My cat has scabs and hair loss. Is it a flea allergy? What to do?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | spayed | 7 years and 9 months old | 14 lbs
My cat recently has been getting scabs on her that started out being very little and only in certain spots, like under her chin. Now they have spread, gotten bigger, and resulted in hair loss. Google told me it might be a flea allergy so I put a flea collar on her. Will this help? What else should I do? Does this constitute as an emergency? Photos are of the hairloss on her back and a scab roughly the size of a dime on her neck
5 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on October 18th, 2017
This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Ciciregularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy. This isn't an emergency by any means.
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on March 21st, 2018
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, 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 any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on April 27th, 2017
This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Molly regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on November 23rd, 2019
Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Tito as this could be secondary to fleas, a skin infection, allergies, etc. The veterinarian will be able to recommend the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations based on the findings of the examination.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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Published on January 6th, 2017
I would expect that all the symptoms you are describing are due to fleas and a developing an allergic reaction to the flea saliva. Fleas can be difficult to eradicate as new life cycles will hatch every few weeks. I prefer to use Revolution to treat for fleas. Make sure you treat ALL your animals. In addition, you will need to be diligent in cleaning your environment. You may need to use a chemical bomb to kill all the larvae and eggs. Washing fabrics in very hot water will help. Be persistent!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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