Hi, i thought i would post on here to see if anyone could give me any advice. I have 2 cats i rescued as their mum was ferral and they were living outside. I have had them for coming up to 3 years now, they are male and female. She is very tame now and prefers to stay indoors where as he is the opposite hes alwyas out and about and getting into mischief.

I dont see too much of him he likes to be out doors but comes home for food and a little cuddle then hes off again. Both cats are regulary treated for fleas and worms. The last few weeks he has been constantly scratching his ears neck and chin. I have checked for fleas and bathed him and no sign of anything. I tried to get a firm hold of him last night to have a look (this is very difficult due to his nature) and when i rubbed my fingers accross his skin under his chin and on the back of his neck i could feel very small bumps that felt like scabs. I parted his fur and these are scabs were in a very darkish colour, there were about 4 round his neck and 2 under his chin. Has anyone come accross this before? I am planning on taking him to the vets this week. Also, i got up this morning and found one he had scratched off on the floor so im unsure as to if these scabs are the reason he is scraching or is he causing them by scratching?

Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Nicola

If the scabs are seasonal then it could be plant pollens causing the problem otherwise it could be his diet (that is if you are sure it is not fleas?) Of course he could be allergic to flea saliva which may be causing him to scratch.

I think I would clean the areas with hibiscrub or something similar and keep an eye on it to see if that helps reduce the scratching.

My first thought was food allergy considering the duration location of the scratching-a classic sign of this. Flea allergy would be more widespread. Also of course being a mainly outdoor cat it's possible he's encountered something that set off a reaction, though I think it's more likely to be food related IMO.

Incidentally cats are far more likely to develop a food allergy to something they've been fed a long time as opposed to a new addition to their diet.

It could be stress related - has anything changed recently that could upset him?

We have a semi-feral, and a couple of years ago she was being bullied by her sister (who was fully tame). This stressed her out and she started obsessively scratching at her head and neck to the extent that she'd draw blood (first thing we noticed was blood running down her neck - we thought she'd been attacked!)

No chance that they are ticks is there?

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