Three mites cause most of the itchy, scaly skin seen in cats: Notoedres cati, Cheyletiella blakei and Demodex gatoi. All 3 are diagnosed with the same cheap test — 3 to 6 superficial scrapes — and all 3 are treated on a 2-week repeat cycle, because no single application reaches every egg. The step most often skipped is the contact history: 6 questions covering the last 6 weeks decide whether you are treating one cat or every cat in the house.
Ask the contact history first
Six questions, 5 minutes, and they narrow the list before any slide goes under the microscope. Has a new cat or kitten entered the house in the last 6 weeks? Has the cat been to a shelter, a foster home, a boarding cattery or a groomer in the last 4 weeks? How many cats live in the house, and are any of them itchy? Does the cat go outdoors and share a fence line with neighbours cats? Has any person in the house developed an itchy rash on the forearms or abdomen? Is there a dog in the home with dandruff?
Notoedres and Demodex gatoi pass cat to cat by direct contact and need 2 to 4 weeks of shared bedding to spread through a household. Cheyletiella travels on fomites and survives 2 to 10 days off the host, so a brush, a carrier or a shared blanket is enough. A negative answer to all 6 questions does not rule mites out, but 2 or more positives change the plan from one cat to all of them.
Notoedres cati: the burrowing one
Mites are 200 to 250 micrometres, burrow into the stratum corneum, and start on the ear margins and face before spreading to the elbows and hocks. The itch is severe — cats scratch 40 to 60 times an hour, and the skin turns thick and grey-yellow within 3 to 4 weeks. Humans in the house often get 3 to 8 itchy papules on the arms, which fade in 1 to 3 weeks without treatment.
Scrape the ear margin and 4 other crusted sites until capillary bleeding appears; the mite lives deep enough that a light skim often misses it. A single negative scrape is reported in a large share of cases, so 3 to 5 sites per visit and a repeat visit at 2 weeks are both reasonable.
Cheyletiella blakei: walking dandruff
At 300 to 500 micrometres this mite is visible as a moving speck at 10x to 40x, which is where the nickname comes from. It lives on the surface, feeds on keratin, and produces fine white scale along the spine and flanks with mild to moderate itch. Cats can carry it with almost no sign, which is why a household can recycle it for 3 to 4 months.
Three sampling tricks raise the yield: press a clear tape strip along the spine, comb with a flea comb and examine the debris, and send a fecal flotation — cats swallow mites while grooming, so eggs and whole mites turn up in stool. Treat every cat and every dog in the house on the same day, and wash bedding at 60 degrees Celsius.
Demodex gatoi: the itchy, contagious one
Short-tailed Demodex, 100 to 200 micrometres, and unlike the commensal Demodex cati it itches and spreads between cats. Mites are few — often 1 to 3 per slide — so a scrape must cover 5 or 6 sites, and 2 visits 2 weeks apart are common before a diagnosis is made. Some cats carry it with no sign and still infect others.
The treatment window is the longest of the 3: 4 to 6 weeks of repeat treatment, with a recheck scrape at week 4. Stopping at 2 weeks because the itch settled leaves the population to rebuild, and the cat is back at week 6 with the same signs.
Ear mites: same family, different address
Otodectes cynotis lives in the ear canal and never on the flank. A swab rolled in the canal and viewed at 40x shows the 350 to 400 micrometre mite in 5 minutes. Ear disease has its own follow-up schedule, set out in ear mite follow-up, and a cat with both ear and body signs needs both sets of scrapes.
Scrape technique, site by site
| Mite | Length | Best site | Sites per visit | Recheck day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notoedres cati | 200 to 250 um | Ear margin, face | 3 to 5 | 14 and 28 |
| Cheyletiella | 300 to 500 um | Spine, flanks | 2 tapes plus comb | 14 and 28 |
| Demodex gatoi | 100 to 200 um | Neck, elbows, belly | 5 to 6 | 28 |
| Otodectes | 350 to 400 um | Ear canal | 2 swabs | 21 and 42 |
The mechanics do not change: a number 10 blade held at 30 to 45 degrees, a drop of mineral oil, firm strokes in one direction over 2 to 3 square centimetres, until pinprick bleeding shows. Transfer the scraped material to a slide, add a coverslip, and scan at 40x before switching to 100x. Scraping a bald, licked patch yields nothing; take the edge where scale is still attached.
The 2-week repeat rule
No product kills eggs reliably, and egg-to-adult takes 10 to 21 days depending on the species. That is why the schedule is repeat at 2 weeks and again at 4 weeks, with a final check at 6 weeks for Notoedres. Treat every in-contact animal on the same day: 1 untreated cat re-infects a household of 4 within 3 weeks. Vacuum soft furniture, wash bedding at 60 degrees Celsius, throw out brushes, and store the carrier dry for 7 days between uses.
Cost and what the visit includes
A scrape set at a general practice runs 30 to 80 dollars, an ear swab 25 to 50, and a fecal flotation 40 to 90; the cost planner adds the 2 to 3 recheck visits that the 2-week rule requires. A household of 3 cats often spends more on the 3 repeat visits than on the first diagnosis. A fecal test is worth adding when the cat has diarrhoea or vomiting alongside the itch, and the options are compared in fecal test types.
When not to wait
A kitten under 6 months, a cat that stops eating for 24 hours, skin that weeps or smells infected, or a person in the house on immunosuppressive treatment all justify a visit within 48 hours rather than at the 2-week recheck. Secondary bacterial infection is common after 2 to 3 weeks of scratching, and it needs its own course.
Five steps that end the cycle
- Write the 6 contact questions down and answer them before the exam.
- Ask for 3 to 6 scrapes, not 1, and for the mite count on the report.
- Treat every cat and dog in the house on the same day, not one at a time.
- Repeat treatment at 2 and 4 weeks even if the itch is gone at day 10.
- Wash bedding at 60 degrees Celsius, bin the brushes, and recheck at day 28.
Frequently asked
One scrape was negative. Does that rule out mites?
No. Mites sit in small patches, and Notoedres can be missed on a light skim because it burrows into the stratum corneum. Demodex gatoi often shows only 1 to 3 organisms per slide. Plan on 3 to 6 sites per visit, scrape until capillary bleeding, and repeat at 2 weeks if the signs and the contact history still fit.
Do I have to treat the other cats if they are not itchy?
Yes, for Notoedres, Cheyletiella and Demodex gatoi. Cats can carry all 3 with few signs, and 1 untreated cat re-infects a household within 3 weeks. Treat every cat and dog on the same day, wash bedding at 60 degrees Celsius, and bin shared brushes. A household of 4 that treats 3 animals usually ends up back at week 6.
Can I catch these mites from my cat?
Notoedres and Cheyletiella both cause a temporary itchy rash in people, usually 3 to 8 papules on the forearms, abdomen or chest, fading in 1 to 3 weeks without treatment because the mites cannot complete their cycle on human skin. A person on chemotherapy or immunosuppressants should tell their doctor that a cat in the home is being treated.