A couple of weeks ago I let Phantom come outside with me by the pool. He gets very aggressive with one of the other cats and always seems to want to dart outside every time we open the door even though he's always been an inside cat so I thought it would be a good idea.
Get some of that aggression out on some bugs and chipmunks.
The Murph and I were a little worried about Phantom getting fleas out there but I reassured the Murph that I would bathe the cat when he got back inside and that would drown any of the fleas that were on him.
I knew how to do it.
Last week all the cats were scratching, but I didn't see any fleas. Phantom, especially, started acting very odd. He meowed at me all the time and he looked miserable.
He abandoned his cat pillow that he normally slept on and went to the floor. Then I noticed him sleeping on the couch down in the Boy's room. Then he started sleeping on the desk.
One day he disappeared altogether and we finally found him on top of the china cabinet. How he managed to get his 24 pounds of fat pad up there I have no idea. Cadence gets up there all the time but he's 9 pounds and can climb up a wall. Phantom's more like a dog than a cat.
I decided right away that something was wrong with Phantom. He looked feverish. He was sleeping too much. He had some kind of infection and was dying for sure. Why else would he be going someplace away from us except to die, right?
The Murph said the cat was fine. He was eating and drinking. He'd "get over it". (This from a man who has a cat that hasn't seen a vet in 10 years.)
I decided Phantom had to go to the vet or he wasn't going to make it. I dropped him off on Saturday expecting the worst. A few hours later I get the call. The Murph was nearby listening to everything that I was saying.
The diagnosis - FLEAS! The vet said he was "infested" with them. I told her I didn't even see any. (Maybe because Phantom is black and so are the fleas)
The Murph said "It better NOT be fleas!"
I knew I was in big trouble.
Apparently, Phantom kept changing sleeping spots to get away from the fleas. Unfortunately, they kept following him so he kept going higher up to get away from them. Poor thing!
The next few hours I vacuumed the entire house, washed everything the cats had been sleeping on, which is just about everywhere and picked up a very clean and newly calm Phantom at the vet.
All the cats had to be treated with Advantage Flea control, which I had hoped to avoid.
Hopefully, the flea problem is under control.
Phantom once again is an indoor only cat.
Get some of that aggression out on some bugs and chipmunks.
The Murph and I were a little worried about Phantom getting fleas out there but I reassured the Murph that I would bathe the cat when he got back inside and that would drown any of the fleas that were on him.
I knew how to do it.
Last week all the cats were scratching, but I didn't see any fleas. Phantom, especially, started acting very odd. He meowed at me all the time and he looked miserable.
He abandoned his cat pillow that he normally slept on and went to the floor. Then I noticed him sleeping on the couch down in the Boy's room. Then he started sleeping on the desk.
One day he disappeared altogether and we finally found him on top of the china cabinet. How he managed to get his 24 pounds of fat pad up there I have no idea. Cadence gets up there all the time but he's 9 pounds and can climb up a wall. Phantom's more like a dog than a cat.
I decided right away that something was wrong with Phantom. He looked feverish. He was sleeping too much. He had some kind of infection and was dying for sure. Why else would he be going someplace away from us except to die, right?
The Murph said the cat was fine. He was eating and drinking. He'd "get over it". (This from a man who has a cat that hasn't seen a vet in 10 years.)
I decided Phantom had to go to the vet or he wasn't going to make it. I dropped him off on Saturday expecting the worst. A few hours later I get the call. The Murph was nearby listening to everything that I was saying.
The diagnosis - FLEAS! The vet said he was "infested" with them. I told her I didn't even see any. (Maybe because Phantom is black and so are the fleas)
The Murph said "It better NOT be fleas!"
I knew I was in big trouble.
Apparently, Phantom kept changing sleeping spots to get away from the fleas. Unfortunately, they kept following him so he kept going higher up to get away from them. Poor thing!
The next few hours I vacuumed the entire house, washed everything the cats had been sleeping on, which is just about everywhere and picked up a very clean and newly calm Phantom at the vet.
All the cats had to be treated with Advantage Flea control, which I had hoped to avoid.
Hopefully, the flea problem is under control.
Phantom once again is an indoor only cat.
Did you try the diatomaceous earth? A friend turned me on to it and we have not had a single flea on the dog or in the yard yet this year. Once Phantom's flea case gets under control, I recommend getting some of the stuff from a local plant nursery. Also kills cockroaches..
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't tried that. Sounds kind of scary!! I remember the FB conversation you had back a couple of months ago about it. I told The Murph but we never got any of it. Wish we had!
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