As cat parents, you must have noticed changes in your cat’s behaviour when it gets infested with fleas, as it develops a tendency to itch its body profusely. Though a single bite from a flea would not cause much harm, if your cat is sensitive to this kind of allergy from the saliva of the flea, even one bite can cast a lot of impact with constant itching, which in turn will cause your cat to inflict self-trauma.
Under clinical conditions, cats with FAD happen to show signs like redness, itching, chewing, licking and inflammation in earlier stages. When the condition worsens, the symptoms become more adverse and lead to hair loss and the formation of red crusts on the back and rump.
As responsible pet owners, while you try to provide effective relief to your cat’s condition as soon as you can, this article guides your way through the steps that need to be undertaken – from observing the symptoms carefully to providing the treatment to bring relief quickly.
What is Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD) that is seen to occur in cats?
An oversensitivity to the saliva of fleas is called Flea allergy dermatitis, which occurs in cats who are prone to this type of allergy.
How do cats develop FADs?
By being sporadically exposed to fleas, cats get infested with fleas that eventually spread across the body of the cat.
Is it sufficient for one flea to cause FAD or do they need to be present in great numbers to cause the disease?
Usually, a single bite from a flea does not affect a cat adversely. But if the fleas multiply while residing in the body of the cat and if the cat is allergic to the saliva of the fleas, then the condition is very likely to worsen.
What are the early symptoms of FAD in cats?
There are a few common signs that can be noticed by cat owners at the very early stage of infestation of fleas:
- redness
- inflammation
- itching
- chewing
- licking
What are the adverse symptoms of FAD in cats?
If cat owners ignore the early signs of flea infestation, the symptoms might worsen leading to:
- Hair loss due to hyper grooming done by the cats themselves, though the upper most skin might look normal
- Formation of tiny, red coloured crusts on the back and rump, which is called miliary dermatitis.
What are the factors that lead to the early symptoms of FAD worsening?
If the cat parent is ignoring the early signs of FAD like itching and mild redness, the cat will keep on itching and inflicting self-trauma upon the area affected, which leads to the worsening of the early, mild symptoms.
What are the most commonly affected regions for miliary dermatitis to develop?
The hindquarters and the region around the base of the tail happen to be the spots that are most prone to getting infested by FAD.
What are the most common areas that undergo hair loss due to overgrooming by the cats themselves?
The inner thighs, abdomen and flanks are the areas that are most prone to undergoing acute hair loss by the tendency of the cats to self-groom themselves.
Why do the cats self-groom themselves?
Since by nature, cats are very good in self-grooming their bodies, they try and get of most fleas that appear to their naked eyes.
Is it easy to pluck fleas off the cat’s body easily?
No, it is often difficult to be sure if your cat is having fleas as cats have a self-generated coping mechanism of self-cleaning where they pluck the fleas off their body, though they are never able to clear off all the fleas from their bodies.
Despite not having any fleas in the body visibly, why does your cat keep reacting to the condition of FAD?
Your cat will keep showing reactions like it did when it used to have fleas in its body because there are high chance that eradication of fleas was not fully done and there might have been a few fleas that are still residing in its body.
What can stop your cat from reacting to FAD conditions?
Eradication of fleas in the most real sense can make your cat stop showing the reactions of FAD.
Are there any products available in the UK-based market that will repel fleas?
Unfortunately, there are no products in the UK-based market that can be used as a flea repellant for your cat.
What are some of the effective eradicative measures that need to be undertaken by cat parents to eradicate the outbreak of fleas from their cat’s body?
There are some measures that can be considered by cat owners to prevent their cats from getting infested by fleas and thereby developing FAD:
- Cat owners can treat their cats with effective flea preventives of premium quality available in the UK market to achieve desired results and protect their pets from flea infestation.
- To treat the indoor as well as outdoor spaces that your cat keeps visiting recurrently with efficacious flea spray formulated for domestic purposes that proves to be handy against the immature life cycles of the fleas.
If you observe the signs of FAD occurring in your cat, you need to rush to the nearest vet immediately as he/she would be able to understand the symptoms better, detect the condition in the most appropriate manner and prescribe the most effective alternations that need to be incorporated in the prevention methods. This will greatly aid in diminishing the impacts of flea allergy dermatitis on your cat’s body. In serious cases, your cat will need to be provided with special treatment for the lesions that it has cast upon itself as a result of violent itching. This will bring the symptoms and the overall health condition under control.
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