Treatment FAQ

why is my cat scratching after flea treatment

by Abe Armstrong Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Why Does My Cat Keep Scratching Even After Flea Treatment? There are other conditions that can irritate your cat, such as a heat rash or an allergic reaction. If your indoor cat is treated for fleas, they can cling to the coat of your outdoor cat, so drop them off before they bite and hop on the untreated one.

Why is my pet still scratching after applying flea treatment? It's fairly typical after you've applied Itch Flea for there to be a period of hyperactivity amongst the fleas as the product takes effect, and this can cause an increase in itching. It should settle down though after 24 hours.Apr 23, 2021

Full Answer

Why is my cat so afraid of flea treatment?

Nov 11, 2003 · Got about 6 fleas over a couple days, so applied Hartz spot flea treatment. Now, no more fleas in comb after 4 consecutive days of looking, no more flea dirt in bed, but kitten is scratching like crazy (suddenly biting at her fur/licking, scratching neck, etc. with hind feet), more than she ever did when she actually had the fleas.

How to stop a cat from scratching itself?

Aug 04, 2018 · Cheristin, like many flea treatments, is applied to the cat’s skin, where it is absorbed into the body. When the flea bites the cat, it dies. The medication is reapplied every 30 days, so there ...

What you should do for a cat bite or scratch?

Jun 30, 2020 · If a flea bites a cat, it can cause itching. The cat will frantically scratch at the bite area to get rid of the itch. This scratching alone can lead to numerous problems, which include loss of fur, swelling, painful sores, and an infection of the bitten area. But the fleas are also carriers of various other parasites.

What is the best remedy for Itchy cat?

Why Does My Cat Scratch More After Flea Treatment? It is possible that treated fleas will become more active before they die The ingredient in FRONTLINE Spot On and FRONTLINE Plus that kills fleas makes them hyperactive before they die. If your pet has fleas on its coat, it may feel a bit more itchy than usual until they are killed.

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Do cats get more itch after flea treatment?

Treated fleas may become more active before they die So you may see fleas come to the surface of your pet's coat and your pet might feel a bit more itchy than usual until those fleas are killed.

Can flea treatment cause itching?

Treatment with a fast-acting topical flea and tick medication on a pet can cause itching or brief irritation at the application site, as the product does its job and kills pests. As the animal reacts to this irritation, it can begin to fidget and scratch.

Do cats scratch after fleas are gone?

Eventually the flea population will decline. Then the skin will settle down and the itching will stop. This all takes time. It is important to re-apply the Frontline as directed, and to make sure that it is applied carefully each time.Jan 20, 2013

Why is my cat acting weird after flea treatment?

If your cat is acting weird after flea treatment application, you will need to consider the possibility of flea treatment poisoning. It is possible the cat will have ingested a small amount and will react disgustedly. However, if they have ingested enough it can pose a serious risk to their health.Feb 5, 2019

How can I soothe my cats itchy skin?

Shampoos that are made especially for cats generally moisturize the skin, which reduces itchiness. Cat shampoos that contain colloidal oatmeal or phytosphingosine are generally the most useful in reducing your cat's itchiness.Feb 2, 2021

How do I know if flea treatment is working?

A. The active ingredient in FRONTLINE (fipronil) kills fleas by affecting their nervous system, making them hyperactive before dying. These dying fleas often rise to the top of your pet's haircoat, so the presence of visible fleas after treating your pet, is a sign that the product is working.

Why is my cat grooming so much after flea treatment?

Ingesting Flea Treatment Residue While Grooming Your cat may well be the cause of its own sickness. A cat's instinctive need for cleanliness may be the culprit. While grooming their fur, they may ingest enough of the flea treatment residue to harm themselves.

How long after fleas do cats itch?

“Your pet may itch for up to 2 weeks after a bite, and the itching will be severe and even damaging to your pet's skin,” Osborne says. Other signs of FAD include: A rash on your pet's skin or raw, irritated, or bleeding areas on your pet's body.Mar 7, 2019

How long will I see fleas after treatment?

Often owners will see fleas reappear about 3-4 weeks after the application as this is when the largest number of flea pupae (from eggs laid by the fleas killed 3-4 weeks earlier) are ready to hatch. Allowing your pet free access to all parts of the home will help to get the fleas to hatch out of their pupae.Dec 3, 2012

How do cats feel after flea treatment?

