How long will flea allergy remain in a flealess environment?

Adriaan Gerber

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Hello everyone,

I have a coon cat that has recently started scratching a lot and I'm trying to figure it out. I have totally removed him from the house into his outdoor enclosed area and at night we sleep in a tent :) Crazy cat person, right? My question is, if there is something in the house that is causing this, will my tactic work and if so, how long before we might have results? I will also be changing his diet this week.

Any help will be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Adriaan
 

Kieka

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Depends on the allergen in question. If it is fleas, it can be a few days if there are any recent bites for the allergen to work its way out but if hair loss related to will take longer to regrow. If it's something airborne, then a few hours. If it's something digested, a few days. And this is based on my own allergies to everything and how long it takes for something to fully fade.

If you think it's something in the house I'd recommend an air filter to help remove allergens from the air.
 
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Adriaan Gerber

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Thank you for your reply, it was most helpful, would you say, if I kept him outside for a week and he still scratches a lot, I could safely assume a food allergy?
 

KarenKat

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He might be getting new fleas outside, so it’s hard to say. Do you see any fleas on him?
 
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Adriaan Gerber

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No fleas or flea dirt. I brush him several times a day and I have not seen anything that might indicate fleas.
 

KarenKat

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My cat Olive has a flea allergy and she used to live outside. Never saw fleas on her but she had hair loss at the base of her tail that the vet said is indicative of a flea allergy. She told us cats with flea allergies sometimes don’t get infested since the bites are so irritating they go after it right away. One or two bites can cause them to get the hair loss.

So sounds like he doesn’t have fleas, but that might not rule out a flea allergy?
 
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Adriaan Gerber

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Thanks for the help :) I'm not ruling out anything, just trying to find the most likely scenario. He has no hair loss anywhere and the base of the tail does not seem to bother him. He scratches his elbows a lot with his hind leg. Also, biting the bottoms of his forearms.
 

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Thank you for your reply, it was most helpful, would you say, if I kept him outside for a week and he still scratches a lot, I could safely assume a food allergy?
I would go food. Even with your description, it sounds more like a food allergy. It could also be the beginnings of arthritis or something similar since they can mistake pain at the joint as something painful on their skin.
 
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Adriaan Gerber

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Thank you. Fixing the food just makes sense. He also has an itchy chest, its like his under carriage is the worst. Its also where I can't reach with the brush :) Thank you for the help :)
 
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