Flea Allergy In Fiv+ Cat

[mkc61187]

My cat Sadie has a flea allergy and is also FIV+, making it difficult to heal her skin issues.
All of my pets are on a monthly flea prevention, and Sadie uses a seresto flea collar to allow for removal as she needs frequent medicated baths.
I have been back and forth to the vet for months with this. I don't know what else to do. Her skin is at the worst it's ever been. She has been on prednisone on and off, along with antibiotics.
She does dart out of my house occasionally and my yard has not been treated for fleas. I also don't think her collar is working for her anymore. She's had it 4 months and it's supposed to last 8.
Would it be ok to treat her with advantage while still wearing her seresto collar?
I'd love to hear from anyone that has had to deal with a flea allergy in an FIV+ cat.

 

[carebearbaby1]

I'd call your vet and ask about using the two together. Have you thought about using an oral preventative like Comfortis? The pills are large, but you can crush it up and put it in canned food. It won't wash off or irritate her skin.

 

[duckpond]

I dont think i would treat with advantage, not immedietely after taking the collar off, or at the same time? Maybe check with your vet on this. I dont know if the drops, like advantage, or the pill like carebearbaby1 suggest would be best, maybe another question for the vet?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I'm so sorry your kitty is going through this! Poor Sadie!

If you are specifically using a seresto flea collar, I think your best bet is to directly ask the vet about drug interactions with seresto collars before you try adding any other flea drug. Seresto uses Flumethrin and Imidacloprid for its active ingredients.
Your vet may have the best advice on this.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

I'm sorry Sadie is going through this. My cat, Pixie, is FIV+ and also has a flea allergy. When I rescued him off the street his head was almost completely bald from the allergy. I know you mentioned in your post you have been to the vet and Sadie has been on prednisone and antibiotics. Has your vet talked to you about a corticosteroid shot? My vet gave one to Pixie after getting rid of his fleas because he was still reacting much like your Sadie is. The shot Pixie got lasts a few weeks, but it calmed the allergy for the most part. He is having other issues at the moment, we just found out he is asthmatic. Also, I noticed in your post Sadie darts out the door sometimes. Is she an indoor cat? Pixie is strictly an indoor cat, and I find that it has helped him tremendously.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

As for the flea treatment, can your vet recommend a different flea medication? I had to try a few different flea preventatives before finding the one that works. He is on Bravecto, and have had no fleas on him ever since.

 

[Dickie]

Hi!
I also have a FIV+ allergic to flea bites, and my cat also have frequent skin problems for alergies general.
I also think that life indoors is how it would be best for his, because it is much more difficult to control fleas or other insects outdoors. Your skin is open to many more infections if you stay outdoors... it is difficult to control allergies or fungi in an immunosuppressed cat if you are constantly exposed to them. But if this is not possible, ideally you should change your antiparasitic method and strengthen your defenses.
Bravecto is administered orally, it's a good idea, I use it on my dogs and they do great, in cats I have no experience.
put on my cat monthly in an antiparasitic pipette (Effipro), I have already said that they live inside the house, but I have dogs and although they are with Bravecto, they can bring some flea eggs etc... and I have prevention. These pipettes are part of the treatment of flea allergy, they are offered to me by my vet ("frontline", "Effitix" etc... they are also good for this problem)
Talk to your vet about them.
Also I give my cat Melchor, for his skin problems, a treatment with pipettes called "Dermoscent essential" (I don't know if they are available in your country... maybe your vet knows something similar, I buy them in pet online store) are pipettes like the antiparasitic but not antiparasitic, these have essential fatty acids that penetrate directly into his skin, since I usedhis skin are much better, because inside the house there are no fleas, but my Melchior is also allergic to mosquitoes, mites etc.... his skin can defend better and complications of allergy or wound for stress are smaller...
On the other hand, also when he suffers a crisis and gets wounds or bald spots, I put pure Rose Hip Oil on him. Like a cream, it soothes you very much and as you scratch less the wound heals before and better.
I hope you find a solution to Sadie problem.

 

[Sunshine1228]

My cat Sadie has a flea allergy and is also FIV+, making it difficult to heal her skin issues.
All of my pets are on a monthly flea prevention, and Sadie uses a seresto flea collar to allow for removal as she needs frequent medicated baths.
I have been back and forth to the vet for months with this. I don't know what else to do. Her skin is at the worst it's ever been. She has been on prednisone on and off, along with antibiotics.
She does dart out of my house occasionally and my yard has not been treated for fleas. I also don't think her collar is working for her anymore. She's had it 4 months and it's supposed to last 8.
Would it be ok to treat her with advantage while still wearing her seresto collar?
I'd love to hear from anyone that has had to deal with a flea allergy in an FIV+ cat.

 

[Sunshine1228]

You can bath the cat with a cat shampoo that is oatmeal based and you should let it stay on the skin for at least 2 minutes before rinsing off. Sometimes the flea shampoos, although will help with the fleas themselves, can end up being an irritant, as they contain alcohol and other chemicals. I always check with my vet before using any new products. And of course it also goes without saying that you need to get a handle on the flea problem, which means, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If you think you did the vacuuming one to many times, you probably need to do it once more. If your vacuum has a bag, you need to change the bag regularly as well.

 

[mkc61187]

I'd call your vet and ask about using the two together. Have you thought about using an oral preventative like Comfortis? The pills are large, but you can crush it up and put it in canned food. It won't wash off or irritate her skin.

I think I am going to go with Comfortis, or the 3 month pill (I can't remember the name).

 

[mkc61187]

Hi!
I also have a FIV+ allergic to flea bites, and my cat also have frequent skin problems for alergies general.
I also think that life indoors is how it would be best for his, because it is much more difficult to control fleas or other insects outdoors. Your skin is open to many more infections if you stay outdoors... it is difficult to control allergies or fungi in an immunosuppressed cat if you are constantly exposed to them. But if this is not possible, ideally you should change your antiparasitic method and strengthen your defenses.
Bravecto is administered orally, it's a good idea, I use it on my dogs and they do great, in cats I have no experience.
put on my cat monthly in an antiparasitic pipette (Effipro), I have already said that they live inside the house, but I have dogs and although they are with Bravecto, they can bring some flea eggs etc... and I have prevention. These pipettes are part of the treatment of flea allergy, they are offered to me by my vet ("frontline", "Effitix" etc... they are also good for this problem)
Talk to your vet about them.
Also I give my cat Melchor, for his skin problems, a treatment with pipettes called "Dermoscent essential" (I don't know if they are available in your country... maybe your vet knows something similar, I buy them in pet online store) are pipettes like the antiparasitic but not antiparasitic, these have essential fatty acids that penetrate directly into his skin, since I usedhis skin are much better, because inside the house there are no fleas, but my Melchior is also allergic to mosquitoes, mites etc.... his skin can defend better and complications of allergy or wound for stress are smaller...
On the other hand, also when he suffers a crisis and gets wounds or bald spots, I put pure Rose Hip Oil on him. Like a cream, it soothes you very much and as you scratch less the wound heals before and better.
I hope you find a solution to Sadie problem.

Sadie is strictly an indoor cat, but the problem is that she will sometimes dart out the door. I do bring her in as soon as I can. She will run and hide in bushes and it sometimes takes a few minutes before I can get her back in. Just those few minutes outside can cause a lot of problems with her skin.
Is Bravecto the 3 month pill? I almost purchased the 3 month pill at the vet, but went with the seresto collar because it was supposed to work for 8 months, but just 4 months in it's not working.