Spending a lot of time outdoors, cats are exposed to different bug bites. The most common cat bug bites are caused by fleas, spiders, bees, wasps or mosquitoes. Treating bug bites may prevent swelling or other infections that can get severe.
Types of Bug Bites
The most common cat bug bites are caused by fleas. Fleas are insects that feed on the cat’s blood. Your pet may get irritations and fleas also cause itchiness, so your cat will scratch his skin, causing more irritation. A cat that is allergic to flea bites will have visible irritations, will scratch excessively and bite the affected areas, causing injuries and partial baldness.
Mosquito bites are not as frequent as flea bites, but cause swelling, redness and irritation on the cat’s skin. Your cat will be likely to scratch the mosquito bite, which can aggravate the bite.
Bee stings are more painful for cats. The bee or wasp sting may results in a large swelling because the stinger leaves behind some venom. Other symptoms of bee stings include redness around the cat’s eyes and difficulty breathing, and vomiting. These symptoms require immediate help.
A spider bite is not dangerous, unless your cat is allergic to spider bites. The cat will have a larger bump, due to the spider poison that has been injected. However, the poison is not enough to be dangerous for your pet.
These bug bites require little treatment if any; however, getting rid of the causing bugs is a good way to treat the bites. For instance, you can easily get rid of cat fleas by using a special shampoo.
Topical Ointments for Bug Bites
Topical ointments are used an auxiliary treatment for the cat bug bites. The topical ointments that relieve pain contain steroids or cortisone, which reduce the swelling and help the healing process.
If you want to avoid steroids or your cat is allergic to these, you may opt for a natural topical ointment that contains aloe vera—which is known for its soothing effect. Plantains have also a calming effect: mash half a plantain and apply it on the bites.
Homeopathic solutions are also available; get some gels that contain a mixture of herbs and tea tree oil. Echinaceea, chamomile, red alder or creeping charlies are just a few plants that have special properties of reducing pain and swelling, while naturally healing the cat bug bites.
These ointments will also reduce the itchiness, so your cat doesn’t cause more scratches that may get infected.
Before applying the ointment, make sure to clean the area, so as not to rub any impurities into your cat’s skin.
In addition to the ointment, you may also apply a cold compress to relieve the pain. This is recommended in case of bites that leave behind venom.
In the best case scenario, a cat with an insect bite might not present any symptoms- except for a light irritation. However, even in this case, your pet will be thankful if you apply some topical ointments in the bitten area.