If your cat or dog is constantly itchy and scratching it can be very upsetting for you as well as your pet. We all know how annoying it can be to feel itchy and so we can easily empathise. I’ve seen lots of owners over the years having nights of broken sleep because all they can hear is scratching, licking and chewing. You might notice that your cat or dog is losing fur or has scabs and red patches. Although the cause of the itching might be something quite easy to sort out, the simple act of scratching can make the skin more inflamed and the trauma can lead to deep skin infections. This turns into a vicious circle of itching and scratching. Even if you think the itching is mild it’s better to get a vet check sooner rather than later to nip it in the bud.

You may worry that your pet has a food allergy or atopy but there are more common causes of itching that should be ruled out first. We’re going to start with a word that lots of people don’t want to hear - fleas!

Fleas.

The very mention of fleas makes many an owner immediately tell their vet that they are absolutely positive the pet does not have fleas, they have never seen a flea and that the animal is completely treated for fleas. This may well be true but in the vast majority of cases fleas are still the cause, and here’s why. Fleas spend most of their life in your soft furnishings - carpets,  sofas, beds and so on. They hop onto your dog or cat when they want to feed so unless your pet has many fleas you may well never see one. In fact, for every flea that you see on your pet there are around 100 in your house! Gross, right?! You may have treated your cat or dog for fleas but the efficacy of this is very variable depending on what you’ve used and also how recently. Some animals are very sensitive to flea bites or may even be allergic, and need treatment with a good product very exactly following the recommended intervals.

A good way to know if your pet has fleas is to comb their fur onto a white piece of kitchen paper. If you see dirt come out, wet the paper. If the dirt turns the wet paper red then it is flea dirt or flea faeces. It goes red because flea poo is basically blood. Fleas love to hang out round the tail and rear end and round the neck too so if your pet has bald patches or scabs mostly in these places it’s REALLY likely to be fleas. The good news is that fleas can be easily got rid of and your vet will tell you how best to do it.