3

I have a 9 year old Norwegian Forest Cat with a naturally thick coat. He is very happy and rarely scratches. He is brushed with a soft brush once a day. He has no antibug treatment. It is different story for my 5 year old son. He has a series of red itchy marks on his leg and itches other places on his body. My wife is constantly on the war with mites, with putting out bedding to sun. It rains nearly every day here and often heavily. The cloud cover is enough to make our warm summer cool to cold.

With COVID and the general ineffectiveness of Japanese pediatrician (they don't have much medicines approved for children), we avoid getting our son to the doctor. Is it feasible that our cat is the source of biting bugs even with no evidence on his fur?

3
  • 1
    please limit this to only one question,covid and pediatricians are not relevant for your question.japan has the same types of medication for children and addults as the rest of the world same with vaccines.is the cat an outdoor cat or indoor only,a cat that hunts will from time to time get parasites both internal and external and several of them can live on people. Jul 20, 2020 at 16:32
  • What do you mean by my 5 year old son? Is this another cat or is there an approved antibug treatment?
    – ck1987pd
    Jul 21, 2020 at 0:30
  • Are you sure it's mites and not bed bugs?
    – Kat
    Jul 24, 2020 at 7:34

1 Answer 1

3

Cats are known to carry many biting bugs. Some of these can be very dangerous both to you and to your cats, such as ticks and some of these might just be nuisances, like cat fleas.

Cat fleas can be hiding in depth of your cat's thick fur, however if you don't see them in spite of regular brushing, there is little to no chance they might cause a problem neither for you nor for your son.

Mites usually live in cats' ear. They are usually smaller than fleas so it might be hard to see them by naked eye. If your cat is obsessed with scratching his ear, an over the counter mite medication may help your cat. Cat mites, however, are not dangerous to humans, so your wife's crusade against the mites is not related to your cat.

Ticks usually dwell to a single location and do not change its position unless it is disturbed. There is little (actually no) chance the itchy marks are due to a tick.

I suspect there are numerous types of itchy marks. A dermatologist can probably identify if the mark is due to an allergic reaction or due to a bite from a parasite from a photo.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.