Flea allergy in cats is a warning sign for the owner

Symptoms of allergic dermatitis

The presence of ectoparasites is determined by examining the cat, during which the fleas themselves, or their debris, are found on the coat and skin. If it was not possible to visually detect the parasites, an experiment can be carried out.

A paper napkin must be moistened with water and rubbed on the affected area, if stains of a pink, red or brown hue appear, this indicates the presence of flea excrement.

The cause of an allergic reaction in a pet is not the very fact of the presence of ectoparasites, but a specific protein that is ingested with saliva during a bite. It is to a foreign protein in a cat that the immune system responds, that is, an allergy.

Fleas do not live on a pet all the time, they get drunk with blood, but prefer to breed in calm conditions. Therefore, fleas most often live in the litter, the rug on which the cat sleeps. These places must be treated first of all when ectoparasites are found in an animal.

The main manifestations of such a pathological process include a cat.:

1. severe itching - the pet constantly itches, or bites the hair with its teeth;
2. hair loss - especially actively observed in the neck, abdomen, croup and tail;
3. the formation of papules - a tubercle forms at the site of the bite, the skin is inflamed and itchy;
4. changes in skin and coat pigmentation;
5. redness, swelling and inflammation of the skin;
6. coughing, sneezing, discharge from the eyes and nose may appear;
7. the animal is in a state of excitement, reacts painfully to touch, aggression may be noted.

With a strong scratching of the itchy areas of the skin, it is injured, as a result of which pathogens enter the body that can cause a secondary infection against the background of flea allergic dermatitis. Until the root cause, that is, fleas, is eliminated, there is no point in treating secondary pathologies, since the therapy will be ineffective, or short-term relief will be noted.

Why are parasites dangerous for animals and humans?

This type of insect belongs to ectoparasites - a variety of parasites that live on the host's body, and not inside it. The shape of the body and special adaptations (spines, hooks) are ideal for parasitizing the host's epithelium.

The special structure of the mouth apparatus in the form of a needle helps the insect to pierce the skin. Then the pest sucks blood from nearby capillaries. The danger they pose cannot be underestimated. In addition to unpleasant discomfort, parasites can cause:

1. thin, burning skin in places of bites.
2. infection of the body due to scratching of bite wounds.
3. restless behavior, aggression in animals.
4. anemia, even death in animals due to a strong parasitic invasion.
5. dangerous diseases, because fleas are carriers of pathogens of human and animal diseases.
6. invasion of flatworms and other helminths.
7. severe allergic reactions as a result of individual intolerance.

The last point is worth talking in more detail.

Flea dermatitis diagnostics

Diagnostics plays an important role, since only after an accurate diagnosis has been made, the doctor can prescribe adequate treatment for the cat and tell the owners how to alleviate the pet's condition and how to properly treat the litter and the apartment as a whole.

Even a veterinarian cannot make an accurate diagnosis "by eye". It is imperative to carry out differentiation, and determine whether an allergy to fleas has developed, or, for example, to new food or litter for the toilet.

For diagnosis, the doctor uses the following tests and examinations:

• Clinical examination of the cat and taking anamnesis.
• Blood test - detection of allergens in the blood serum.
• Determination of the type of ectoparasites that caused the allergy (in addition to fleas, ticks and lice can cause an immune response).
• Diagnosis of secondary infections that have developed against the background of dermatitis.

If it is not possible to urgently visit a veterinary clinic, then it is necessary at least by telephone to contact a doctor. You can send your veterinarian photos of damaged skin and flea eggs, and advise on what drugs are appropriate to use to reduce allergies before visiting the clinic.

Confirmation of the diagnosis

It is not necessary to treat an animal for flea dermatitis by eye, it is a direct way to waste time, which is an aggravating factor for all diseases. The veterinarian performs a series of tests and analyzes, namely:

• Eliminates the presence of similar skin diseases, including mites, bacteria, fungi, food allergies and atopic dermatitis.

