ASK THE VET
MARCH 2006
My pet has been so itchy lately that she has scratched and chewed bloody sores on different areas of her body. I took her to our veterinarian and he went on and on about flea control, but my pets do not have fleas. What else could be causing my pet to scratch so severely?
Oftentimes, the term “allergy” is used loosely to refer to anything that makes a pet itch. Most allergens fall into one of three categories- flea bite sensitivity, food allergy and atopy.
If your pet is not already on an adequate flea control product like Frontline TopSpot Plus, Revolution, or Advantage which is being correctly applied at least monthly to every pet in the household (both inside and out), I agree with your veterinarian that it would be wise to first determine that fleas are not the cause for the itching. Flea-bite sensitivity or flea allergy dermatitis is absolutely, without a doubt, the single most common cause of skin issues in the Savannah area, and you can waste a lot of time, money, energy, and your pet’s comfort by not at least ruling out that it could be a flea problem from the very beginning. Just because you do not see them, does not mean that fleas are not there. In fact, we know that they’re there, but fleas can be very hard to find. They prefer to be on pets over people, so they won’t bother you unless your pet is no longer in the area or the infestation is severe. Also, fleas prefer dark, warm places and will linger well beneath the surface of the coat at the skin where it’s warm. When the hair is parted, they will dart from the light making them very difficult to glimpse, much less catch and remove.
Pets can also be pretty good at grooming fleas off of themselves. Especially cats, being such avid groomers, will often remove fleas before they can be found. The flea still may have had time to bite, setting off the whole itch reaction. If your pet has been diagnosed with tapeworms, then you know there has been at least one flea on your pet because the only way to get tapeworms is by ingestion of a flea containing the parasite. And you don’t have to have a severe infestation for fleas to cause problems. Even a pet that is being treated with an effective form of monthly flea control may have a flea jump on and bite before it dies. If that pet is highly sensitive to the bite of a flea, then a single flea can really cause severe itching.
Also, don’t be fooled by the products you will find on the shelves of grocery stores or the non-veterinary aisles of PetSmart. There are several over-the-counter products that are marketed to mimic the prescription products available through veterinarians. They are not the same at all, but are actually concentrated insecticides and can be dangerous. Not only will they not work as well, but I’ve seen them cause severe reactions in cats including seizures and death. Though they are a little more expensive, “you get what you pay for”, and Frontline TopSpot Plus, Advantage, and Revolution are simply going to be more effective.
For this reason, it would be foolish not to treat every pet in the household (inside and out) with a prescription flea product like Frontline TopSpot Plus, Advantage or Revolution at least monthly for an adequate period of time in order to determine that the problem is not fleas. Once that is established, dietary trials for food allergies or testing for atopy can be initiated.