We explain how to cure and prevent this common skin disease in domestic animals, especially cats.
We have heard more than once about scabies in domestic animals, especially in cats and dogs, but what exactly is scabies? Scabies is a disease of the skin and external ear that is caused by a mite, more specifically the one that bears its name, the scabies mite or Notoedres Cati.
This mite crawls under the skin of kittens, where it begins to move and dig small paths or tunnels, leaving striking red areas visible. It is so small that you can barely see it if you are not an expert and it belongs to the same family as spiders. Its cycle lasts between 14 and 21 days, during which it is very easy to infect.
There are different types of scabies, some affect the head, others the skin, and others the ears, and they can be very contagious both between cats and dogs or even humans. But there is no need to fear it, it is easily treated, the problem is that it has a very high percentage of contagion and it is a disease that can go unnoticed until it is very advanced.
How does it affect cats?
Basically, it can affect them in two ways or in two specific places, on the skin of almost the entire body, especially on the head and stomach, or on the ears. The scabies that appear on the skin is called scaly scabies and the ones that appear on the ears or external ear is ear scabies. Scabies on the skin causes it to flake, hence its name. This type of scabies is sometimes confused with dandruff. It usually appears on the head of kittens, although it can appear on the sides or the entire back.
Ear scabies is quite common, almost all cats suffer from it at some point. When our cats suffer from it, they start scratching themselves anxiously, hurting themselves. Later, they start to feel sad and even stop eating, beginning to lose weight drastically. It is a dangerous disease because if it is not treated properly, our cats run the risk of dying.
Diagnosis of scabies
Cats suffering from mange usually have irritated, red, and somewhat inflamed skin. In some areas, the hair may have fallen out considerably or only a little, and the skin where the alopecia has spread may bleed.
This is most common near and inside the ear, on the belly, and near the genitals. What’s more, a cat with mange may have spots on its fur caused by the disease. In the most severe cases, you can even see the larvae of the mites, which are yellowish-orange in colour. Its most obvious symptoms are:
- Hair loss begins. It usually starts around the ears and can extend to the face and neck of our cat. Even if it is severe, it can reach the paws and lower abdomen.
- Itching occurs. The affected skin becomes red and what we commonly call ‘raw’. We observe changes in the skin. The skin where the scabies has spread becomes more fragile, thinner, and wrinkled.
- Scabs begin to form. Cats scratch themselves because of the itching and clean themselves, causing scabs that can become infected. They are yellowish in color. The lymph nodes may become swollen. You should check your cat’s neck, shoulders, armpits, back, abdomen, and inside of the knees for swelling.
Once we have made sure that our cat has any of these symptoms and we take it to the vet, it is easy for him to know if our cat is affected by mange, since Notoedres cati is easy to identify with a simple skin scraping of the lesions. Its morphology is what helps us to easily identify it since this mite has short and thick legs. And they are small, measuring less than 1 mm.
How is scabies spread?
It is transmitted through the skin, that is, mostly through physical contact, but sometimes direct contact is not even necessary; simply being close to an infected person is enough for infection to occur.
Therefore, if your cat is in contact with stray cats, or with dogs that may have the mite, or even if you simply cover your cat with a blanket that may have previously covered a cat that you are not sure was carrying the mite or not, your cat may become infected. Sometimes, even humans infect our own cats, or vice versa.
Treatment and cure of scabies
There are many methods to treat and prevent scabies. But it is best to go to the vet so he can suggest a treatment, since they may be more for prevention than for cure, or perhaps our kitten needs something stronger and more aggressive. Only the vet can know what treatment our cat needs.
- Natural remedies: The truth is that there are no natural remedies that are really effective, or that have a very noticeable effect. Neither to prevent infection nor to cure them. Most of these remedies use essential oils or extracts from different plants. They usually indicate that you rub the area to be treated or wash your cat with water after boiling certain plants. These plants include mandarin, lavender, citronella, oregano, pennyroyal, grapefruit, rosemary, etc.
- Chemical antiparasitics: There are different types, such as pipettes, tablets, injectables or shampoos, soaps, sprays, etc. Pipettes are liquid and are spread along the cat’s back following the line of the spine, starting at the head. Tablets are antiparasitic pills or tablets.
Injectables are antiparasitic vaccines, which work very well to keep our cats protected. And shampoos, soaps, or sprays are lotions to bathe our cat or spray its skin and which have a lower efficacy but help to make it constant and more effective if we also use any of the other methods.
When to consult the vet
When your cat starts scratching itself avidly in certain areas, which starts to redden in a strange way, creating rashes and irritated skin. When, in addition to this, the cat starts to lose hair, you should go to the vet to find out if it is mange, or if it could be any other type of disorder such as stress or even an eating disorder. Especially if your cat no longer eats and plays like before.