How to treat painful flea dermatitis on my outdoor cat's back?

I'm sorry your cats (and you!) are dealing with you. Unfortunately, once a cat has a flea dermatitis, the itching and skin problems can continue even once you get rid of the fleas. The degree of which really depends on the severity of their sensitivity to flea bites. Often, we have to use antihistamines or steroids to resolve the inflammation. Sometimes we also have to incorporate antibiotics if there is an infection. For dogs, there are topical shampoos we can use, but those are often not a good option for cats. So, I would recommend having your veterinarian examine your cats' skin to determine if there is a secondary skin infection or just inflammation in order to help you determine the best treatment. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. I am so sorry for your poor Cheeto, his skin looks horrible. I think he would really benefit from antibiotics & treatment for a pretty significant flea bite dermatitis. Your veterinarian is the best person to help Cheeto before he deteriorates further. Thanks 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 and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Jaydence. Fleas are particularly bad near the end of summer and throughout the spring/summer depending on the weather. What you should do is EITHER discuss this with your local vet and let them evaluate your pets or treat him with multimodal flea/tick products and see if that doesn't help get the skin calmed down and the fleas under control. The irritated areas are typical for dogs that have a flea allergy and each time Jaydence gets bit by a flea the allergy intensifies. Flea allergy dogs may require antibiotics or topical treatment to calm down the allergy/itching. Multimodal treatment involves using a vet advised topical product (Revolution, Advantix, Vectra, Effitix, etc) along with an oral flea/tick medicine (Comfortis, Bravecto, or Nexgard). You should also treat your indoor environment since the bulk of the flea problem is immature stages in the environment. Your vet can help you with all of these treatments to get Jaydence and all of your pets back to normal and not scratching. Good luck with Jaydence.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would just try over the counter 1% hydrocortisone cream. It will help tremendously with itching and pain. Unfortunately, shaving (which is actually a great idea) does cause itching sometimes as the hair regrows. If that’s not helping, talk with your vet about other prescription options. Best of luck to you and Junior!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think at this point it seems like your veterinarian has tried symptomatic therapy to try to help. I would consider taking a culture of the lesion and using the indicated antibiotics. Also, it would be important to ensure that he is unable to chew or lick at it as that will continue to worsen it. You could consider an e-collar which you may get from your local pet store. If it does not resolve, a biopsy of the lesion should be considered. Good luck and have a good day!

Poor Soxx. Since it is so severe, I would definitely have your vet take a look at her. There a good chance she will need some antibiotics and steroids to help her heal. You should also talk to your vet about high quality flea products you need to use on her monthly. You could try Benadryl but I doubt it will be strong enough. See link below for dosing. Also since the fleas don’t live on the pet but in the environment, make sure you treat your house, yards and all other pets for fleas. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/benadryl/