware of any over-the-counter remedies that are effective, so this is best left to your veterinarian to treat :)