I wonder if anyone can help. Our dear cat Alfie spends a lot of time grooming and biting himself. He is also very scabby and has them all over him. Vets have said it's a flea problem and we've tried all the Frontline treatments and nothing is working. He is a very sociable and happy cat but he looks a right state and when we pet him he feels really crusty. We are desperate to relieve him of this problem so any advice or treatment suggestions would be great.

Stop using frontline, it's pants. Switch to something like advocate or advantage. More money but worth it.

The scabs are because he's allergic to the fleas.

Trust me he'll be a much happier cat.

Fleas are becoming resistant to Frontline, try a product bought at a vets.

If your home is infested then flea bombs and mad hoovering/laundry are key.

Are you just treating Alfie or are you doing a thorough job of the home fabrics, carpets, lino edges - everything really ? as they hide and are not going to be got by frontlining Alfie. Frontline is not recommended here as the fleas have become immune - you need the alternatives as already suggested plus indorex for the home and car.

Indorex for the house, wash all laundry and bed linen. Go to the vets for some Strong Hold or Advocate.

Fleas and flea bites make cats very poorly, dehydrated and anaemic.

I can only reiterate what Mollie and Stud u like have said fleas are pretty much immune to frontline now, I would get some stronghold or advocate for your cat and you need to indorex your house especially around the skirting board areas and wash all soft furnishings need a good wash.

If you have been to the vet about this they should have really covered this with you when they told you its a flea problem

If you use a good quality flea treatment such as "Advantage", then apply it early in the day as it can make them a little itchy which you don't want at bed time.

Also important to get the correct size dose for the cat's weight!

I've got to say a few cans of Indorex around your house and that's the problem over! My friend had a major problem last year, and bang, it was over in a single day. And now we don't get any spiders, either! Bonus

Get advocate from the vets. I pay £9 a month at Vets4Pets and that covers my Persian Winston for his monthly advocate treatment, his nails cut and his annual jags.

One of my cats as a severe flea allergy problem but not one scab so far this year.

I use 6 monthly program injections with both my cats and comfortis if required, although not needed it this summer so far. Also use Indorex for the house.

Result - no fleas!

Stop using Front line. Alfie must feel very unhappy at the moment!

My cat also has a flea allergy. Frontline is useless.

The fleas don't live on the cat. They live in your house. In the carpets and furniture and bedding.

It's pointless treating the cat unless you treat the house.

Go to the vet and get strong hold or advocate. You vet will also probably want to give the cat a course of antibiotics too of he's covered in scabs.

Get some RIP flea or indorex and treat the house as well as the cat.

Are you absolutely SURE it's fleas? My cat had a scab problem, and was clearly itchy - he had lots of scabs round his neck and head especially. The vet said it was probably fleas, but it continued despite lots of different treatments, and absolutely no other sign of fleas. It turned out he'd developed a food allergy - I switched him to a special allergy food (not sure if it's wheat free/gluten free or something?) and the scabs have never been back since, apart from one time when it turned out he'd been stealing food from next door.

Ah, sorry to hear about Alfie. If it's possible to take him to the vets though, because he might be like our female cat, who the vet says has always been "an allergic cat" and suffers from itchy skin. Like Alfie she over grooms and bites and scratches her skin until it bleeds. It's a bit like our eczema, but as another poster said, a course of Advocate worked miracles and got her itching under control. At the grand age of 18 now she's generally doing well and is much more comfortable. Hope Alfie is back to his happy self soon. x

In my experience, Programme injection is the best option. The vet will weigh the cat in order to determine the correct dosage. It's pricey though and some vets like customers to pay a deposit as it may have to be ordered in advance.

One of my dearly departed cats used to get scaley itchy patches which were diagnosed as a flea allergy. She used to get quite despondent. The vet used to sort out the flea treatment and then gave her a injection that picked up her spirits and energy. I'm not sure what it was but it may have been an anti-inflammatory. It certainly perked her up!

^^ This.

We also have a scabby cat the vet constantly insists that she is allergic to flea bites but unfortunately for me - so am I!

I know full well when there are fleas around - on the cat or in the house - I really suffer. There are no fleas on the cat or in the house and yet she is still scabby. We treat her really regularly (can't remember which one - the vet sells it to us - costs a bomb) and check her all the time too.

Actually the only thing that sorts her out is a 6 monthly steriod injection - she seems to be okay on this - no side effects etc and the scabby bits are still there but not so bad and they don't seem to bother her so much as she doesn't bite at them so much.

We have spent hundreds of pounds on tests and treatments etc and been trying to sort her out for 12 of her 14 years but unfortunately for us the steriod injections are the only thing that work.

I agree with others Frontline is a waste of time.

I know washing a cat can be a nightmare but both my cats really benefited from it I got a medicated dog shampoo (the vet said it was fine for cats) they both had skin issues for various reasons and it cleared all problems and although they both always hated me after their showers they were much happier and healthier in the long run.

Frontline can be bad as it only kills the fleas on the cat (unless it's Frontline Combo), so if there are eggs on the cat or around the house then your cat will just get infested again.

If the vet has looked him over and then just sent him away saying it's a flea problem, without treatment, then that is a bit poor from. I agree with the people saying Stronghold or Advocate and Program Inj is great too. I would also go with a flea spray (Scoosh, Acclaim) and nuke the house since it's obviously quite widespread.

If it's not a flea problem though, then the cat will need treatment (probably steroids and antibiotic) which should do the trick. Either way, best getting him checked over by a vet.

My cat (also called Alfie) suffered really badly from scabs when she was 18 due to suddenly developing an allergic reaction to flea bites - she's now 23. The Vet just said 'what do you expect at her age?' and didn't offer any solution. Then someone on here suggested giving my cat the contents of a garlic capsule on her food, as once the garlic gets into the cats blood, it emits a smell that fleas don't like. She didn't like the taste of that, so I covered it with a little codliver oil, which she loves. I have been doing this every day since then, it took about six months for the scabs to go, but the scabs covered half her body She now has lovely thick soft fur and no scabs. Unfortunately she had a very severe reaction to Advantage last year, I thought she was going to die. It took 3/4 weeks for her to recover so she doesn't have any flea treatment now. I too use indorex around the house, but rather sad to keep on finding dead spiders

'Spiders are the good guys
They eat the nasty flies'