How can I treat mosquito allergy in cats?

Question

I have two cats who have an allergy to mosquitoes. It creates scab-like sores on their noses and ears that bleed easily.

The vet gave me this stuff called Ovitrol to put on their heads with a cotton ball to keep the mosquitoes away but it's not working. I got rid of everything in the yard that could hold standing water and sprayed the area with repellent.

I want to take them back to the vet but I'd like to be armed with some options and information. Usually when my other cats have something like a flea allergy, they can be given a steroid shot to help the allergy clear up. Is this an option for them? I'm a little trepidatious of long-acting shots of late. Could they be put on an oral steroid to help?

Everything I find online talks about getting rid of the mosquitoes, and not how to treat the allergy. Looking for people who've had more experience with this. Thanks.

Answer 1

I hope this helps, I find that mosquito bites affect me much worse than others. Like my bite will welt up and hurt way bigger and worse than others. I assume this implies I am "allergic" to mosquito bites.

What I have done for my yard is keep things like rosemary and lavender. I just rub my arms and legs in the herb bushes, and the smell like citronella repels the mosquitoes. For my dogs, I just rub some twigs on their hot spots and it seems to keep the bugs away.

It's worth a try.

Answer 2

The first thing you need to do is talk to your vet about this. Ask about what the vet thinks is the best treatment, maybe a treatment with low dosage of antihistamine for the season when there are mosquitos out (or continuous treatment all year if you live in a place where mosquitos are active all year).

The treatment will depend on how serious the allergy is. I think your vet should take a blood sample and get it tested for other types of allergy as allergy for only one thing is rare.

If possible, try to avoid using steroids to treat the cats; steroids have all kinds of adverse effects on the body. If there is a need to use steroids, be sure to use it for as short a time as possible.

If you plant catnip, it will help keep the mosquitos away (and many of the other insects that are annoying for cats and people). And for some strange reason, the useful insects will still come to your garden.

The active substance in catnip is nepetalactone. Nepetalactone has been shown to be a very effective mosquito repellent and it is not toxic to people or cats. It is up to ten times more effective than DEET commonly used to repel insects (DEET is toxic to all life).