What is Cat Flea Allergy and what you can do to treat them?

Fleas, especially during the summer period are a menace to cats. They have detrimental effects on cats’ health and one most common concern among all cat owners is the development of cat flea allergy.

Cat flea allergy is the most commonly seen skin disorder in cats. It is commonly known as flea allergy dermatitis.  In a normal cat, flea bites usually have minimal effect on them but when a hypersensitive cat is exposed to fleas, they can experience immediate and intense itch and swelling. Their skin becomes inflamed, irritated and itchy in reaction to the saliva excreted by the fleas when they bite on the cat for their blood meal. This reaction can lead to hair loss and skin lesions and is worse during the warm months of the year.

The clinical signs of flea allergy in cats are very similar to other allergy dermatitis. However, if you detect fleas in your cat, then you can be certain that it’s flea allergy that you are dealing with. Sometimes, it’s not easy to find fleas on your cat but try looking for flea dirt instead. These are tiny pepper like flea feces. With the presence of flea dirt you can be sure that your cat has fleas on it.

Here is how you can pick-up some flea dirt.

Place your cat on a large white piece of paper. Comb through its fur and notice if there are any tiny dark specs of pepper like particles on the paper. Sprinkle some water onto the specs and if you see it spreading out like small bloodstain, then it’s flea dirt. 

How do you treat cat flea allergy?

There are 2 approaches to treatment of flea bite dermatitis in cats:

Firstly, Prevention:

The best way to prevent exposure of your cat to fleas and hence flea bite allergy is to have a well planned flea control for cats. Only by getting rid of the fleas totally or completely can you prevent them from coming into contact with your cat again. No fleas, no bites!

Use a monthly topical like Avantage, Revolution, Frontline or Frontline Plus to kill off existing fleas as well as to prevent further contact with fleas. The monthly topical can be used together with an oral product like Program suspension for cats to prevent the flea eggs from hatching and hence breaking the flea life cycle.

Treating your cat alone may not be sufficient. Fleas may jump off from cat to the surrounding environment. Flea eggs may also drop off from your pet and hatched into adult fleas before jumping back on to your cat. Hence, it’s important to treat all areas within your house as well in particular the areas that your cat frequently visit.

The products and ways to treat your house depend on the severity of infestation. You may need to use flea flogger to cover a large area.

Refer to the section on “House Flea Control” which describes the products and how you can get rid of fleas both indoors and outdoors.

Secondly, Treating flea allergy dermatitis 

The skin of affected cats would tend to be itchy and inflamed. Constant scratching may result in secondary infections. It’s important to keep the skin clean. Your vet would normally prescribe a course of antibiotic and hydrocortisone cream for your cat.

The section on “Flea Bite Treatment For Pets” gives a full coverage on treatment options available.