Cat losing hair between hind legs

[moreknow]

So i noticed one of my predominantly indoor cats has been losing hair between hair in her legs, and she's the only one with that problem. the other 2 indoor cats seem fine. She seems normal (no signs of stress) apart from that, and I read that it could be fleas as a result of alopecia. I want to try to get the best flea/allergy treatment, but I heard some flea products actually end up killing the animal, like Hertz products. Any safe recommendations?

Many thanks in advance

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi, It could also be allergies - environmental or even the litter. It cold be food too, but I would think she would have other areas on her body affected as well. Are the other cats on flea treatments already? If not, they would likely all have fleas. The best way to test for fleas is with a flea comb. Take a dish of soapy water and use long strokes on her with the flea comb. If there is anything 'moving' in the comb, dip it in the soapy water as that will drown any fleas you find. Also, look for dirt in the comb (little black specks are flea dirt, which is a nice way of saying flea poop). You can also take a paper towel and wipe off the flea dirt from the wet comb, if the paper towel turns a bit pink, that is indicative of blood from the flea poop). If none of this occurs, it probably isn't fleas. You can, however, also do the same thing with your other cats, just as a double check.

I would first ask your vet what flea treatments they recommend. When you get a list you can look them up for side effects, effectiveness, etc. There is no way to verify that one flea treatment is the best one. It is more like the most effective/best for your area, and your vet should generally know.

If this is not flea related, start to look for other things that might be causing an allergic reaction in her.

 

[fionasmom]

Don't use Hartz, but that is really its own issue. It is an OTC product for one thing and I have not ever used any OTC insecticides of any kind including wormers. I have safely used Advantage (for cats specifically) and Revolution. In this area, most vets and clients have found that fleas now have a resistance to Advantage in some cases.