[OT] Ouch! Pain pain pain!

RangerWickett · Jun 8, 2003

I just gave quick baths to my three cats. It's 5:30 in the morning, I'm sleepy, and my arms are scratched to heck.

See, around 3am I spotted a flea on one of my cats. Despite my cat's ardent refusal to let me remove the blood-sucking parasite, I managed to hold the kitty down long enough to pry the bugger off with a pair of tweezers, and then crush it.

Then, I noticed two more fleas.

Our cats go outside sometimes. Usually fleas aren't a problem; they just weren't very common in our neighborhood, I suppose. I'm not sure if this time around they got them from another cat, or if they hitched a ride on one of my family members when we went over to a friend's house (my brother's girlfriend had a NASTY flea problem not too long ago). Regardless, I hate the ****ing bastards, and wouldn't abide by them.

At 4 in the morning, no one else was willing to help out. I decided it'd be best to just wait 'til morning. Then one of the cats came into my room and started to sleep on my bed. I noticed he too had fleas. Which would mean that if I go to bed, I'll probably be bitten by a flea or two. Did I mention I hate the nasty little ****ing blood-sucking sons-of-*****es?

So I prepare as best I can for an impromptu anti-flea ritual. One by one, I bring the cats into my bathroom, force them into a sink of water, and begin rubbing them with handsoap. I know it's not the preferred way to get rid of fleas, and I fully intend to prepare better tomorrow and actually shop, but I managed to kill at least four fleas on each cat, and hopefully more were suffocated in the soap suds.

Now, of course the cats hate me for it. And of course less than an hour later I'm petting one of them and see a pair of fleas skittering along under its fur. So I'm stuck feeling as if I wasted my time. I got clawed up, pissed off my cats, and alerted the fleas to my plans, plus ended up staying up 'til dawn, with very little to show for it.

Well, at least the cats smell a little better.

Alzrius · Jun 8, 2003

It's hard to be a cat-lover sometimes. All you can do is go out as early as you can for some anti-flea items.

Be careful not to get anything too soaked in chemicals though. It's no good killing the fleas if you also kill your cats. That may sound like some sort of environmentalist trip, but it really does happen. We sprayed some chemicals around our bathroom to take care of a centipede problem, and our cat drinks from the bathtub (odd little thing)...shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with terminal liver failure, and had to be put to sleep...

Gez · Jun 8, 2003

Do they have fresh anti-flee collars ? We don't have too much problems at home with the fleas, despite having 3 cats, one bitch (nah, silly filter, it means she-dog), one ass (donkey, stupid filter), two chicken, and lots of other weird, wild animals around (from boar to deer to toad to snakes).

Not being in a city is nice.

Mark · Jun 8, 2003

RangerWickett said:
I just gave quick baths to my three cats.

Doesn't the fur stick to your tongue...?

Tyris Harmon · Jun 8, 2003

Just be glad that they are not allergic to fleas. My dog got a bad case one time and his fur started to fall out!! Had to get a shot and take some pills in addition to the flea dip. Nothing sadder than a Rottweiler running around with a bald butt.

Moe Ronalds · Jun 8, 2003

I remember one time I was sleeping over at a friend's house, and his dog curled up in my bed to sleep. The next morning, I noticed that I had fleas. The conversation went something like this...

"Dude, your dog has fleas."
"No, he doesn't."
"Dude! he does! He gave them to me! Your dog has fleas!"
"Shut up dude my dog's clean!"

A few days later...
"Dude! You'll never guess!"
"What?"
"My dog has fleas!"
-_-;;;;;;

Robbert Raets · Jun 8, 2003

Our cat gets monthly shots that make fleas who bite him infertile. Maybe that's something to look into?

Olgar Shiverstone · Jun 8, 2003

If you're going to let your cats out, why not pick up some Frontline or a similar product from your vet -- a monthly or bimonthly dose will keep the fleas & ticks off. It's a topical -- a few drops between the shoulder blades is all it takes -- and doesn't have the negative side effects that most flea collars do.

We've got multiple furkids; living in Georgia we'd have major flea/tick problems without this sort of treatment.

Edit: if you don't go the Frontline route, at least pick up a fine-toothed flea comb, which will allow you to brush the fleas out, catch, & kill them without doing the sctraching-cat-submarine ritual.

Edit 2: My lovely spouse tells me Frontline may not be cat-friendly, but the competitive product (Advantage) is and works the same way.

Kahuna Burger · Jun 8, 2003

Dude, TREAT YOUR HOUSE. There are more and less toxic* ways of doing it, but you must treat your house in order for flea removal to be anything other than an adventure in scratches. (btw, it helps to trim the nails first...)

Now go write "I will not use human cleaning products on my pets (wth the exception of original Dawn dishwashing detergent diluted 10 to one) ever again" on a blackboard 100 times...

My kitty is only indoors and I have been lucky so far, but you can bring the buggers in on your pantlegs, etc.

*I say toxic speaking as someone who is very sensitive to strong chems of all sorts, and as a groomer type who knows the full scarey directions for most flea products. if you go for a traditional bomb or spray, kitties (and you) must vacate the house for an hour or two to let things settle...

Kahuna Burger

Mark Chance · Jun 8, 2003

Kahuna Burger said:
Dude, TREAT YOUR HOUSE.

Excellent advice. Fleas spend most of their time off of the animals that they feed on. IOW, most of the time, fleas are not on you or your cats. They are in your carpet, furniture, et cetera. There are non-toxic means of treating the house that are relatively inexpensive, do not require vacating the premises by either you or your pets, and are quite effective. In my area, I used a company called Fleabusters. They did a bang-up job. Fleas were gone in a matter of a few days, and the little pests stayed gone.