Why is my cat's face and neck so itchy, even without fleas?

Question

My 15 year old cat, has been having an itchiness around his face and neck. At first, the vet thought it was an allergy to fleas but no fleas. Yet he still wants to scratch at his face and at times makes himself bleed. I'm thinking its an allergy of some kind but unsure what. There hasn't been any changes in his diet nor sorroundings. I noticed some dander on his body but he isn't itchy there. He has never had this problem before but only a couple of years but recently it has been bad. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 11 lbs

Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

Yes I think you are right and this is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be due to localized infection or mites.  First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.   If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.   Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Why is my cat's face and neck so itchy, even without fleas?

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