• Selects a drug for the speedy disposal of parasites, depending on the degree of skin damage and the general condition of the animal.

• Conducts a laboratory analysis of blood serum to identify allergens (in individual cases, a false negative reaction is observed).

• Diagnoses or makes assumptions about the presence of secondary diseases that are carried by fleas or are provoked by infection of scratches.

If you can't see your vet, get a quality flea medication, treat your cat, and keep an eye on trends. Keep a telephone contact with the doctor, if possible, send photos of the affected skin areas. To see the real picture of the progression of the disease, itching must be reduced. At home, glucocorticoids, such as Dexafort, or human antihistamines, calculated on the recommendation of a veterinarian, are used.

A cat is allergic to fleas - how to treat

Cat fleas are small insects that live in animal fur. A parasite bite in a cat can not only lead to skin infections, but also cause an allergic reaction. Flea allergy is perhaps the most common disease in pets. This is how the pet's immune system reacts to foreign substances (allergens or antigens), trying to get rid of them. Below you can see what a flea allergy in cats actually looks like in the photo.

Most often, flea allergy in cats is observed in young animals or even small kittens. The longer this disease lasts, the more severe the reaction of the body. With an increase in the activity of insects in the warm season, the risk of allergies increases significantly.

How is allergy diagnosed?

Diagnosis of allergic diseases is a complex and multi-step process.

You need to constantly monitor and interact with one veterinarian dermatologist, you need to trust him and strictly follow his recommendations. It is important not to improvise and not deviate from the recommendations and always inform the doctor about the deviations from the line of diagnosis and treatment that have occurred.

The only way to diagnose food an allergy is that your cat is given a special diagnostic diet for 10 to 12 weeks without food additives or medications.

If the food allergy is not confirmed, they search for the root causes associated with the allergy to ecological allergens (household dust mites, pollen, molds, etc.). This is important for the subsequent inclusion of allergens in vaccinations. Because only such a vaccination will cure your animal.

Symptoms of the disease

A caring owner can understand that a cat is allergic to fleas (allergic dermatitis) by the following signs:

• severe itching - the pet itches very often, and also tries to bite its hair and skin;
• breathing problems - possible coughing, wheezing when inhaling and exhaling;
• runny discharge from the nose and eyes;
• hair loss, the consequence of which may even be baldness of some parts of the animal's body;
• the presence of papules - small red bumps on the surface of the skin;
• redness of the skin, the presence of scratches and wounds.

Most often, these symptoms can be observed in cats in the groin or in the area located closer to the base of the tail. In more rare cases, parasites are activated on the face and neck of the pet, and fleas almost never attack the cat's paws.

The above symptoms can be observed for several days. Secondary infection is especially dangerous. It occurs due to the fact that the cat actively scratches its skin before the formation of wounds. It is they who are the source of infection with pathogenic fungi and bacteria.

Clinical cases

A case of food intolerance in Steve the cat

Brief history

• breed Scottish Fold cat
• Age - two years
• I was admitted to the appointment with excoriation on my head
• Lives at home
• No contacts
• People are healthy
• From the moment of purchase to the moment of visiting the clinic of any kind, the animal did not have any problems with the skin, and the owners with the skin, too, are doing well. In general, Steve's life has not changed in any way, with the exception of one detail - two days ago, the owners changed their diet.

Treatment

• Bearing in mind that itching in the head area can develop against the background of food, non-food hypersensitivity, against the background of flea allergies, we prescribed an algorithm for itching
• LUM: "-"
• Scrapings: "-"
• Trichogram: "-"

Recommendations

• Metipred (05 mg / kg × after 12 hours)
• Anti-parasite treatments
• Elimination diets

Steve recovered

After 2 weeks, the owners came to the reception. And they reported that the itching went away on its own. At the same time, they did not do anything, they decided to just watch their pet. And the transfer to the previous diet was enough to solve the problem. We believe that in this case, it was a question of food intolerance, which developed rapidly, apparently, without the formation of immune mechanisms, and as a result of direct exposure to some feed ingredients. When the animal was transferred to the previous diet, the problem was stopped.

