September is upon us and at last the weather is turning a little cooler, with the slow beginning of autumn come the inevitable seasonal issues that are a familiar part of some pet owner’s calendars.

The classic that I have seen plenty of in the last week is the return of harvest mite skin reactions in cats.

Harvest mites are little mites that do not live out their lives on our pets but every autumn they flourish in grasses and will hitch a quick ride on your cats and dogs.

Most pets will be minimally affected by harvest mites but those animals that are allergic can be tormented by these little creatures.

Cats, particularly, can get nasty scabs around their heads and ears which they can scratch like crazy causing even more skin damage.

I saw a cat recently that suffers every year, and her owner informed me that the day before she had scratched terribly at the scabs on her neck causing bleeding that looked incredibly dramatic on white fur.

Luckily, owners with harvest mite allergic cats tend to be very aware of the signs and rather than panicking they come into us for treatment.

Although we can try everything to prevent these mites it is not easy (as they do not actually live any of their lifecycle on pets) so often we will end up using treatments that settle the allergic itch and the scabs rather than the mites themselves. As autumn slowly turns into winter the mites disappear from grass and foliage and so the reactions that they cause will settle down naturally.

We just have to use medication to get cats through the worst of it without raking themselves raw.

*Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083