Harvest mite hell

[Rachyabbadabbadoo]

So here we are again, another summer of harvest mite misery for our Bombay cross. Each year she seems to get worse, gets more agitated earlier in the season with side effects lasting longer. In short she scratches herself til raw and bleeding, and charges around the house yowling, interspersed with spending days sitting outside and refusing to come in. She is given an injection every year, which is as strong dose as she can take. Nothing else helps. Frontline and other flea treatments do not work. Gentle grooming to help with itching but that's obviously short term. I've googled to check out alternatives and seems the only option is lock her in from May to October, which isn't possible as we have another cat who loves the outdoors and uses a cat flap. Despite her misery she loves the outdoors and would go crazy, as we would, if we locked her in. Plus our other cat is half Siamese and he sits outside yowling if he can't get in though the cat flap.

Sorry for the long post but has anyone suffered the same, and got a magic cure to make her life tolerable? It actually feels cruel putting her through this misery every summer.

A couple of years ago I had a horrendous flea infestation and ended up using diatomaceous earth, more in desperation than any real belief it would work. It was amazing, killed the fleas and assorted other insects I didn't even know were in my house! I am not sure if you could apply it directly to the cat, but certainly on areas she sleeps would be ok.
What has your vet suggested?

I will have to google diatomaceous, but not sure it would work as she doesn't ever sleep in one place (and given the chance will nick the sofa!). Harvest mites are so resilient, normal flea and tick treatments will not work. Aside from her physical health, it's her mental state that is very alarming. Dashing around the house in a frenzy, scratching, licking and crying, for 3 months every year. Feels very cruel during these months. Thank you for replying!

I have had a quick look and people do apply it directly to their pets ( it's not harmful to ingest, but you have to be careful about breathing it in).You can treat the house and use it outdoors if you know where she's picking them up ( although once it's been rained on it won't work, unfortunately, needs to be dry).

Another thought, do you have a farm supply shop near you e.g. Mole Valley? They might have something that you can at least treat the house with and their staff are very knowledgeable in my experience.
Can your vet suggest something for the itching?

Frontline spray is far more effective for harvest mites than the spot on. Spray some cotton wool with it then wipe it in and around all the affected areas (usually around ears, often feet too, occasionally chin and neck). You'll need to contact your vet to get the frontline spray.

I was just about to start a thread about my cat continually washing and scratching and flea treatments not working ... when I saw this thread
Could it be what my poor cat has?
Vet gave a steroid injection to reduce scratching.
I'd never heard of harvest mite. What else should I look for?

A couple of our cats have suffered badly from harvest mites. Little boy cat used to chew his paws until they were raw and bleeding. Spot on flea treatments don't work on them, you need frontline spray as pp says. Sometimes you can see the mites as orange dust between the cat's toes and in the folds of their ears. They bite me badly and they are the itchiest bites ever, far worse than midges in the highlands.

Could well be as my cat was also given the steroid injection. Most cats aren't bothered by harvest mites but a small percentage are. I'm going to try frontline spray but vet said it won't work ... but anything is worth a try! My cat has sores under her chin, around her neck and ears. It's horrid to see her so distressed, I have a different cat at the mo. Apparently there are two steroid injections, one is a slow release but strong, though this seems less effective this year. Maybe it's just a bad year as mite season started earlier.

Thanks again for the advice everyone x

Not sure if the vet has told you but you cam give them antihistamines which will help the itching for her. Our vet recommended it for my cat years ago after she got chased through a hedge and ended up chewing herself through to her windpipe because the scabs were itching so much. I can't remember the dose but I think it was half a tablet a day. Google it or speak to your vet maybe?

When ours was little he was really badly affected and the pet insurance paid for injections, I can't remember what it was called, maybe immunotherapy? Injecting small dose of allergen over long period of time (one jab a day, v fine needle like diabetic ones, I did the jabs and didn't bother him at all). Our vet suggested it and it worked, after one course over several weeks we had no problems for years. It came back about 10-12 years later and frontline spray plus steroid jabs used to help a lot. Sounds like your very isn't v supportive so may be worth asking if any vets at the practice are allergy specialists? Def try frontline spray in short term though.

Yes I will 2nd antihistamine but be aware only certain ones. My cat was prescribed Piriton and only half a tablet a day. Paid the vet £££s for around 20 but you can buy from the chemist cheaper for around 500. They will sleep lots ! But please make sure it's Piriton.

Thank you - this is so useful. Am off to vets tomorrow for follow up appointment and I'll be mentioning this. Last vet thought it might be stress and tried to sell me that Feliway system. Mmmm

Suggested to vet it might be harvest mites....guess what..it was!
They did the spray on Frontline m, so fingers crossed
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