Allergy to air allergens in Bruni

Brief history

• Breed - Don Sphynx
• Age 2 years
• Lives at home
• At home - a cat, she has no skin problems
• No contact with other animals
• People don't get sick
• Complaints: itching of the head and neck area; scratching on the head and body
• Until the moment of treatment, antibiotic therapy was carried out, apparently due to secondary bacterial lesions at the sites of excoriation.
• Despite the history, we still looked at infections such as notoedrosis, demodicosis (caused by gata), and dermatophytosis. However, these diff. the diagnoses seemed unlikely because there was another cat in direct contact and had no health problems. To a greater extent, we assumed that there were variants of hypersensitivity.

Diagnostics

• Scrapings - negative
• Sowing on mushrooms - the growth of dermatophytes has not been determined
• Biopsy - large number of eosinophils
• Elimination diet - itching persists
• Flea treatments - itching persists
• Blood test in ELISA. The animal was found to have antibodies against fleas and the Akarus Shiro household dust mite.

Diagnoses

• Flea saliva allergy
• Allergy to household allergen Acarus Siro

Therapy

• Cyclosporin 5mg / kg, daily
• Vaccination with a significant allergen
• By the end of the first year of vaccination, we were able to eliminate cyclosporine almost completely. Brunya receives 2 capsules a week, with an interval of 1 every 3 days. And solely to calm the owner. Probably, soon, we will be able to completely abandon cyclosporine.
• Flea treatments - every 14 days

Housing processing

Not only the cat or cat needs processing, but also the very room in which the pet lives. For this, aggressive insecticidal agents are used. Also, the accessories of the animal should be subjected to this procedure: its bedding, toys, house. It is very important to ensure that fleas do not reappear, as even one flea bite can provoke a relapse of the disease.

Flea litter and cat house treatment

Are there allergy medications for cats?

Medicines can be aimed at treating allergy symptoms, but not have a long-term therapeutic effect.

It is necessary to find the cause of the allergy.

In case of food allergy - foods that cause allergies are excluded from the diet. For this, it is important to use an elimination diet (see above).

In case of allergy to environmental factors, vaccination with allergens gives the only chance of recovery (see above).

Regarding flea allergies, routine flea treatments can be helpful in addressing this problem.

Antiallergic therapy

If a cat is allergic to fleas, it must be treated without fail, since over time the consequences of the disease can only get worse.

1. If there are signs of allergy, the animal should be given an antihistamine, the dosage of which is chosen by the veterinarian. Such a medicine is suprastin or diphenhydramine.
2. Hydrocortisone ointment can help reduce itching in your cat. However, if there is damage to the skin, its use is contraindicated.
3. To heal wounds resulting from scratching, chloramphenicol ointment is used. The drug prevents the further spread of the inflammatory process. A cream containing aluminum has a good healing effect. This is Aluminum or Alyusprey. When handling a cat, it is important not to allow it to lick the medication off its fur, as this can lead to poisoning. A special pipe collar, which is worn around the cat's neck and deprives it of the opportunity to lick itself, will help to alleviate the situation.
4. In particularly difficult cases, a specialist may prescribe hormonal injections to block allergic symptoms and provide immediate relief. Sublingual drops containing flea antigens may also be prescribed. They form a healthy immune response to flea bites.
5. In the presence of secondary infections, a course of antifungal drugs or antibiotics is required.

To ensure that cats are never allergic to flea bites, it is necessary to regularly examine the pet's coat and, if necessary, use anti-flea remedies. After all, it is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure it.

Flea allergy treatment regimens

Before treating a cat's flea allergy, the tenant first gets rid of the main cause of such an ailment - fleas. Then he treats with special insecticides his home, personal cat things, as well as a backyard if the pet lives in a private house.

