scabs around neck

aaoz

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We have a 6 year old DSH with a history of skin irritation linked to food allergies.  We feed her Innova wet and a bit of Wellness dry, which works out for her pretty well.  She also gets a dose of allergy meds every day, just to help keep everything under control.

Recently we've been noticing a lot of little scabs around her neck.  I haven't seen her scratching more than usual, but she's pretty sneaky. The new thing in her environment is my mom's dog, who we're taking care of this summer.  My suspicion is that the allergy is to the dog food that she's been stealing (she's been getting a fair amount, but we're going to be much more strict), but my fear is that it might be fleas.  I haven't found any flea dirt on her, but her fur is very dense, and we don't have an actual flea comb to help check.  

She and our other cat are both indoor cats, so we don't treat them with anti-flea meds of any sort.  My concern is that the dog might have brought in some cat fleas somehow.  We have ordered some Revolution to dose them with, just to be careful.

Any idea which situation is more likely?  I'm leaning towards the food allergy, but I'd hate to end up with a flea infestation.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Can you invest in a flea comb?  I would try that first before giving any Revolution, but that's just me. 
 
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aaoz

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Sorry, I misspoke.  I ordered Advantage, not Revolution.

I picked up a flea comb today (one of the little plastic Safari ones-- those are good enough, right?), and couldn't find anything.  No fleas, no black specks.  Unfortunately, she has loads more scabs this evening, especially behind her ears.  I have her scheduled to go into the vet next Wednesday.  In the meantime, we're going to restrict her food completely to the Innova wet.  No treats, except the Pill Pockets for her allergy meds.  

Any other ideas?  We have her nails trimmed down so that she can't scratch herself as badly, but it doesn't seem to have helped.  
 
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aaoz

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Ugh, okay, I think I might have just found a flea on our bedroom floor.  Tiny, black, and very jumpy.  I have checked both cats and the dog thoroughly, and still no signs of fleas or flea dirt on them.  I have no idea what to do next.  We've never had to deal with fleas because the cats never go outside.  Also, I don't know if we can use chemical treatments because I'm currently pregnant.  Feeling overwhelmed right now.  More immediately, is there anything we can do to relieve the cat's itching?
 

just mike

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Ugh, okay, I think I might have just found a flea on our bedroom floor.  Tiny, black, and very jumpy.  I have checked both cats and the dog thoroughly, and still no signs of fleas or flea dirt on them.  I have no idea what to do next.  We've never had to deal with fleas because the cats never go outside.  Also, I don't know if we can use chemical treatments because I'm currently pregnant.  Feeling overwhelmed right now.  More immediately, is there anything we can do to relieve the cat's itching?
Hmmm...  When you get rid of the fleas the scratching will most likely subside unless the cat is allergic to flea bites.  I had a Border Collie once that was allergic to the actual bite of a flea.  While she was treated monthly with Frontline, the fleas would sometimes bite her before they died and this caused huge problems with her. 

I currently have 2 dogs.  They are indoor dogs but go out 4-5 times a day and to the dog park at least 3 times a week so they are outside quite a bit.  I treat them with Advantix and it works well for them.  I do not treat my cats with anything as they are indoor only.  Never have had any fleas on them.  I also treat the lawn with flea and tick spray which really helps also.  I hate using chemicals on my animals but fleas and ticks are the scourge of all things as far as I'm concerned and I'd probably use dynamite to get rid of them if I had to
  You might call the vet to see if treating the cats is the way to go.  I've heard also that regular Dawn dish washing detergent will repel (not kill) fleas if you want to try and bathe them.  I'd be careful their skin and coat didn't dry out if you go that route.  If the house is infested, you'll have to bomb it with those flea bombs and make arrangements to remove the animals for 3 hours. Good luck to you!  Such a pain and poor kitty with all that itching...  But as you said, could be a food allergy.  Also the weather this year has been really bad so it could be something seasonal has just cropped up.   
 
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aaoz

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My suspicion is that our situation is like the one you had with your Border Collie.  Our dog has been treated, but he brings in the occasional flea and before they can die, they bite him and bite our other cat, who we know is very prone to sensitivities that show up in her skin.  He's an indoor dog, but he goes for walks four times a day, and is usually at the run at least two of those times.  

I've still only found the one flea, and it looked like it was dying already.  We left out a flea trap last night and it didn't catch anything, so I'm pretty confident we don't have an infestation.

I'm going to check in with the dog's vet to see if we should be trying any other medications with him.  I know that there are oral medications that can cause fleas to die more quickly (I think the spot treatments take a few hours), so maybe that's a good idea.  I'll call my vet again today since yesterday when I called her I didn't know the problem might be fleas.

I've read that a combo of Dawn soap and apple cider vinegar can make a good flea bath.  Not as effective as the chemical ones, but it washes away the adult fleas and the vinegar can be soothing.  Know anything about that?
 
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aaoz

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We ended up treating all three animals with Capstar yesterday, and then washed them to remove any dead fleas.  We found two or three on each, but nothing crazy.  We've since seen a few dead fleas around the house, but not many.  Our cat and the dog both seem less itchy today.  We'll start the cats on Revolution this afternoon, once our other cat (long hair) is totally dry.  We're a little worried the dog's Frontline has lost its effectiveness for whatever reason, so I may call the vet and see about starting him on Revolution as well.  It's only been two weeks since his previous dose, though.

We did a very thorough vacuuming of the house yesterday, and I guess I'll do the same today.  Unfortunately, we'll be away for the weekend, so we don't have the option of doing the full cleaning (bedding, sofa covers, etc.).  That will have to wait until we get back.  I'm just hoping that the medication and cleaning we're doing now is enough to keep the fleas in our home under control while we're away.

My husband and I have not been bitten, and the flea trap we left out didn't catch anything, so we're hopeful.
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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I hope that does the trick for you (and the furkids!)
 
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