Flea allergy dermatitis question

[Missy & Kitty]

Hi everyone! I posted this earlier on the Lantus TR forum, and it was suggested that I post here as well.

I took Kitty to the vet almost 2 months ago for scabs on her neck and face. The vet said it was flea allergy dermatitis, and he gave her a cortisone shot. The scabs cleared up, but that's when I noticed her drinking lots of water and peeing a lot. I took her to the vet again and found out that she was diabetic. The vet said we could never give her cortisone again (thank goodness), but the scabs are coming back. He wants to use a topical antibiotic to keep any staph down. Has anyone else had any issues with flea allergy dermatitis? Is there something I can do without using an antibiotic?

He also wants to get her on a flea medication. What are some safe flea medications for diabetic cats? Kitty's numbers have been normal the last few days; the last thing I want to do is to make her BG get out of control. I've always been leery about flea medications anyway since they are full of chemicals. I don't want to do anything that would harm my cats. I gave one of my cats some worm medicine not too long ago, and he almost died. I'm scared about giving them anything now!

 

[BJM]

There's 2 parts to your question - flea control and treating the dermatitis

Options for flea control:

Lots and lots of vacuuming - the vibration makes the eggs hatch, so place the bag into a plastic bag and seal it when disposing.

Household flea bombs - Everything living needs to be out of the house when you set off a flea bomb, due to the chemicals. These are much less effective if you have a lot of clutter! Leaves a residue which may be toxic or irritating to you or the animals.

Household flea sprays - These will leave a residue, which may be toxic or irritating to you or the animals. A finagle is to spray a cloth or pad (ex a disposable bed pad) and put the sprayed side down where it can affect the fleas but not you or the animals.

Flea comb - Time consuming, but does work if done religiously (as in daily). Shake off comb into bowl of soapy water (use Dawn as if any gets on the cat, it is safe). Note that if you have any mats, you start combing at the outer edge of the mat and gradually work your way inward, while holding the mat with your fingers next to the skin, so that tugging on the mat does not tug on the skin (tugging can be painful to the cat).

Pet flea sprays - Cats may not appreciate being sprayed plus may ingest the ingredients.

Flea bath - This is time consuming too, and may generate great resistance in some cats. Dawn dishwashing detergent works, as will many other products. You may need to dry and comb out any dead fleas, larvae, and eggs.

OTC Topical products - Depending on your area, some of the over the counter topicals may have become ineffective. Ex Frontline Plus is not working in my area of Columbus, OH. Advantage II is partially working on cats in my area. Your area may be different, so check around

Rx Topical products - Because they are often newer, the local population of fleas may not have built up much resistance to these. They can be rather expensive.

Capstar - Capstar works well to kill adult fleas. It does NOT affect eggs and larvae. It only works for 24 hours, so it would need to be given daily if that was all you used; it would be pretty expensive to do that daily for more than a few days. As a quick means to shut down a new infestation, it interupts the egg laying for a bit while you use other methods to clean the environment and kill the fleas. It has a wide safety margin per posted information at the FDA. Because of that safety profile, I have heard of some rescues getting the larger dog tablets and breaking them into smaller doses to save money.

Worming - Fleas transmit tape worms. If you have fleas, assume you have tapeworms and worm your cat(s). The vet can do it or you may purchase praziquantel (ex Tape worm Tabs at PetSmart and online ) and do it yourself.

You will likely need a combination of these options (ex vacuuming, Capstar, flea combing, and a monthly topical); discuss with your vet to avoid doing too much.

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Dealing with the dermatitis

You might try gentle, pet safe wipes to keep the area cleaned and to remove any loose scabs.

Both alcohol an peroxide will sting and burn in any open wounds, so if you want to use either, make sure there is no broken skin first.

Use of a topical treatment, such as an antibiotic if infected, may require concommitant use of an e-collar to prevent licking and scratching.

If the dermatitis is bad enough, oral steroids may be given, and insulin doses may need to be adjusted around that. This is true for any condition where steroids may be appropriate in your diabetic animal - you adjust your insulin dosing around the need for the steroids.

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Some reading

Flea Allergy Dermatitis

Fleas of Cats

 

[Missy & Kitty]

Hi BJM!

Fleas transmit tape worms

You are correct, the cats get tape worms from eating the fleas. I was buying the three pills at Petsmart for about $30, but I found a site called Entirely Pets that sells three bottles for $30. I found a coupon code here, and the whole thing cost $30.44 (including shipping!) That's awesome, but I definitely want to get rid of fleas instead of treating them for worms.

I have been using a flea comb on all of the animals lately; they all love it. One of my outside cats gets fleas really bad along his back, so I take a small trash can and fill it partially with warm water and dawn dish soap. I brush the cat with the flea comb and then drop the junk into the water. It really does work!

Thank you so much for the detailed answer on each option. This is great info!

Lots and lots of vacuuming - the vibration makes the eggs hatch, so place the bag into a plastic bag and seal it when disposing.

I'm going to get a new vacuum bag and get to work. Thank you for the tip about the plastic bag! I'll definitely do that!

With so many pets, I'm not sure I can afford to give them all topical medications (which I kind of wanted to avoid anyway because I am scared of the chemicals), so maybe I can try treating the yard with nematodes, use the flea comb every day, vacuum EVERYTHING, and wash their bedding. I brushed Kitty and put neosporin on her scabs. Hopefully that will heal those areas and keep them from getting infected.