Welcome to Catster’s Wednesday Cat! Every week, we’ll share a story from one of our cat-loving Catsters. This week it’s all about Crystal and her soul cat, Ivy.
The last time we spoke, I shared some of my favorite memories from my first few months with Ivy.
This week I wanted to touch on one of my least favorite memories: Ivy’s flea infestation.
Have you ever seen one of those bandits up close in one of those extremely zoomed-in images? They’re the stuff of nightmares. And it is very difficult to remove.
Ivy was a rescue kitten and was apparently still a kitten when she was released, and was not vaccinated or spayed. As I said before, she was vaccinated and her symptoms had resolved before I picked her up.
I honestly had no idea that her previous family didn’t give her tick and flea medication, but they should have.
One morning I woke up and spent some time cuddling Ivy in bed. She was sitting on my chest purring and all was well.
That’s when I found it. Small black spots ran across her small white breasts. At first I thought it was just a piece of garbage, but when I looked at it more closely, I realized that it was indeed moving. I parted her fur, and surprise, surprise: there was a lot more!
One thing to note here is that she has been very active and has done some strange things since we got her. There were a few things in particular that stood out and made more sense when I discovered the fleas.
Previously, she would scratch every surface in the house herself. She may be lying quietly and sleeping soundly, but then she suddenly wakes up and starts furiously licking herself and jumping around. At first it seemed like normal kitten behavior (and I think part of it was), but in reality she was trying to get rid of the itching caused by fleas. It’s very important to know what signs to look out for when your cat has fleas.
Panic mode has set in. By that time she was everywhere in the house, exploring and snoozing on the couch and bed with us.
I immediately went to a local pet store and got the supplies I needed to get rid of these scary little creatures.
She was given flea and tick medication and within a few hours the fleas were gone. You could literally use tweezers to remove them from her fur – which I did – and she was already calm.
When I first got her, I was so excited that the thought of checking her fur didn’t even cross my mind. I felt terrible for a while because I knew she was probably feeling very uncomfortable and itchy, and we didn’t do anything to help right away.
Once the flea bus (ivy) was treated, it was time to tackle the rest of the house. I put everything she touched in the washing machine and sanitized all surfaces including the couch and bed. At this point my skin was crawling and I felt like I was infested with fleas as well.
After cleaning the house and myself and administering Ivy’s medication, things calmed down. Over the next few days, Ivy separated her fur and checked it hundreds of times a day, until eventually there was no sign of fleas, including poop and carcasses.
It is also obvious that she is much more comfortable and no longer jumps up or scratches herself on surfaces while sleeping. I told Ivy to speak up the next time something went wrong, but she responded with silence. As expected.
PSA to all new and experienced cat owners: Check your cat for fleas regularly, take tick and flea treatments regularly, and don’t ignore any behavior that seems even slightly out of the ordinary. please.
If left untreated, fleas can cause serious health problems and even death for your kitten. Fleas are also harmful to humans and can transmit several diseases.
In this case, it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.
Have you ever had to deal with a flea infestation? We hope you haven’t, but if you have, please share your story with us.
Thanks for reading, Casters! See you next time on Catster.com!
Check your cat for fleas!
Yes, goodbye!
This article features Crystal and Ivy from the Wednesday Cats series “Cats of Catster”.
