Allergy? - Small Scabs on Neck

abby2932

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Hi guys,

I was giving Malibu a good scratching last night and noticed that he has a few small scabs around his neck area. Probably about 4 or 5 different spots. He is a (very) long-haired cat so they are difficult to find but definitely there if you are looking for them. I'm not sure how long they have been there but I want to say not long.

He's an indoor cat and gets a strict monthly dose of Revolution so I really don't think it could be fleas.

I have not changed my laundry detergent, hand soap or cat litter in years.

I feed a raw diet and he gets a total of 6 rotating proteins (chicken, beef, rabbit, goat, cavies and turkey). None of these proteins are new to him.

Could this be a food allergy? I've read that food allergies show themselves on the neck/face lots of times. He doesn't appear to be itchy and there is no hair loss, just scabby skin under all of that fur. I've been thinking that I might wait a week or two to see if these go away but if they still remain or get worse I thought I might do a food trial. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Much appreciated!
 

seaturtleswims

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Do you know how revolution works? I couldn't find a straight answer on their website, although this website was interesting: http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/revolution-flea-control.html

Since revolution attacks all life stages, even the larva fleas which live under the skin and so are killed when the meds are absorbed into their blood stream, but if there are adults, they have to bite to die and if they are allergic to the bite, then they will still break out. Did you have any family/friends over recently who have pets? I used to be a dog trainer and would leave work with flea bites on my ankles (I'm super allergic to them) and later found out one of my clients was using frontline *eyeroll*. Were you pet sitting at all? Have a dog on a different brand? Those buggers hitch rides from all over.

Do your cats ever go at it? Not often, but sometimes mine will get into it and maybe they left scratches. I feel like if it were a food allergy, more common symptoms include scratching, redness of skin and hairloss than scabs. But if he's been scratching a lot, then maybe that's the source of the scabs...
 
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abby2932

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Thanks for your thoughts!

I do actually go over to my moms every weekend. She has animals that do have fleas. I also regularly cat-sit for my downstairs neighbor whose cat is indoor-outdoor and not on any flea medicine.

I'm hoping that the scabs are something simple such as a flea bite like you mentioned. I really don't want to do a food trial since they take a very long time and are a pain in the butt but of course I would do it if I believed it is a food allergy.

I'm not really sure how food allergies work. Any other signs I should look out for if that's what it is?
 

seaturtleswims

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The most common are itching, red skin, sometimes yeast infections, and hair loss- I imagine there could be other symptoms but those are the typical ones ;) Good luck!
 
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abby2932

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Just to follow through on my concerns in the original post, I am convinced the scabs are from itching because of fleas.

Originally I had mentioned that Malibu did not appear to be itchy but I have seen him scratch his neck more than usual since I posted last night. I decided to give him a bath with Malaseb shampoo to relieve his itching and I found one dead flea on the bottom of the bathtub. I swear, I have been searching relentlessly for days for fleas or flea poop throughout my cats fur and I have seen nothing. However, the flea in the bathtub is evidence and I have to believe that's the cause of the scabs on his neck.

I bathed both of my cats in the Malaseb shampoo and they are almost dry now. Malibu seems to be comfortable, although he didn't look uncomfortable before...

Their next monthly dose of Revolution is tomorrow, ironic as that is, so I'm hoping that his scabs clear up after his bath and dose of flea medicine.

This was so unexpected, really. Malibu is 9 years old and we haven't had a flea problem since I brought him home as a kitten. I never miss a dose of Revolution...crazy...
 

stephenq

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Just to follow through on my concerns in the original post, I am convinced the scabs are from itching because of fleas.

Originally I had mentioned that Malibu did not appear to be itchy but I have seen him scratch his neck more than usual since I posted last night. I decided to give him a bath with Malaseb shampoo to relieve his itching and I found one dead flea on the bottom of the bathtub. I swear, I have been searching relentlessly for days for fleas or flea poop throughout my cats fur and I have seen nothing. However, the flea in the bathtub is evidence and I have to believe that's the cause of the scabs on his neck.

I bathed both of my cats in the Malaseb shampoo and they are almost dry now. Malibu seems to be comfortable, although he didn't look uncomfortable before...

Their next monthly dose of Revolution is tomorrow, ironic as that is, so I'm hoping that his scabs clear up after his bath and dose of flea medicine.

This was so unexpected, really. Malibu is 9 years old and we haven't had a flea problem since I brought him home as a kitten. I never miss a dose of Revolution...crazy...
He's an indoor cat and getting monthly flea treatment?  Are fleas in your area so bad that this is needed?
 

pushylady

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I just noticed my cat Wiggies has some scabs and scratches around his ears. He's been shaking his head a lot recently too. They're due their Advantage today, so we'll be putting that on and I hope that will deal with it. I'm not really surprised or concerned though because it's been quite humid and warm, and they will scratch a lot. I know it's very hot and humid down in Louisiana, and I bet that contributes to the insect population being quite robust!
 
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abby2932

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I live in New Orleans and have a lot of ferals in my little neighborhood. I would hazard to guess that we do have a lot of fleas? But really, I give him the Revolution mostly for the risk of heartworm. I know  we have lots of mosquitoes practically year round (maybe not in Jan-Feb) and they do make their way in the house.

I've spoken to my vet about switching to Heartguard only but he's very pro-Revolution for cats. I'm already a weirdo in that I feed the cats a raw diet and choose not to vaccinate annually so I'm not going to rock the boat about the Revolution (for now). My plan is to continue usage while he's perfectly healthy. I do a full senior blood panel in March every year and I know that one day (a long time from now and when he's very, very old! 
) his numbers are going to get wacky and I'll discontinue the Revolution so I don't add the stress on his organs. 
 
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abby2932

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I applied my cats' scheduled monthly dose of Revolution on Tuesday evening. Last night, Malibu was still very itchy and in my search through his fur I found another live flea. So far now, I have seen 2 fleas on him: 1 on Monday when I gave him a bath and one last night, 24 hours after the monthly dose of Revolution. I haven't been able to find any more on him and I can't find any on Kali so I'm thinking that Malibu may just be highly sensitive to them. Unfortunately, he is continuing to scratch his neck like crazy and is getting new scabs daily. 

Could the fleas be resistant to Revolution? I'm seeing a lot of "flea" threads here in the Health forum so I know I'm not alone here. It must be a bad season. I'm very shocked and confused as to why the Revolution is not working right now. My cats have been on it since kittenhood and I haven't had fleas for many years.

I went to a feed store last night and picked up some food grade  diatomaceous earth (sp?) and sprinkled it all over my floors, pet beds and cat condos. I only have wood and tile (no carpet) so I just swept it throughout the house to let it get in the wood cracks and tile grout. I also sprinkled just a tad on the back of my cats necks and backs and rubbed it in their fur, careful not to get any in their face or create a cloud of dust for them to inhale 

I don't know what else to do? I don't think  I have an "infestation" as I have only seen 2 fleas but maybe I'm just not very good at finding them. My cats have long, thick hair and it is difficult to look through them and to get them to sit still long enough for me to search. And Kali is black so it might be hard for me to see them in her fur.

Does anyone have positive experiences with food grade D.E for fleas inside the house? I know it takes up to 48 hours to kill the fleas with the D.E....do you think it would be OK for me to leave the D.E on the floor for a week or two before I vacuumed and mopped it up? I want to be sure they come in contact with it. 
 
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