Search

Cat Health

learn valuable information on dog health for dogs with our cat health center. keep your pets in tip top shape with the cat health articles.
Mange
Sick Cat being examined Cat with veterinarian

Mange in Cats: An Overview

“Mange” is a generic term for a skin condition of domestic animals caused by a number of different genera of external parasitic mites. There are several types of mites which predominately infect cats: Notoedres cati, (feline scabies), Cheyletiella blakei (cheyletiellosis or “walking dandruff”), Otodectes cynotis and Demodex cati and gatoi spp. (demodicosis). Other mites more commonly infect dogs, including Sarcoptes scabiei, although cats and even people can become affected from dogs with severe infestation

Treating Mange in Cats

Cats can become infected by several different types of ectoparasitic mites that cause an infectious and normally itchy skin disorder commonly called “mange.” One of the more frequent forms of mites infesting domestic cats is the highly contagious Notoedres cati, which causes notoedric mange, also called “feline scabies.” Cheyletiella blakei and Otodectes cynotis are other external parasitic mites that can affect cats, which develop disease by contact with infected symptomatic or sometimes asymptomatic carrier cats.The