Thus, first, they sanitize their living quarters and plot with the use of highly effective insecticidal agents, and then they begin to treat their sick cat.

Destruction of parasites

After the complete removal of fleas from their home, the household completely relieves its cat of allergies for 2 weeks.

In a similar situation, he performs the following actions:

• kills fleas on an infected pet;
• protects the cat from re-infection by mature small pests;
• removes the egg reservoir and flea larvae from his private household or apartment.

It should be borne in mind that if cats develop allergies from fleas, pets should not be washed with shampoo or put on a flea collar.

There are 3 reasons for this.:

• washing is stressful for the cat;
• washing is a harmful and unpleasant procedure for an infected pet, due to the formation of skin wounds;
• The collar is an effective prophylactic anti-flea agent. It does not rid the animal of these parasites and is contraindicated for skin ailments.

When using an anti-flea remedy, the household gives it to the cat inside or drips it onto the cat's withers.

In such a situation, he performs the following actions:

• treats a sick animal with Comfortis tablets once every 1 month;
• dripping on the cat's withers such drops - Advantage, Stronghold, etc. This needs to be done only 3 times (on the first day - 1 time, then after 14 days - 2 times, and then after 1 month - 3 times);
• any anti-flea remedies are selected according to the mass of the cat's body.

Sanitizing your home is considered very important, because 90% of the flea population is small insect larvae and eggs. However, residents often underestimate the high efficiency of wet room cleaning of house dust and the use of a vacuum cleaner in their apartment.

During this cleaning, people remove most of the flea eggs.

In a similar situation, the household performs such actions.:

• daily vacuums the places where the cat often rests, as well as various dark corners (under curtains, furniture);
• washes floors with cheap domestic preparations - Butoks, Neostomazan, etc .;
• if the apartment has parquet or boards, then in this case the tenant uses a variety of insecticidal sprays (Raptor, Combat, etc.). Spray also puffs the space behind the room skirting boards and the places hidden from prying eyes under the sofa, bed, wardrobes and other furniture;
• washes blankets, carpets and a cat bed in a washing machine on a specific automatic mode with a high temperature.

Such events are held in places where a cat is more likely (for example, in a car). However, even if the above conditions are met, only after 2-3 months do fleas leave the apartment or private house forever.

Symptomatic therapy for the formation of a flea allergy

Also, when a cat develops an allergy from flea bites, the resident uses the hormonal means listed below:

• Dexaforte (dose 0.05 ml / kg). It is given once inside to aggressive pets or cats that walk on their own;
• Prednisolone (dose 0.5-1 mg / kg). These tablets are given to animals for ingestion.

However, the following antihistamines do not help cats for flea allergies.:

• Suprastin;
• Tavegil;
• Zyrtek and others.

Flea allergy antibiotics

If, during flea cat dermatitis, such a reaction to flea bites as purulent wounds or pyoderma appears on the skin of an animal, then in this case the household treats it with various antibiotics.

In such a situation, the veterinarian prescribes the intake of specific antibiotics with a wide spectrum of action for a pet for such a period of 2 weeks. Thus, if a cat has a reaction allergic to flea saliva, the owner treats it, for example, with such an anti-flea agent as Sinulox.

Restoration of cat skin

In order to reduce inflammation on the cat's skin and speed up its healing, the owner adds specific fatty acids to the pet's food.

Also, if fleas bite cats often and for a long time, then the pet owner buys such dry cat food.:

• Coat Formula and Royal Canin Skin;
• Hill's z / d;
• Derma ProPlan Plus, etc.

However, if the cat eats homemade food rather than store-bought food, then its owner adds such food additives to the cat food.:

• Medizinal Dorschlebertranl - cod liver oil;
• Nordic Omega-3 Naturals - for cats and puppies.

