Dealing with a cat's flea allergy

My poor Bella is allergic to fleas. I had been noticing her scratching constantly and she was getting nasty bumps and sores on her. Despite treating her for fleas, my thought was that she must be infested with fleas that were somehow resistant to the treatments. She was literally digging out clumps of fur, leaving raw wounds.

I took her to the vet to get a stronger flea treatment and it turns out that she was not infested. The vet said Bella is highly allergic to fleas so only one or two would put her in this state. I had to buy steroid medication, antibiotics, and the doctor gave her a shot of hydrocortisone to help relieve the itching.

For the rest of her life, I have to put Advantage II on her every 3 weeks. The usual 4 weeks is too dangerous for her as any flea bites cause such an extreme reaction.

Does anyone else's cat have a flea allergy?

 

That's so sad! My cats have never even had fleas, not once in there life. Is there anyway you could maybe limit the chance of exposure of fleas to your cat?

I heard an old wives tail, that if you put a little bit of Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) into the cats drinking water every day, it will keep fleas away from your cat.

I have never done this, as my cats are indoors and have no chance to get bit, but it might help!

 

Aww, poor thing. Our cat isn't allergic, but she does get really badly infested and it's hard to get rid of them on her. We end up doing it every 3 weeks when it gets like that, too, because if we wait at all, the infestation gets really bad during that single week.

 

This sounds like what Sibyl's going through right now. Her fleas just got really bad out of nowhere and she scratched that much. We got her back on a flea medication and we're taking her to the vet on Friday. She's had fleas before, though, and this has never been as big of a deal. That's my real concern, why now?

 

If you didn't already have her on flea prevention medications, then it's possible that she had fleas for a while before you even noticed. That could make it take longer to get rid of them. She may have just gotten a really bad infestation. Or if she's getting older, then maybe her body couldn't handle it as easily as she could before.

 

You can also spray some peppermint or eucalyptus oil around your house and yard. Fleas hate the way they smell and will stay away. Just mark your calendar to make sure that you don't miss a dosage!

 

I think that may be part of it. We also moved cross-country recently (Sibyl and I moved from Missouri to Georgia) so I'm thinking she may react differently to fleas in a different region. She's only three years old, though, so the age thing would be surprise me a bit. Either way, she's on medication and is going to the vet. I'm hoping she'll be fine!

 

Ohhh!

Yes, a different location could definitely do it. She may not have been prone to them in your last location, especially considering it was likely cooler during seasons where fleas would be hatching frequently. In Georgia, though, there may be a longer "flea season" and also more likely to be in your house instead of not being an issue.