Symptoms of toxicity can include twitching, hypersalivation, trembling and seizures. If you start to see tremors shortly after applying the flea treatment, the best thing to do is bathe Fluffy or Fido in lukewarm water with a gentle dish soap like Dawn or Palmolive.Jan 14, 2015

What if my cat licks the flea treatment?

If your pet happens to lick the topical flea medication, give them a small amount of their food to help relieve the bad taste. Next, contact your veterinarian or the APCC for additional steps to take and signs to monitor for.Jul 25, 2016

Can my cat sleep with me after flea treatment?

You can usually cuddle and pet your cat immediately after receiving an oral flea prevention medication. Topical products can take a few hours to soak into the skin layer. Avoid petting your cat for 24-48 hours in the spot where you applied a topical medication.Mar 22, 2021

Why does my cat react to flea serum?

Other times, your cat might simply have an adverse reaction to the serum because of a weak immune system. You might be the one at fault, as well; if pet owners use dog flea medicine on cats, or adult cat medicine on kittens, their pets are likely to behave erratically after their treatment.

How to treat a cat with fleas?

How to Perform the Treatment. Deworming and anti-flea treatments are crucial for your cat’s safety. Administering them is a bit uncomfortable for the cat, however. You have to take a pipette and apply the anti-flea serum onto the nape of your cat’s neck. The process is rather simple:

What do fleas eat?

For instance, flea larvae tend to feed on tapeworm proglottids. Each proglottid stays inside of the larva during the pupal stage. Once a cat ingests the pupa, the tapeworm can manifest inside the cat and continue its life cycle.

Why does my cat change his behavior?

A change in your cat’s behavior always causes concern. Your cat’s changing behavior may result from illness, injury, pain, stress, or fear, but before you can bring your cat comfort, you must get...

What is a flea?

Fleas are external parasites. They attach themselves onto the body of a host, usually a mammal, and bite their flesh. Most often, a flea will simply jump up from its natural habitat and attach itself to the host. However, animals (as well as humans) can also pick up larvae while walking through tall grass or wooded areas. The larvae will then develop on the host’s body until they mature into adult fleas.

Can cats get flea spray?

When you apply them onto the fur, the cat can ingest them by accident and get flea treatment poisoning. In fact, it doesn’t even have to do it consciously. For example, if I were to get an anti-flea spray, I could accidentally spritz some of it into my pet’s mouth. And it doesn’t end with ingesting the product, either.

Can you use anti-flea serum on a kitten?

But taking care of a cat is not always the same as taking care of a kitten. Kittens are delicate and frail compared to adult cats. They are still developing, so you can’t use any adult products on them. Even a regular dose of an adult cat anti-flea serum could harm the kitten by poisoning it.

Why does my cat act weird after flea treatment?

Other reasons your cat acts weird after flea treatment. While poisoning is the most worrying reason your cat might act weird after flea treatment, it is not the only one. If your flea already has a flea infestation, then they might be acting irritable or annoyed because of the fleas.

How does anti-flea poisoning occur in cats?

How does anti-flea treatment poisoning occur in cats. The contents of the anti-flea treatment pipette are absorbed into the skin. Intoxication can occur when the components are too strong for the individual cat's system. Perhaps they have a weakened immune system or are an otherwise vulnerable cat.

Why do cats put flea treatment on their neck?

This is why flea treatment is applied using a pipette on the nape of the neck. Prepackaged pipettes control the dosage and the placement prevents the cat from ingesting the toxic chemicals. While deworming and flea treatment is relatively very safe, you may wonder why your cat is acting weird after flea treatment.

What diseases can fleas cause?

There are many other possible diseases which can be caused by flea infestation. A report from 2017 even claims that “the prevalence of flea-borne diseases has been greatly underestimated by health practitioners and agencies” [2]. The same report reveals some of these diseases which include: 1 Rickettesial disease (caused by the bacteria Rickettesia) 2 Bartonellosis 3 Plague 4 Tapeworms 5 Flea allergic dermatitis 6 Feline leukemia virus (FLV) 7 Calicivirus

How do you know if your cat has flea poisoning?

They will show signs of irritation which may include vocalizations and even slight aggression. However, these behaviors should stop eventually once they have calmed down. This is why it is very important to know the symptoms of flea treatment poisoning in cats.

How do fleas pass on to cats?

Fleas are an external parasite and pass on to the feline host by attaching themselves to their coat. This occurs either by an adult flea jumping on to the coat of the cat from another animal or person, or by the larvae developing in the environment and attaching themselves to the cat.

