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My cat has flea allergy scabs. What's the best treatment and food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Maine Coon | Female | spayed | 2 years old | 2.53 lbs

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 help her heal faster?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 17th, 2020

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.

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Related Questions

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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
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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 r
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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Whats a safe flea treatment for a cat with scabs? I cant stop the fleas from hurting him to let the scabs heal! Im worried flea trestment would just irritate his scabs but the fleas are the problem!!!?
Flea treatment shouldn't cause too much more irritation to the skin, especially since it is mostly given just at the base of the head and no where else, if properly administered. I would recommend Revolution topical (Rx), because in my opinion it is the most effective and reliable treatment for fleas in cats. If Oliver has an overabundance of fleas on him and you need extra protection, then I would recommend giving him a Capstar (Nitenpyram) tablet 1 hr before applying the Revolution as a fast acting flea killer to reduce the flea load. Capstar kills all fleas on pets within 45 minutes after giving, then the Revolution is there to prevent further fleas from bothering him.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My cat is allergic to fleas. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to take him to the vet to get his shot or antibiotics because money is tight right now. I did get him Revolution, and it's seemed to help quite a bit. However, since he is allergic, he'
Treating the fleas is the first step in dealing with a flea allergy. Revolution is a great product, but it may still take 3 or more months to control the flea infestation. You will also need to treat the inside of your house. Fleas like to hide in carpet and under furniture, so you will have to vacuum thoroughly (and then throw out the vacuum bag) to try to decrease the numbers of fleas. This will have to be repeated several times a week to capture the fleas as they hatch from eggs. As for the skin, preventing itching will allow the skin time to heal. You can use an e-collar and/or a cat shirt to protect the skin. Here are some articles on fleas you may find helpful: https://www.petcoach.co/article/the-best-flea-prevention-plan-for-your-cat/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-get-rid-of-fleas/
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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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
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i have given my cat teddy capstar about a week ago but he has these little bumps that feel like scabs and look like scabs he itches alot and is always licking himself i gave him a good bath in flea shampoo and added some apple cider vinergar to the w
Capstar is a short term solution, and while it starts killing fleas in 30 minutes, it doesn't provide lasting protection. Flea shampoos also are not very effective, nor do they provide last infection. I would give Teddy another dose of Capstar, and then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his 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
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Health & Wellbeing
If my cat has flea allergies, what products can I use, and would it mess with her advantage treatment? Or do I have to only use the advantage?
Advantage treatment is a good start. If your kitty has flea allergies it is necessary to keep fleas from biting her. So: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian (Advantage is fine) and apply monthly 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust. Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas.
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A newly adopted kitten has given my older cats fleas. We have almost fully controlled the problem now, with the occasional flea but my older cat is a bit worse for wear with thick scabs on his neck and head from scratching. He seems to be on the mend
Fleas and allergies to fleas can set-up an environment for infection. It's possible that this is complicating the recovery process. The skin will often start to heal once the fleas are gone, but it's worth treating for infection by giving a bath with a medicated cat shampoo (can get this at the pet store). I recommend discontinuing the use of the other products (except the flea control) for now, because overuse and misuse of certain products can actually delay healing or make the problem worse. For instance, I worry about the use of the coconut oil, because fungal and bacterial infections will thrive in the coconut oil. It's best to just give a bath with the medicated shampoo once every 2-3 days, until the skin starts to look normal. It's expected that it will take a month or more until the cats start to look normal again, so stick with it and they should get through this fine. Treating for fleas is not just restricted to the host, because fleas can reproduce and nest in the
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Hi there’s a flea problem at my apartment. I have two cats from the same litter both a year and a half. One cat has no knicks or scratches and is bigger than her sister but the other cat has lots of gross scabs. I’m not sure why. But I also wanted to
When cats have a big problem with fleas, they can develop a flea allergy to the saliva from the flea bite. This can cause the scabs. Herbal sprays do not work to kill fleas, nor does this pet repellent device. Your cats need a chemical flea treatment program. First, I would give them Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash their 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. Have your cat with the scabs seen by a vet to get them treated.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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what kind of food should i buy my cat? i want to see if she has allergies or if it is a behavioral problem from her loosing one of her legs she has a bald line on her back and her stomach looks shaved and her back legs or do i have to make the food h
The first thing I would do with Bonnie is put a flea prevention on her. Even if she doesn't go outside and you do not see fleas she can be very allergic to them. The reason I jump to this first is the two locations for fleas to go are at the base of the tail and the belly. Cats typically you cannot see the fleas or flea dirt since they groom so much so you will just see hairloss and sometimes scabs. If she has scabs or she is licking a lot, a veterinarian can give medication to make her feel more comfortable. If this does not help then I would pick a salmon based formula food and gradually wean her onto it. It can take up to 12 weeks for a food to help. If either of these doesn't work then it is most likely behavioral and your veterinarian can prescribe medication. If this is a new thing then it is more likely a flea jumped on her at one point creating an allergic reaction. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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