The itch, lick, scratch routine

Fish flavoured foods can cause skin and gastrointestinal allergies in some cats

With the warm weather comes the pesky things that cause allergies. Fleas, ticks and other biting insects commonly set off an attack of the itches.

Pets can also be allergic to grasses, trees, plant pollen, dust mites and moulds, as well as certain foods.

Itchy dogs may bite, lick or scratch with their legs. Cats tend to over-groom (constantly lick) certain areas, causing hair loss.

Itching quickly leads to self-inflicted trauma of the skin and this causes secondary infections. Treatment becomes more complicated and more costly once infection occurs.

Top tips:

Be absolutely vigilant with flea treatment all year round. Fleas are a major cause of itchiness and regularly using a flea treatment is cheaper than treating an itchy pet!
Keep your pet away from known ‘problem’ plants – including Wandering Jew and Paspalum grasses
Avoid fishy foods for cats – you may be surprised but these can often be an underlying cause of allergies (skin and gastrointestinal)
Some pets may find relief with an antihistamine – ask us for information
The good news is, we can prescribe certain drugs to help break the itch, lick and scratch cycle. We can also perform allergy testing to help get to the bottom of the problem.

Call us today for advice.