I think one of my cats is suffering from cheyletiellosis.
Freya has always been prone to allergies and sensitive skin. She was feral born, TNR'd in the autumn of 2013 when she was about 5 months old. After I had her spayed I put a collar on her so that people would know someone was taking care of her. She developed an allergy to the nickle plated link that attached the tag to the collar and scratched a big bloody patch on her neck. The vet prescribed a steroid cream and I removed the collar.
Every year at the start of winter she starts to scratch herself raw. It gets really dry here in the winter so I have a humidifier in the house, which helps a bit. She is treated regularly with Frontline between May and October. I've never seen any fleas on her or any of the other cats. They are groomed almost every day with a flea comb. However, there are a lot of mosquitoes and deer ticks around and the Frontline stops them getting bitten by those. It's too cold for bugs in the winter so I only treat them during the summer.
All the cats have outdoor access to an enclosure, but they don't come into contact with any other animals.
She's been scratching a lot these past few weeks and this morning I was finally able to get her into a carrier so the vet could take a look. (Always a challenge with the semi-feral cats) She tested negative for the mites that cause demodectic, notedric and sarcoptic mange. The vet said that it is common for cats to have a few mites and they don't usually cause any problems. He thinks that Freya is just hyper-sensitive to getting bitten by anything, so we're trying to get rid of whatever mite is causing her to itch.
I've treated the whole gang with Frontline. All bedding, cat and human, has been taken to the coin laundry and put through on the hot cycle. I've had anything that won't fit in a washing machine hanging outside all day in the hope that our frigid mountain air will kill whatever is there. I've also ordered a pet-safe flea, mite and tick killer spray to zap the sofa and mattresses. We don't have any carpet and I vacuum twice a day most days.
Is this enough? Do I need to throw all the bedding out or is a hot wash and a spray enough to kill the mite?
Freya is the only one scratching, the rest of the cats don't seem to be bothered by whatever is making her itch.
If you've dealt with this with any of your cats I'd be grateful to hear what worked for you.
Freya has always been prone to allergies and sensitive skin. She was feral born, TNR'd in the autumn of 2013 when she was about 5 months old. After I had her spayed I put a collar on her so that people would know someone was taking care of her. She developed an allergy to the nickle plated link that attached the tag to the collar and scratched a big bloody patch on her neck. The vet prescribed a steroid cream and I removed the collar.
Every year at the start of winter she starts to scratch herself raw. It gets really dry here in the winter so I have a humidifier in the house, which helps a bit. She is treated regularly with Frontline between May and October. I've never seen any fleas on her or any of the other cats. They are groomed almost every day with a flea comb. However, there are a lot of mosquitoes and deer ticks around and the Frontline stops them getting bitten by those. It's too cold for bugs in the winter so I only treat them during the summer.
All the cats have outdoor access to an enclosure, but they don't come into contact with any other animals.
She's been scratching a lot these past few weeks and this morning I was finally able to get her into a carrier so the vet could take a look. (Always a challenge with the semi-feral cats) She tested negative for the mites that cause demodectic, notedric and sarcoptic mange. The vet said that it is common for cats to have a few mites and they don't usually cause any problems. He thinks that Freya is just hyper-sensitive to getting bitten by anything, so we're trying to get rid of whatever mite is causing her to itch.
I've treated the whole gang with Frontline. All bedding, cat and human, has been taken to the coin laundry and put through on the hot cycle. I've had anything that won't fit in a washing machine hanging outside all day in the hope that our frigid mountain air will kill whatever is there. I've also ordered a pet-safe flea, mite and tick killer spray to zap the sofa and mattresses. We don't have any carpet and I vacuum twice a day most days.
Is this enough? Do I need to throw all the bedding out or is a hot wash and a spray enough to kill the mite?
Freya is the only one scratching, the rest of the cats don't seem to be bothered by whatever is making her itch.
If you've dealt with this with any of your cats I'd be grateful to hear what worked for you.