Answer: Scratching is the cat’s response to an itch in the skin, otherwise called pruritus. Itching can have number of causes: allergic reactions, inflammation due to chemicals on the coat, the bites of insects or arachnids (e.g. fleas or ear mites), infection with bacteria and foreign bodies in the skin. All of these cause the release of proteolytic enzymes which attack never ending in the skin and trigger the release of electrical impulses that the pass via regarded as separate sensation. In the cat, scratching is most commonly due either to the irritation of ear mites or to flea infection.
It is, of course, important to establish the true cause and then to remove it if possible. Consequently, your veterinary surgeon should be consulted at an early stage.
Scratching, and also biting and chewing, can result in extensive self-mutilation, and while the cause is being brought under control it may be necessary to administer internally, or apply externally, drugs to control the itch. In many even be necessary to protect the area which is being damaged, for example by fitting an Elizabethan collar. Sometimes firm pressure, or the application of the heat or cold, will relive the itching, at least temporarily. Scratching can be made worse by boredom or depression, so that whenever possible a scratching animal should be distracted, for example by being fed, played with or being allowed outdoors.
