Why is my ferret still scratching and biting after flea treatment?

Hello. A ferret that is pruritic ( itchy ) without signs of ectoparasites ( fleas, lice ) is adrenal gland disease until proven otherwise. It is not uncommon for very itchy ferrets to have no obvious signs of hair loss. Occasional, cutaneous mast cell tumors can be very pruritic. These are almost always benign in ferrets & removal is curative. I would encourage you to have your ferrets evaluated by a veterinarian & have some diagnostic tests done to find the underlying cause of the itching. Then appropriate treatment can be started. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry you're having such a challenging time with Meowsie. It certainly is good of you to treat a feral cat. Crushing Comfortis and mixing it with food shouldn't cause a problem with its absorption, so I doubt that is your problem. If you are still seeing fleas, you might ask your vet for another recommendation, but Comfortis tends to work well. Unfortunately, when a cat has flea allergies or chronic skin problems, it can take a while for the itching to improve even once the fleas have been treated. I might consider giving her a fish oil supplement daily to help improve her skin and decrease her itching. There are a number of fish oil supplements for cats such as Wellactin ( http://www.welactin.com/?pg=cat ). Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds as if Blitz is becoming re-infested with fleas even after applying appropriate flea preventative measures (i.e. Seresto collar). I would suspect that the environmental control has not yet been adequate to appropriate kill the fleas. I would recommend to my clients to hire a professional parasite control company to perform a treatment for the area (inside and outside). It can take as long as 3 months to adequately control all life stages of the flea life cycle. It is also possible that even though the fleas have been controlled (if you are no longer seeing live adult fleas), that Blitz suffers from a flea allergy. In these cases the itch can last long after the flea is gone. You can continue to bathe Blitz in a soothing shampoo, but if the itch does not resolve it is best to have him seen by his veterinarian to determine what additional anti-pruritic (anti-itch) medication may be needed. It is not uncommon for us to also see secondary bacterial infections (pyoderma) happen due to chronic itching, and a topical medicated shampoo may also be required from his veterinarian.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The very important first thing we need to do is make sure Stanley doesn't have fleas, as that would be the most common reason a ferret his age would be scratching. I typically advise applying Revolution - the product labeled for cats is safe for use on ferrets. If Stanley is still scratching, you should have him seen by your vet to determine the source of the scratching. Hope this helps!

some flea treatment just don't work on every cat/flea! I advice waiting at least 10 days and the use a completely different product. Spot ons are usually the best option (revolution/advantage/advocate) make sure it's an appropriate one for kittens and a different main ingredient in it to avoid toxicity. Going to the vet for this will be the best idea. Treatment should be given every month, especially after he start going out if he does. A spray for the house to kill the fleas is very important as well as fleas can survive in carpets for ages.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely due to allergies and until these are improved, he will continue to itch. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his 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!

No, do not use coconut oil. He will lick it off and ingestion may cause pancreatitis. Not only that but it will be extremely messy and everything will stick to him. Not a good plan. He is scratching for a reason and rarely will they scratch so much from dry skin to make sores like that on their skin. If you are not treating him EVERY month for fleas then I would be doing that. It looks and sounds like a flea allergy. Even if you are not seeing fleas, I suspect they are there. Fleas usually will bite ferrets but not stay on them too long so you may not find them. Treating for fleas is easy and inexpensive so I suggest you try this plan. It is not going to hurt him and it may very well help. You can use Advantage II for small cats. https://www.1800petmeds.com/education/ferret-flea-control.htm Don't forget to treat his environment for fleas too! So, could it be dry skin.....sure, but I really doubt it. Like I said above it is really rare for the skin to be so dry that he would scratch that much unless you were feeding a very poor diet (which I don't think is the case) . His coat looks soft and shiny from the photo. So, be sure you are feeding a good diet (like Mazuri, Marshalls or Oxbow). And you can try this supplement for his coat if you want. https://www.petsupplies.com/item/8-in-1-ferretone-skin-and-coat-supplement/650101/ For the current sore - you can treat it with this. Just use a very thin layer 2-3 times per day until healed. Hope this helps. Best wishes.