# Cat Health Question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645 "2012-11-02T10:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/1 "2012-11-02T10:44:18Z")
I am looking after my friend’s pets while she is on vacation. Two of the cats have scabs on their skin, mostly near their necks but some on their backs. I know there was a flea problem here a month and a half ago but my friend said it was taken care of. They aren’t scratching a lot like they have fleas and I have not seen any fleas on them. Some of the scabs are their backs, where they can’t scratch, so I don’t think they are just reopening old ones. Is it normal for these cats to still have scabs? Is there anything that can help them? My friend is pretty poor, so she probably won’t be taking them to the vet again. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/2 "2012-11-02T13:05:23Z")
It coud be an allergy to fleas rather than flea bites, which is what one of my cats has. It took a steroid injection to clear him up completely, even after the fleas were gone. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/3 "2012-11-02T13:39:11Z")
My cat gets them, it’s from chewing/scratching herself because of a flea allergy. The cats need another dose of flea meds, and they’ll need them every month for quite a while. Do the cats go out? If so, they’ll need them always. If the cats are indoor only and there are no other animals coming in and out, she might be able to stop after several months. But if there are fleas in the house, there will be flea eggs, and those can last a long time. She’ll need to keep up the meds until all the eggs have hatched, no more are laid, and the cycle is broken. Unfortunately, the cheaper grocery store flea stuff really doesn’t work, and can actually be dangerous for the cats (cats are really sensitive to chemicals) so it really needs to be from the vet, or at least one of the better brands (I use Advantage). There’s lots of info out there about controlling fleas and breaking the cycle, it takes some doing but it can be done. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/4 "2012-11-02T14:39:05Z")
We used to have four barn cats. One was flea allergic. In order for that cat to be fine, we had to treat all four cats every month. > [@by-tor](#): > > I am looking after my friend’s pets while she is on vacation. > \ > > My friend is pretty poor, so she probably won’t be taking them to the vet again. Maybe your friend could find a home for the cat where it can be cared for appropriately. After she returns from her vacation. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/5 "2012-11-02T14:47:46Z")
My one cat had these because the other cat would drag him around by the back of his neck, as a show of dominance from time to time. I think he thought he was his dad. (We got the one that was dragged around as a little kitten when the other was one year old). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/6 "2012-11-02T17:40:17Z")
I was thinking the same thing: if the scabs are where a cat can’t physically reach itself, then it’s probably the other one, during play-fighting, dominance displays etc. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/7 "2012-11-02T19:07:42Z")
They get those neck area scabs from scritching with their hind legs. I would be inclined to think it was fleas, there are other possible allergies but I would start with ensuring the fleas are gone before trying anything else. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/8 "2012-11-03T03:09:56Z")
Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/9 "2012-11-03T15:48:57Z")
According to my vet, another pretty common cause of scabs around the head and neck of cats is food allergies, particularly in older cats. The solution is to try some “limited ingredient” foods to try to narrow down the cause – my cat turned out to be allergic to corn; no corn, no scabs. He likes [Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck Formula Limited Ingredients Cat Food](http://www.petco.com/product/104221/Natural-Balance-Green-Pea-and-Duck-Formula-Limited-Ingredients-Cat-Food.aspx?CoreCat=SBB). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/10 "2012-11-03T22:20:28Z")
Moved from GQ to IMHO. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/11 "2012-11-06T14:18:50Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > According to my vet, another pretty common cause of scabs around the head and neck of cats is food allergies, particularly in older cats. The solution is to try some “limited ingredient” foods to try to narrow down the cause – my cat turned out to be allergic to corn; no corn, no scabs. > > He likes [Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck Formula Limited Ingredients Cat Food](http://www.petco.com/product/104221/Natural-Balance-Green-Pea-and-Duck-Formula-Limited-Ingredients-Cat-Food.aspx?CoreCat=SBB). This is exactly what I was coming in to say. Definitely sounds like an allergy. Even if you don’t go to a limited ingredients food, at least try a Grain Free food. > [@](#): > > Why feed grain free? > > In the wild your dog or cat’s diet would consist of primarily meat based proteins, and the occasional fruit and vegetable. Grain was consumed very little. Grain has in fact been found to cause or irritate some pets allergies. Grain is also very hard to digest especially in aged pets. > > Some of the benefits of feeding grain free (not limited to): > > Shiny coat, decreased allergies, healthy skin, increased appetite in picky eaters, increased energy, ease in passing of stools, reduced stools and decrease in weight for obese dogs or cats, > > Some of the brands that carry a form of the grain free diet: > > Orijen, Solid Gold, Merrick, Innova (EVO), Nature’s Variety, Wellness(core), Timberwolf, Natural Balance, Taste of the Wild. > > Read more at [http://www.infobarrel.com/The\_Benefits\_of\_Feeding\_Your\_Dog\_or\_Cat\_a\_Grain\_Free\_Diet#jU8qOpgfLm6zlqoE.99](http://www.infobarrel.com/The_Benefits_of_Feeding_Your_Dog_or_Cat_a_Grain_Free_Diet#jU8qOpgfLm6zlqoE.99) ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/12 "2012-11-06T14:38:21Z")
I don’t understand how someone who can afford a vacation is too poor to take her cats to the vet. I agree about the flea allergy. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-health-question/639645/13 "2012-11-06T15:18:42Z")
Sometimes ‘vacation’ just means scraping up the money for a plane ticket to fly home to visit family one hasn’t seen in years. Don’t judge just yet. 😉