Flea allergy in cats: 7 treatment methods and consequences

Cat fleas are small parasites that live in the animal's fur. The bite of such an insect leads to the formation of a skin infection or allergy in the pet.

Flea allergy is a common problem in pets. When it appears, the cat’s body forms a specific immune reaction. Thus, the animal immediately reacts to specific irritants (allergens) and at the same time tries to get rid of them.

Most often, flea allergies occur in small kittens or young cats. In the summer, with an increase in the activity of such parasites, the risk of an allergic reaction increases significantly.

The first signs of a cat flea allergy

Once a cat develops a flea allergy, it develops dermatitis, which leads to severe cat itching and skin lesions.

The first signs of such a cat allergy are::

the cat scratches for a long time or catches parasites on its fur with its teeth;
the pet carefully licks those areas of the skin that itch;
At the site of a flea bite, in which the flea feeds on the cat's blood, small wounds and scabs quickly form, and sometimes the animal's fur peels off.

Most often, fleas bite a cat on its back, near its tail. Therefore, first of all, the owner must check this area of the infected body.

Cat skin scabs look like grains of wheat, so they have 2 names - miliary lesions.

Thus, based on the above signs, the pet owner determines that he has a flea allergy.

Change in animal behavior

In addition to visual manifestations on the skin and hair loss, the psycho-emotional state of the animal changes. Due to severe, incessant itching due to an allergic reaction, the cat’s appetite decreases or completely disappears. The pet does not walk, becomes passive, spends most of its time lying down, scratching its skin.

Some cats, instead of passivity and apathy, on the contrary, may behave differently: their irritability increases, excessive aggressiveness occurs, which increases even more when the owner tries to touch damaged areas of the skin. The reaction to stroking the fur is a pitiful, prolonged meow.

Flea allergy treatment regimens

Before treating a cat's flea allergy, the resident first gets rid of the main cause of the disease - fleas. Then he treats his home, personal cat belongings, and also his garden plot with special insecticides if the pet lives in a private house.

Thus, they first sanitize their living space and area using highly effective insecticidal agents, and then begin to treat their sick cat.

Destruction of parasites

After completely removing fleas from their home, the household member will completely rid their cat of allergies within 2 weeks.

In such a situation, he performs the following actions:

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

It should be borne in mind that if cats develop an allergy 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 a cat;
washing is a harmful and unpleasant procedure for an infected pet due to the formation of skin wounds;
The collar is an effective preventive anti-flea agent. It does not rid the animal of these parasites and is contraindicated for skin ailments.

When using an anti-flea product, a household member gives it to the cat orally 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;
drops such drops on the cat's withers - 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 products are selected based on the cat’s body weight.

Sanitizing your home is considered a very important matter, because 90% of the flea population are 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 type of cleaning, people remove most flea eggs.

In such a situation, a household member performs the following actions::

daily vacuums places where the cat often rests, as well as various dark corners (under curtains, furniture);
washes floors with cheap domestic products - Butox, Neostomazan, etc.;
if the apartment has parquet or boards, then in this case the tenant uses a variety of insecticidal sprays (Raptor, Combat, etc.). The spray is also used to spray the space behind the room baseboards and places closed from prying eyes under the sofa, bed, cabinets and other furniture;
washes blankets, carpets and cat beds in a washing machine on a specific automatic mode with high temperature.

Such events are carried out in places where cats are more likely to be (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 flea allergies

Also, if a cat develops an allergy from flea bites, the resident uses the following hormonal agents::

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

However, the antihistamines listed below do not help cats against flea allergies.:

Suprastin;
Tavegil;
Zyrtek et al.

Antibiotics for flea allergies

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

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

Cat skin restoration

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 often bite cats 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 and others.

However, if a cat eats homemade food rather than store-bought food, then its owner adds the following nutritional supplements to the cat food:

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

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

Consequences of infection

For some reason, some owners are in no hurry to show their constantly scratching dog to a doctor. Unfortunately, in addition to the above-mentioned flea dermatitis with all the ensuing skin irritations and restless behavior of the pet, small bloodsuckers will cause much more serious damage to the health of a mustachioed pet:

Chronic form. This type of allergy is characterized by constant relapses, provoked by the owner’s connivance towards the problem and unwillingness to treat the pet well. In the end, insect bites will no longer be necessary for painful manifestations.
Anemia. Some insensitive dogs do not react in any way to the presence of fleas, which, by the way, multiply at lightning speed. For your information, about 70 females per day are capable of sucking about 1 ml of blood, imagine what will happen if they multiply greatly. Often, after being infected by dangerous flukes, dogs, especially representatives of small breeds, suffer from posthemorrhagic anemia.
Cucumber tapeworm. Another name for this dangerous disease is dipylidia. Hematophages are spreaders of this serious disease, which also affects humans. The dog endlessly licks the itchy spot and accidentally swallows annoying parasites. The causative agent of the disease penetrates the intestines of the animal along with the insect that previously swallowed the larva of a dangerous worm. An adult reaches a length of one meter. Cestodes developing in the intestines absorb nutrients and irritate the internal walls. Their vital activity leads to intestinal bleeding, obstruction and volvulus, which, in turn, will most likely lead to the death of the animal.

