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Phoenix's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: 2 cats black/white and one tabby
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Somewhere or maybe nowhere
Posts: 4,296
24-08-2014, 09:46 PM   #1

Fur pulling when near ants nest


Could ants cause discomfort to cats to the point where they pull some of their fur out? I've noticed since some ants decided to make a nest in the outside wall of the house, Ebony starts itching and pulls on her fur more than she used to, could the ants be causing her to get itchy? She's not got fleas - I keep up to date with flea and worm treatment so either she's got superfleas that don't react at all to de-flea spot on stuff for cats, it's the ants getting on her fur causing her to get itchy, or something's going on that even the vet hasn't picked up on? Last vet appointment the vet said Ebony's got a gorgeous coat on her and the only thing wrong with her is her asthma (we're getting a kitty inhaler for her because the tablets seem to only work intermittently)



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angieh's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: Magnificent moggies
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Hampshire, UK
Posts: 21,718
25-08-2014, 09:31 AM   #2

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


Hi Phoenix ...... what brand of flea treatment do you use for Ebony? It seems that some brands are now ineffective, such as Frontline.

My other thought, which could be totally off, is eczema - in humans asthma and eczema are often found together - I know because I had both as a child. I think it's unlikely to be the ants, unless she sits somewhere and lets them get into her fur.



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Phoenix's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: 2 cats black/white and one tabby
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Somewhere or maybe nowhere
Posts: 4,296
25-08-2014, 11:13 AM   #3

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


I use Bob Martin spot on treatment and as long as Ebony keeps away from the ants nest, she doesn't get itchy. If she goes near the ants nest that's when she starts itching, also the vet didn't find anything wrong with her coat or skin when she checked Ebony about a week ago (when we took her in for a checkup because I was worried)



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Shelley123's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: NA
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Preston UK
Posts: 6,995
25-08-2014, 06:13 PM   #4

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


i have heard bad things about BM products.
Our vet recomended stronghold, i also have been told that frontline doesn't work anymore



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Catsey Senior
 
Cats owned: 4 moggies and 1 ragdoll
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: lancashire, UK
Posts: 806
25-08-2014, 06:52 PM   #5

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


We have gone to Advantage spot on because Frontline didn't work. I though the same as Angie that eczema and asthma can go together. Ants do bite and I would think make Ebony itch. They make me itch. I personally wouldn't us BM spot on, I don't think it works as well as Advantage. I get mine online, it's cheaper. Can you get rid of the ants without endangering Ebony?



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Elaine's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: 2 moggies
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Posts: 15,256
25-08-2014, 07:47 PM   #6

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


Bob Martin and Johnstones are useless and ineffective, ants bite!



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Phoenix's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: 2 cats black/white and one tabby
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Somewhere or maybe nowhere
Posts: 4,296
25-08-2014, 09:56 PM   #7

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


We've got a bait station out for the ants, Ebony can't get at the bait inside it and she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with the bait station anyway, we had a bait station earlier in the Summer to kill off the ants but the bloody things came back as soon as we took the bait station away after it killed off the ants.



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Velvet's Avatar
Catsey Veteran
 
Cats owned: 5 DSH. 2 DLH
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Nth Ireland - UK
Posts: 3,605
28-08-2014, 05:42 AM   #8

Re: Fur pulling when near ants nest


Advocate here x



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