Has your cat been diagnosed with scabies? If so, it is important to remain calm. It is true that it can be very contagious, but it is also true that taking a series of measures and following the advice of the veterinarian in the end everything will end up returning to normal.
Read on to know how to care for a cat with scabies and thus get you back to health as soon as possible.
What is scabies?
Scabies is a skin disease caused by mites. Several types are distinguished:
- Notohedral scabies: produced by the Cati notoedres. The symptoms are intense itching, and discomfort in the cat. It is not contagious to humans.
- Demodectic mange: produced by the mite demodex canis. It can be localized, when the symptoms (itching, baldness) are concentrated in some part of the body, or generalized. It is also not contagious to humans.
- Otodectic scabies: produced by the mite Otodectes cynotis. Its symptoms are intense itching and a bad smell in the cat's ears due to excess wax. It is very contagious.
- Cheiletiellosis or »walking dandruff»: it is produced by the mite Cheyletiella sp. The symptoms are intense itching, redness, hair loss in the affected areas and redness.
How to care for a cat with scabies?
Veterinary and home treatment
If we suspect you have scabies, the first thing we need to do is take him to the vet to examine him and start treating him. To improve it, we can recommend putting a pipette (it is a kind of plastic bottle inside which is the liquid that will eliminate parasites), and an antibacterial dry shampoo. But at home we can also give you some home remedies:
- Olive oil: it is applied on the affected areas. Thus, little by little, both the eggs that the parasites may have left will be eliminated, as well as the adults.
- Neem oil: it is a powerful and effective remedy against scabies, as it regenerates the skin and is also antibacterial. It is mixed in equal parts with olive oil and applied to the affected areas.
Keep it separate from the family
If it has a type of mange contagious to humans, it is very important that the cat stays in a room where it has a bed, its drinker and feeder, scratching post and toys. But beware, just because you have to be in this room does not mean you have to stay alone. In fact, so that he recovers as soon as possible it is very important to spend as much time as possible (and more 😉) with him and give him a lot of love.
Clean the house
Regardless of the type of scabies that you have been diagnosed with, it is necessary that we clean blankets, sheets, the floor, furniture, ... everything very well every day. We will use hot water to remove any eggs that the mites may have left behind. To clean the floor, it is highly advisable to put a little dewormer in the mop bucket. In this way, we will prevent the problem from getting worse.
Thus, we can be sure that we are doing everything possible so that our friend recovers soon 🙂.