Prevention of feline dermatitis

In order to prevent the formation of flea allergies in cats, as well as dermatitis and other complications, the pet owner performs the following actions :

does not let the cat outside if it has a flea allergy;
Do not walk your pet in places where there is high air humidity. After all, it is in such areas that fleas live for a very long time;
treats cat fur with specific anti-flea drugs once every 1 month. Moreover, such products cannot be used if they have already expired;
puts a flea collar or a special flea collar on the pet;
regularly examines the pet - checks for the presence of various types of fleas on the cat;
more often treats the entire space in the corridor near the front door with specific long-acting products;
carries out wet, thorough cleaning and treats carpets with insecticidal agents against fleas;
If allergic feline dermatitis develops, take your pet to an appointment with the attending veterinarian.

If the pet's condition does not improve, then it should be immediately shown to the attending physician. In such a situation, the veterinarian takes a skin scraping from the infected animal and prescribes the necessary anti-flea medication from it.

Moreover, pet owners should not use anti-flea medications on their own without first visiting a veterinarian. After all, some of them lead to possible side effects.

In addition, if you do not go to the veterinarian in a timely manner, the flea allergy becomes chronic, or the cat develops dangerous complications, which often lead to its death. This also should not be allowed.

Diagnosis of the disease

At the first change in your pet's behavior, immediately seek help from a veterinary clinic. Experienced specialists will quickly detect the problem and make a diagnosis.

The most common methods for identifying fleas are:

Superficial inspection. Usually this method is not enough, since only in very advanced cases is it easy to detect the presence of insects on the animal’s body. In most cases, fleas are visible only on bare areas, for example, on the stomach, under the arms, and in the groin.
Leaf and comb method. The doctor takes an ordinary white A4 sheet, sprinkles it generously with water and combs the dog’s lower back with a comb, as if raking fur and skin particles down onto the paper. Flea bodies are immediately visible on a snow-white surface without additional equipment.
Microscopy of wool. If previous methods have not yielded results or the doctor continues to doubt the cause of the skin reaction, he will take a clump of hair for detailed examination under a microscope. This method is used to look for feces of parasites in the animal's fur.
Cytology. A scraping is taken from the affected area and carefully examined in the laboratory using magnifying instruments. It is usually used as an additional technique to exclude other possible diseases.
Blood analysis. Sometimes the doctor takes a blood sample, however, according to many veterinarians, this method is useless. Elevated levels of eosinophils in the blood indicate not only flea infestation, but also helminth damage.

Some clinics may ask you to show your ankles for signs of insect bites. Of course, the method is quite dubious and if the doctor does not offer another way to identify the problem, then you should turn to other specialists.

Purpose of therapy

After making a diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment for your pet. Follow the recommendations strictly. Destroying fleas and eliminating the consequences of their outrage on a dog’s body is a rather difficult task, and it is almost impossible to rid the animal of hypersensitivity to saliva.

Of course, the appointment will be made by the attending physician, but the owner would also benefit from information about the most effective treatment methods:

Lethal dose. Today on the market there is a huge number of all kinds of tablets, sprays, powders, drops, collars that destroy bloodsuckers parasitizing on the dog’s body. You can easily get confused among this diversity. An experienced specialist will select the right products based on the animal’s condition and the severity of symptoms. Preparations based on imidacloprid and fipronil are considered the most effective. The active substances enter the flea through the blood of an infected animal, although they are not absolutely harmless to our tailed pets. In any case, adhere to the veterinarian's instructions and strictly follow the instructions.
Fighting allergies. Depending on the scale of the lesion and the severity of the form, the patient will be prescribed concomitant medications. Injections of gluconate or calcium chloride, sodium thiosulfate, which is also administered intravenously and, in extreme cases, hormonal preoral drugs such as prednisolone. The listed substances are aimed at reducing the development or completely stopping the allergic reaction.
External means. The veterinarian will also prescribe special ointments and shampoos that will soothe the unbearable itching and make the four-legged patient feel better.
Deworming. As previously mentioned, fleas are carriers of worms and other helminths, so this item will definitely be included in the prescription.

Please note that antihistamines such as Tavegil, Suprastin and others, as a rule, are ineffective for dogs and competent doctors do not prescribe them.

What about vaccinations?

Immunotherapy is used in an attempt to reprogram the cat's immune system.

Flea saliva extract (flea antigen) is administered to the cat in small quantities over a long period. This immunotherapy is used in an attempt to reprogram a cat's immune system so that it no longer overreacts to flea bites. If successful, the cat will no longer itch when bitten by a flea, or it will become less intense. This therapy is successful in approximately half of the cases.

Diagnostics

Flea allergy dermatitis can be identified through a visual examination by a professional physician. When examining the skin, bites and deposited flea larvae are detected, but very often the symptoms of flea dermatitis can be similar to other diseases, so for a more accurate diagnosis it is recommended to conduct a series of diagnostic examinations.

First of all, a laboratory blood test is carried out, since in this case the hematological picture of the blood changes dramatically. Flea dermatitis, especially its advanced form, provokes erythropenia and leukopenia. These conditions are accompanied by severe exhaustion of the animal and if appropriate treatment is not started, the animal may die.