Sunday, April 22, 2012

War

I knew something was going wrong when Binx had started to clean himself more than usual. He is normally a very clean cat but he was over cleaning to the point of going bald. I soon started to notice his skin was breaking out with small red welts. I only just learned that those welts are a form of allergy called Miliary Dermatitis. Specifically, this is a reaction to flea bites.

The Cat Flea. Ctenocephalides felis. C. felis for short. The common household cat flea has a life cycle of 4 stages. It is not enough to simply kill the fleas that feed on your pet, you must also kill the eggs and any of the other stages. And you have to kill them again, and again, and again, and again. Apparently, fleas can live for months inside of furniture and carpets. (we don't have carpet)

Animal bedding should be washed, floors should be vacuumed and all clothing and areas exposed to possible flea contamination should be scrubbed up and treated with flea powder or spray. Fleas love damp and dark places. Fleas also love Binx.

It has been all out war. From collars to drops and everywhere in between, I have attempted to kill every single flea that dares to hop aboard my cat thinking he is a free meal. There have been many baths. There have been many drops. It has gotten to the point that I check him every day.

The routine, for over a month now, has been to find the cat while he is calm and somewhat tired. Flip him onto his back and poke around his thighs, stomach and under arms in search of a flea. I have a glass with flea bath next to me and I pick each bastard flea off and drown them in the death mixture. The best way to kill a flea is to dehydrate it, and so it doesn't make much sense, but it still works to kill the adults that I find on Binkers.

He does not like it very much.
It never used to be so hard but now I usually have to fight with him to get him in the flea position. He knows what is about to happen.

It can take up to 10 or 15 minutes to find a flea, so I can't blame him for getting fed up. Binx has made it clear on a couple of occasions that he was not pleased.

Today, after finding more than one flea on him, I gave both of our cats a bath and fitted them with their new flea collars. Armed with flea spray and neck drops, I go once again into the fray.

Current Cat Status: Sleeping and Snoring.

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