Why does my kitten get wounds on her head and neck that come and go?

Poor kitty! It's possible it's the Revolution but reactions are generally localized to the area where the product was applied. The only way to know for sure is to change your product and see if things get better. Advantage Multi is another product similar to Revolution but a different make up. Other reasons for chronic skin lesions and itching are allergies to fleas, allergies to something in the environment, food allergy or endocrine disease. Each one of these problems is detected and addressed differently and I recommend to discuss with your veterinarian which one to start hunting down first. Fleas are less common since you are using a medication like Revolution. You may want to use a flea comb and check your kitty and the kitten for any evidence of fleas just to be sure there are none. Comb around the lower back and between the hind legs. Food allergy is best ruled out with a diet trial using a hydrolyzed protein. Endocrine diseases are detected with blood work. Environmental allergies are a little more difficult to detect but a response to therapy or a blood test can give an indication. Once you figure out and address the underlying cause, the lesions should not come back. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for petss, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Also protect the area from trauma by having your cat wear an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It is possible that Oreo's skin lesion could be due to mange, trauma from her dog friend, or due to ringworm. Both ringworm and one type of mange (Sarcoptic mange) can be transmitted to humans and other pets, so I do recommend taking Oreo to her vet for further testing to determine if infectious issues are present. From there, her vet will be able to prescribe any necessary medications. I hope that all goes well!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Oreo. Skin and hair coat problems can be caused by a variety of things including external parasites (fleas, ticks, mites, etc), nutritional problems including loss of nutrition/blood by intestinal parasites, other dietary issues, bacterial/fungal infections, among many others. I don't think the food is causing a problem unless you are not feeding kitten food and I have never heard of the litter causing a problem like this unless it is getting caked onto the hair and skin. They are definitely old enough to be dewormed and I would highly advise that. Deworming should start at 2 weeks of age and be done every 3 weeks for at least 3-4 times. If these areas of concern worsen and persist, I would highly advise you have your vet evaluate Oreo to try to figure out what is going on. It doesn't seem like it's something contagious but sometimes not all kittens are affected. Your vet can advise some tests if needed (skin scrape, skin cytology, fungal culture, woods lamp exam, etc) to try to determine what is going on. Once a diagnosis is made or suspected, a sound treatment plan can be put into action. Your vet can also advise you on a sound preventive health care plan including deworming, testing, vaccines, flea/tick control, etc. Good luck with Oreo.

Ouch! Poor Sable! From the looks of those open areas Sable could have allergies (food or environmental), flea allergy dermatitis, a contact allergy or even an issue with her immune system. I recommend using a good quality flea preventative like Frontline or Revolution to ensure this is not being caused by fleas. I would also suggest you get Sable to your veterinarian because it looks like those areas may be infected and require antibiotics. Your veterinarian will also be able to take samples from the area and see what other treatments may be necessary. I hope Sable is feeling better soon!

Poor Izzy! Most likely she has caused that wound herself from scratching. I would make sure she is on a flea preventive such as Frontline, Advantage or Revolution as that would be a good reason for why she is so itchy. Allergies would be another possibility but less likely given that she is still a kitten. Cats typically heal very quickly but if the wound is not getting better on I would take her to the vet as she may need antibiotics. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. She does have a very large open wound that does require therapy and warrants veterinary evaluation as soon as possible. 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!