Itchy pets
Itchy pets is one of the most common reasons a pet gets taken to the vet clinic. Pet parents might notice that their cat or dog is scratching at their skin with their paws, rubbing their itchy body on the ground or licking a lot at an area on their body (ex. feet).
These are all signs that your pet is itchy!
If your pet is itchy, it might be because of one (or more) of these things:
parasites
food allergies
allergies to things in the environment (grass, pollen, dust, etc.)
skin infection
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What to look for: most pets will be VERY itchy. Fleas like to live around the base of the tail. Your pet will be itching all the time. Some pets can have fleas and not be itchy.
How to help your pet: Prescription veterinary products are the best way to treat any parasite infection. To treat fleas, you will need to give all your pets a monthly treatment for 3 months in a row.
Is this contagious? Not to humans - you or other human family members cannot get fleas, lice or mites from your cat or dog (but they can bite humans sometimes!). Be careful though because cats and dogs can share these parasites with each other. If one of your pets has fleas, they probably all do!
NOTE: We can offer parasite treatment and prevention at our Vets for Pets clinics. We need to examine all animals before we give them any medications.
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What to look for: your pet will be itchy all the time or right after they eat the thing they are allergic to. This will be a mild-moderate itch.
How to help your pet: usually pets are allergic to a certain type of meat or protein source.
Beef and chicken are very common allergens in dogs. Sometimes, just taking these foods out of your pets diet can be a game changer!
Fish is the most common food allergy in cats so if your cat is itchy, sometimes a small diet change can help.
It can take about 1-2 months for a new diet to take full effect.
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What to look for: if your pet is allergic to something in the environment, you will usually notice that they will get very itchy when they are exposed to this thing (for example, dogs allergic to pollen often get itchy in the spring and dogs with a grass allergy might lick their feet a lot after going for a walk in the park).
How to help your pet: sometimes wiping your dog's feet with a damp cloth after a walk can help remove pollen and dust from their toes.
Giving your dog a bath in soothing shampoo can also bring some relief.
If environmental allergies are really bad for your dog, there are medications that can help stop the itch.
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What to look for: red spots on the skin, hair loss, wounds, pus. This happens after your pet has been itchy for more than a day or two and the scratching is breaking the skin.
How to help your pet: infections need to be treated with the right medicine such as antibiotics or medicated shampoo or creams. Vets for Pets can help you find the right treatment.
HOT TIP: One clever sign to tell if your dog is licking an area is that the fur in that area will turn brown (this is due to saliva staining the fur and is seen best in animals with white fur).
Even though itching and licking can be very annoying to listen to, try not to scold your pet for doing these behaviours. Just remind yourself how terrible it feels to have a mosquito bite on your ankle! If your pet is damaging their skin from itching or licking too much, you can try and cover the area with a shirt or socks or even get a cone/e-collar to stop them from causing more damage until you can get them to see a vet.