How long does a cat's hair stay in a pipette?

Most applicators will come in a prepackaged pipette which gives your cat enough protection for a certain amount of time, usually around 3 to 6 months. The hair is parted at the back of the cats neck and the contents are squeezed out. The area is then gently massaged into this part of the cat.

Why does my cat react weirdly after flea treatment?

In some instances, a cat may act weird after flea treatment as a result of stress and anxiety.

Why do cats run around after flea treatment?

When cats sense the overly active fleas on their bodies, they may run around, scratch, rub themselves against surfaces, vocalize, and pant. Worry not because your cat’s strange behavior after getting flea treatment will go away on its own, usually when all the fleas on it are already dead and no longer moving around.

Why does my cat have anemia?

Many things can cause a cat to suffer from anemia. One of them is a severe flea infestation. Fleas can drink lots of blood, which can deprive a cat’s vital organs of much-needed oxygen — the blood, the red blood cells (RBCs), in particular, are the carriers of oxygen.

Why do cats pick up fleas?

Because cats are very curious animals, they can pick up fleas rather easily. As a matter of fact, up to 18% to 19% of cats have fleas. The good news is that a flea infestation is highly treatable. However, once upon a time, you may have noticed a cat acting weird after flea treatment. There are five most common reasons why ...

How long does an anti-flea collar last?

What’s so nice about an anti-flea collar is that it can provide results for five to eight long months. On the other hand, a spot-on flea treatment’s effect can last for only about one month. But for an anti-flea collar to keep your cat free of fleas for months, it should be worn by your pet all the time.

What to do if my cat is fleaing?

Two of the most popular include applying a spot-on flea treatment and using an anti-flea collar. Some cat owners prefer taking a trip to the vet. Regardless of which flea treatment you prefer, it’s possible for your cat to act weird afterward.

Why does my cat scratch so much?

Sometimes, a cat may experience severe itchiness and scratch violently because of flea allergy dermatitis. As the name suggests, it’s a form of dermatitis resulting from flea bites, and it can cause skin infections, scabbing, and hair loss.

Can cats chew on fleas?

Bella: Now, we’re not big on pills and potions for every single thing, but flea allergy dermatitis is very painful and uncomfortable — and if it continues long enough, a cat may even start neurotically chewing and biting on the affected area even though the allergy or infection is no longer there.

Does flea goop kill fleas?

We know the good brands of flea goop aren’t cheap (Mama uses Vectra on us, by the way), but the good goop is really the only way to kill fleas and keep them from reproducing. Siouxsie: The other thing you have to do is clean the heck out of your house. Flea eggs can live in pets’ bedding, in your furniture, and in carpets and throw rugs.

How to treat fleas on dogs?

How to treat the flea problem? I would recommend using a veterinary flea product either in the form of a spot on (applied to skin at the base of the neck), impregnated collar or a spray directly on your dog. It is however really important to treat any in-contact animals not just dogs but cats too.

Why does my dog's skin get itchy?

Dry flaky skin may well be as a result of scratching due to flea infestation , but can also be affected by allergies and medical conditions.

What does flea dirt look like?

Flea dirt is the waste product produced by fleas and when dry it looks like little black specs; however if you wet it these black specs turn red as they contain digested blood. This brings us to the ‘wet paper test’, we comb through your pet’s coat and collect the debris onto a piece of wet white paper, if there is flea dirt present there will be small red dots visible where the flea dirt has dissolved in the water. The wet paper test helps to distinguish between flea dirt and just dried mud that may be on your pet’s coat.

What causes skin irritation?

The skin has its own inbuilt barrier to substances that can cause irritation this however can be weakened in conditions such as Hypothyroidism ( underactive thyroid gland ), Cushing’s disease (overproduction of natural steroids) and bacterial skin infection.

Can you find fleas on the underside of a dog?

It can be easier to find fleas on the underside of your pet as the coat is naturally thinner here. It is often easier to see the flea dirt in your pet’s coat than the actual fleas. Advertisement.

Can fleas jump?

Fleas can jump but they can’t fly , they need blood feeds to survive and a large proportion of the flea population are in the environment as oppose to on your pet.

Can cats carry fleas?

Cats can also carry the fleas and they do not even have to be your own cats, for example if a cat comes through your home or garden then the fleas can jump off or deposit eggs as they go. This is why we often advise treating the home environment and in-contact animals also.

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