Hair loss after flea treatment

The vet insists it's completely normal for the fur on Hypatia's neck to have fallen out where I put her flea treatment. I find it odd, since it never happened until this year. Is it 'normal' for this year's batch of meds, or has Hypatia just been lucky in avoiding this side effect for the last thirteen years? Anyone else have this problem?

I've heard of this reaction from friends (never seen it firsthand as we don't have fleas here). It's not 'normal' but usually the hair regrows quickly.

Did you change brands of flea treatment? What brand was it?

It's Revolution, which is the same brand we've always had her on. It's frustrating, because on top of this, she's having allergic reactions to weird things (we think the dog!), so she's always scratching her fur off, sometimes until she bleeds. I'm calling the vet this week about getting her onto allergy shots.

Strange, ArmyAngel1986,
I have been using Revolution for 10 years (and Dad used it for at least 4 years) on Lizzy. Now almost 4 years on Max.
Except for the cost, I've had no problems :-)

Since it's the same brand that you have always used and assuming they didn't change the formulation, it's the allergies. One substance will cause a problem. If that substance isn't removed and the allergic reaction continues, often (and especially with skin problems) the allergy creeps. Substances which used to be fine then start causing problems. With some cats, one small allergy can in 5 years become allergies to many things.

The problem with allergy shots is they hide the reactions (such as itchy skin) by depressing the immune system without actually addressing the allergy and the body's over-reaction to it. If you want to read up on allergies, try Pets at Risk or a slightly older book Pet Allergies, both by a vet who specializes in allergies.

Thanks, LMHTWB, I'll look up those books. I'm also considering taking her to a cat hospital not far from us. I like our regular vet, but they seem out of their depth when it comes to stuff beyond regular pet care.

I had it happen to one of my many cats just once, with Advantage (very similar to Revolution) -- about a silver dollar sized patch of hair fell out.

I have used Revolution in the past, but only use Advantage now because one time one of my cats had a bad reaction, almost like a panic attack and her eyes got very dilated and didn't go back to normal for a few hours. Fortunately I was able to find info online that said it sometimes happen, so I didn't have to stress her further with an unnecessary trip to the vet.

Yes, the last time I used a flea treatment on my cats they were very freaked out for a while. I had used the same treatment (I think it was Advantage) prior to that with no ill effects.

Many of the flea treatments are a neurological poison for the flea. Supposedly the poisons are not as toxic to the cat/dog because of the substances and the dosage level. However, tolerances do vary, so some cats do get the hyperactivity.