Also, flea drops on the withers, such as Allerderm and Essential-6, quickly heal the inflamed areas of the cat's skin.

Symptoms

An allergy is a reaction to antigens that the flea's saliva contains. Most often, the disease manifests itself in kittens or young individuals. The earlier the symptoms appear, the more severe the consequences will be.

Signs of flea dermatitis:

• the cat is constantly scratching and gnawing wool;
• baldness and skin irritation begins, but there are no signs of inflammation;
• red itchy nodules form;
• there is less hair in the area of ​​the tail, abdomen, croup;
• skin pigmentation changes;
• scratches, scratches, scabs appear on the pet's body;
• fluid is released from the eyes and nose;
• the cat's upper lip is rubbed;
• breathing problems occur: cough, wheezing.

Symptoms usually appear in the lower torso of the animal. Therefore, if it scratches its face, neck or paws, then there are most likely other reasons for this.

Important!

A cat can itch for hours or days from the bite of even just one flea.

You can check for parasites with a damp cloth. You just need to gently wipe the affected area of ​​the skin. Red, pink, or brown streaks indicate flea feces.

Treatment methods

There are a large number of methods and preparations for the destruction of parasites. There are no universal ones among them: the choice depends on the health of the cat and the specific situation.

Anti-flea remedies

The same remedies are not always suitable for prevention and treatment. The question of the intended use of the drug should be resolved before going to the store. When choosing a medicine, consider the age of the animal and the number of parasites on its body. If there are many of them, then an integrated approach will be required.

Important!

If there is a large amount of damage on the body, then external agents cannot be used.

other methods

There are also folk ways to get rid of fleas from your pet. Such treatment will be effective in the case of a small infection. Also, the reasons for abandoning traditional medicine can be the following factors:

• pregnancy;
• allergy to insecticides;
• an animal disease with which the use of drugs is incompatible.

Important!

Do not use waste engine oil for treatment. This increases the amount of heavy toxins in the animal's blood.

Housing processing

Fleas are not permanently on the host's body. They can hide in upholstered furniture or carpets. Therefore, for the treatment to be successful, it is necessary to eliminate the parasites from the habitat of the tailed friend.

1. Carpets should be vacuumed, knocked out on the street, treated with a flea solution.
2. Textiles, soft toys and clothes will have to be soaked in an anti-flea solution and then washed.
3. Vacuum the furniture and treat it thoroughly. The upholstery can be disinfected with a steam generator.
4. Do wet cleaning.
5. Carry out chemical surface treatment.

Pay special attention to the cat's bedding, toys, and house. Replace them if possible. Remember to treat other pets.

Processing facilities

Preparations for the treatment of premises should meet some criteria:

• be safe for all residents of the house;
• be easy to use;
• act quickly;
• contain several active substances belonging to different groups of insecticides.

They are sold in the form of various aerosols, powders or concentrates for solution preparation. Most Popular:

• aerosols - Raptor, Dichlorvos, Reid;
• powders - "Peretrum", "Brownie", "Clean House";
• con, "Biorin", "Get".

Important!

Wear a respirator when using these products.

Antiallergic fight

If your pet has an allergic reaction to fleas, do not delay treatment. Over time, the consequences will only get worse.

1. At the first signs of the disease, the cat should be given suprastin or diphenhydramine in the dosage prescribed by the doctor.
2. If the skin is still not damaged, then the itching can be relieved with hydrocortisone ointment.
3. For wound healing, chloramphenicol ointment or cream is used, which contains aluminum ("Aluminum", "Alyusprey"). When treating with these drugs, put a collar on the animal, otherwise it will be poisoned during washing.
4. In severe cases, hormones or flea antigen drops are prescribed.
5. For secondary infections, antibiotics and antifungal agents are indispensable.
6. If, after getting rid of fleas, the itching does not go away, then glucocorticoids are taken.
7. Perhaps the appointment of immunostimulants: "Gamavita", "Tetravita" or similar drugs.