Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My cat has flea allergy scabs that keep returning. How to help him?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered

Our cat is allergic to fleas. They have given him steroid shots and antibiotics and he is on flea medication. The steroids and anti biotics work for a little but then the scabs come back. I have bathed him before with a little dawn dish soap and it really helped clear it up for a good amount of time but I don't want to irritate his wounds or hurt him. how can I make him more comfortable

This question includes photos that may contain sensitive content. Click to view.

View more to consider that the photos may include sensitive content.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Debi Matlack

Veterinary Technician

Published on August 8th, 2018

I have a flea-allergic cat too and it is very frustrating. Ask your vet about giving her an over-the-counter allergy medication to help relieve the itching. Chlorpheniramine and cetirizine (Zyrtec) are commonly used to help cats with itching. Something else to consider is that your cat may have other allergies that are contributing to the problem. A common allergy is to the protein source in the food. Ask your vet about a limited diet or about getting Boris started on a product like Prescription Diet z/d. This diet is formulated with hydrolyzed proteins, a process that changes the protein in the food in such a way that the body doesn't recognize it as an allergen, and it still provides the nutrition your cat needs to be healthy. Also, consider asking for a recommendation to a veterinary dermatologist. They have more and better testing available to them as well as specialty education in skin problems that may make them better able to help you and your cat.

Vote icon

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 20th, 2017

    Itchiness can be caused by various reasons such as fleas, mites ,fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. the first 4 needs to be ruled out before we start treating for allergies. in order to do that first de-flea her with a high quality flea treatment such as advantage spot on, if it doesn't help - take her to the vet in order to check for/treat the other possibilities. If everything is ruled out, then an allergy treatment can be started. Usually an hypoallergenic food is a good way to start together with anti histamines. if it doesn't help - the best solution is a medication called Apoquel which treats allergies with great success and without side effects.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is allergic to flea saliva,what can i use to prevent scabs around her neck?
Flea allergies can be difficult to manage in sensitive animals. In severely allergic animals, they can cause skin infections from excessive scratching, which can resemble scabs, pimples, or red raised lesions. Be sure to use a high quality flea preventative (such as Advantage, Bravecto or Revolution) regularly. If your cat currently has scabs, she should go to the vet for an exam to determine if she needs a course of antibiotics. In most cases, regular flea preventatives are sufficient to prevent a severe flare up of flea allergies. However, some cats require allergy immunotherapy injections to manage these allergies if preventatives alone are insufficient. Should you need to go this route, you will need to talk to your vet and/or a veterinary dermatologist about allergy testing. I hope that all goes well!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
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
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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Two of my cats have flea allergy dermatitis. I used PetArmour Plus, it had the same ingredients as Frontline. What can I use to help with the itching and get rid of the crusty papules. Please help me figure out what is best for them. Am I using the
I'm sorry your cats (and you!) are dealing with you. Unfortunately, once a cat has a flea dermatitis, the itching and skin problems can continue even once you get rid of the fleas. The degree of which really depends on the severity of their sensitivity to flea bites. Often, we have to use antihistamines or steroids to resolve the inflammation. Sometimes we also have to incorporate antibiotics if there is an infection. For dogs, there are topical shampoos we can use, but those are often not a good option for cats. So, I would recommend having your veterinarian examine your cats' skin to determine if there is a secondary skin infection or just inflammation in order to help you determine the best treatment. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat has flea allergies I believe . He has scabs and hair loss by his tail. I used Cheristin for his fleas. Is thier anything else i can do? He still seems to be itchy just not as bad. He has no fleas that ive seen. I Used the flea product four day
Making sure Keanu doesn't continue scratching with the use of an Elizabethan (cone) collar or a T-shirt over the area may help reduce irritation, as well as keeping the area clean and dry. If you see any visible wounds or oozing of debris, etc, I would be concerned that the allergic reaction has turned into an infection and it should be seen by a vet and treated. If the are also doesn't heal, or doesn't seem to improve, further vet care is best.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat Eli has flea allergy dermititis. Gets a spot on flea treatment monthly, and I always have a packet of the 15 mins acting flea tablets incase I see her scratching continuously. I also have flea house spray as I have three outdoor cats. But I ju
Have you disinfected the home? Fleas live in the environment, not on the cat, they only jump on to feed and then jump off. If you haven't treated your home, that will be a continuing source of fleas for Eli. Do have her seen by a vet to treat her dermatitis, and disinfect your home. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I met again with my vet and he said that my cat has flea bite hypersensitivity which caused her to scratching and the appearance of scabs on her skin. What is the best flea treatment can I do for her and what ingredients in food should I look for to
The best flea treatments are Revolution and Advantage in my opinion. Ingredients in food will not help Baby heal faster, do not change her food. Changing her food can lead to stomach upset. It's most important to disinfect the environment. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Cat has some kind of skin problem or allergy and what the vet we took her too did the last 2 times barely lasted 2 weeks she never gets fully healed like she used to. The vet we used to take her to is retired now and don't know what he used to give h
poor girl! First I would make sure she is on a high quality flea preventative made for cats. One flea bite can cause an allergic reaction like this. I would also try to find a new vet since your last vet is now retired. I would talk to your vet about potentially give her a long acting steroid injection like depo-medrol to help decrease the itch and help with the hair regrowth. The steroid injection can stay in their system for 8 weeks and most cats tolerate them really well if they are healthy enough for the injection. Your vet will be able to tell whether or not she needs an antibiotic as well. If this is due to allergies, the best way to control it is to control the allergies. I would start with the flea control. If she has fleas, keep in mind that fleas don't live on the pet but in the environment so I would have your house and yard treated for fleas. I would also all other animals in the house are also being treated with a monthly flea preventative. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Im trying to find out why my domestic short hair is so itchy all the time? He doesn't have flees, I am absolutely positive about that. He licks and itches his neck, belly, back end, and the inside of his back legs. He gets small scabs in all of these
Hi there! The most common cause of excessive itching like this in cats is allergies - either food allergies, or an allergy to something in the environment. You may want to talk with your veterinarian about allergy testing to help identify the source of the problem so that you can put together a treatment plan based on this information. If he's allergic to something in his food, he may need to be on a prescription diet like Hills z/d or Purina HA to help resolve the itching. If he has environmental allergies, you could consider hyposensitization injections or long-term daily medication like prednisolone or Atopica.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I have a female 4 year old tuxedo cat. She cleans herself a lot but lately she does it nonstop and scratches so much she has a ton of scabs on her chin and neck. She doesn’t have flees. I’ve checked Several times. Secondly, she sleeps in my room wit
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed.  There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies.  Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market).  If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for env
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat has a scab like thing on her chin. And now I've noticed she has another little one coming. I don't know what it is but she has been scratching it Cruz now its scabby. What do you think it can be and is there a home remedy to hello her out. No
This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas 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 get her to 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 discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to stop the chewing and repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider starting on a long term allergy treatment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored