Conference misery::feline_v1

    Chris
    
    You may want to have her checked.  It sounds like a flea allergy.  I
    had that problem when I had seasea a while ago.  Actually found blood
    in the bathroom.
    
    She may have some fleas and is having an allergic reaction to them.
    
    Holly
    

    I agree that it possibly could be flea alergies.  We are currently
    treating my new stray who had many scabs on him when he joined
    my family.  We did visit the vet who suggested we treat the
    house and also use a Vet Kem flea powder on him once a week. 
    I can honestly say we haven't seen any scabs for two weeks.
    
    BTW...if the flea's weren't causing the problem the next step
    would have been to look at food alergies.
    
    Sandy 

    
    At first, we thought it was fleas.  We have flea bombed the apartment
    and took the bed apart and sprayed the mattress (we are getting eaten
    alive by *something* too).  We've done this on 3 separate occasions.
    When we took Callie in I thought for sure she had fleas.  Callie is
    mostly a white cat (70%) and the vet ran a flea comb through her
    and looked at her skin and said that he didn't see any fleas on her.
    The vet was kind of stumped and thought that maybe she's allergic
    to her food. 
    
    hmm..I'd also love to know what is biting me and husband.  This
    has been going on since May..I thought they were flea bites.  They
    look like mosquito bites and they itch like crazy..Don't know if
    we'll ever solve this mystery.
    
    -chris

    Sounds like fleas to me.  Amazing how a little flea can raise such an
    itchy red reaction.  I've forgotten the home remedy?  Is it witch
    hazel?  Above all,  don't scratch, as that makes it worse.  Be sure to
    immediately dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag after you vacuum, as they
    can live it there and reinfest.
    

    Ditto on the fleas.  You don't have to see them on the cat to have them
    in the house.  My vet found flea dirt on Nikki and my house is clean as
    a whistle!  I do plan to take action now while the eggs are probably
    still dormant.
    
    Herbie, my Himalayan, had the scabs you described before coming to live
    with me.  His breeder swore her house was flea free (they treated it
    several times) but each time some scabs cleared up, new ones erupted. 
    When I took him, he has only one scab which is since gone and hasn't
    had another once yet (knock wood!).
    
    Fighting fleas is an ongoing process.  You can't just do it once and
    then stop.  The cycle is continuous.
    
    

    
          PENNYROYAL
    

    One more vote for flea allergies as a strong probability, but the scabs
    may also be due to dermatitis or another related cause.  The treatment
    usually is similar - prednisone, azium, or another steroid - except in
    the case of fleas, and I'm not sure in those cases.

    Chris,
    
    When I was 8 years old my mother and I both got mites from our cat
    Charcoal. Charcoal also had scabs on him. I can remember laying on the
    bad and scratching and scratching.  The doctor gave us some pills and
    cream. I think the cat ran away. I am not sure, but I believe it is 
    difficult to see mites with just the human eye. 
    
    Does anyone else have any experience with mites all over a cat? 

    
    Chris...
    
    If it is indeed fleas (and since you're being attacked, too, it might
    be...) try using Zodiac flea spray.
    
    I had a -really- bad infestation one time when I moved into an
    apartment at a new complex. Lots of construction, lots of fleas.  The
    Zodiac spray got rid fo the infestation really quickly and then with a
    couple of other treatments (2 weeks later and 2 months later) they
    never came back.
    
    Zodiac also has a pyrethrin dip that works fantastically...and it's
    safe to use on older kittens, too.  It works really well and keeps the
    fleas off.  My kitten doesn't even scratch any more and I found her as
    a stray.
    
    	Good luck, hope the owies go away!

I had this same type of problem about a year ago with one of my females. 
 It was very frustrating because I never found one flea on any of my 
cats nor had I ever seen any in the house.  But yet these scabs kept 
appearing on her back I would remove most of them with baths and they 
would scrape off.  But then I started getting bites as well(at least 
that's what I thought they were) never once had I ever seen a flea.  I 
scoped Maxine under a light and nothing fluoresced but to make sure I 
had the scabbs cultured at the vets and everything came out negative.

My vet was unable to determine the cause as well.  She quessed that it 
was probable fleas but there were no signs at all.

Then all of a sudden they just disapeared without a trace and have never 
returned since..  I never medicated her or gave her a flea bath of 
bomed the house    I  still wonder exactly what it was. But shes 
absolutely fine now.

Valerie

    Fleas tend to die down in colder weather.