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Section: Overview
Flea allergy dermatitis is the most common allergy in cats and is caused by flea bites, specifically the saliva of the flea. It is a very itchy disease and predisposes to the development of secondary skin infections. Oddly enough, most animals with flea allergy have very few fleas – because they are so itchy, they groom themselves excessively, eliminating any evidence of fleas. However, a couple of flea bites every two weeks are sufficient to make a flea allergic cat itchy all the time. Any animal can become allergic to fleas, although some cats are more attractive to fleas than others. Fleas are bloodsucking insects with a life span of 6 to 12 months. This life span is influenced by environmental conditions and can vary from two to three weeks up to a year. Optimal conditions include humidity of 75 to 85 percent and temperature of 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity is more important than the temperature.
As one might expect, flea control can be very time consuming, expensive and difficult. The good news is that currently, with the newer flea products on the market, flea control is much safer, more effective...
Alopecia is the complete or partial lack of hair in any area of the skin where hair would normally be found. In cats, it may be caused by self-trauma, hair follicle diseases or the failure of hair to grow...
How pruritus affects your dog’s health depends on the degree of the pruritus. Severe pruritus leads to intense scratching, which may result in painful skin lesions that may become infected.
Tapeworm infection is an invasion and multiplication of the small intestinal tract by a parasite, most commonly, Dipylidium.
The flea is a common problem for cats as well as their owners. As if flea bites aren’t bad enough, some pets are “flea allergic” and develop severe itching and scratching with even trivial infestations...
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