Cats are usually very clean and neat felines and like to spend time each day grooming themselves. Occasionally, they may scratch somewhat, as this helps them to keep their coat clean and free of parasites. However, if you notice your cat scratching excessively or compulsively, it may be a symptom of some conditions.
The most common causes of cat scratching can be the presence of external parasites or allergic dermatitis.
In general, to speak of this discomfort, veterinarians usually call it pruritus. For treatment, the root cause must be identified and most cases are successfully resolved. Let’s take a look at some details of the different reasons so you can detect what is going on with your kitty.
Causes of cat scratching
The causes of cat scratching can be divided into three main groups. That is, infectious causes, allergic causes and others.
Infections
Infectious causes are usually due to the presence of parasites such as fleas or ticks. This category also includes infections caused by bacteria or fungi.
When an itchy cat is admitted to the veterinarian’s office, they usually test for skin infections first. Among the most common is ringworm infection. This can be transmitted to people, so it is important to always consult a veterinarian.
On the other hand, when there is an infection caused by parasites, these can be fleas, mites, ticks and others. It should be noted that even if a cat lives indoors, preventive administration of flea and tick medications should still be performed. This is because there is a false perception that cats living indoors will not contract this type of disease, but experience indicates otherwise.
In the presence of itching, it is advisable to observe the symptoms for a while, followed by a visit to the veterinarian so that he can diagnose the condition.
Allergies
Itching for allergic reasons is usually inflammatory in nature. For example, it could be scratched by inhaling, ingesting or coming into contact with an allergen. This causes your immune system to react and cause inflammation, which in turn will cause itching.
Itching from this cause may be due to food allergies, environmental allergies and hypersensitivity to flea bites. It could also be caused by contact allergies, although these are rarer cases.
For their part, some cats may suffer from food allergies, although this is also quite rare in kittens.
Contact allergies are also not very common, but can cause itching in cats. There are cases in which contact with some fabrics, dyes, cleaning materials and others may cause itching. At other times, they may have a reaction to the sand in the boxes or to certain kinds of plastics. It would be best to eliminate the cause, once it has been identified.
Other causes
In this case, if your cat scratches, autoimmune disorders, hereditary and genetic diseases and even stress could be involved.
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