or worms or fleas,
Bringing stray cats in from the streets has its challenges, especially with regard to their health.
Besides the rampant asthma, last Spring we experienced an infestation of fleas. The truth is, however, that I don't believe it was OUR cats inside, but that it was Inky (Scruff's litter mate). She loves Harry, our dog, and when he goes out, she greets him and schmoozes him. My guess is some critters made the leap from her to Harry and thus were introduced inside the house.
By this time we had four of them inside with various cages and bedding. They all had the run of the house by day. So, fleas were a very, very difficult problem to deal with.
Much as I dislike the thought of using chemicals, with so many furry babies it was necessary to purchase some Frontline. I did not use full doses, but half on one cat and half on another. I was especially careful with Imp, who was still small and not entirely well at the time.
Imp was easy and so was Missy Tee. Scuff was cagey and knew enough to avoid me if he saw me! I managed to "trick" him by waiting until he had his head happily sunk into his food bowl and I was able to quickly squirt him before he realized what happened. Same thing with Calzini (who, to this day, will not let me pick him up).
I found a dead flea in "my" chair in the living room. Right after getting them all treated with Frontline, we tore apart their cages and washed every piece of bedding, every towel, every cover, everything. It was a chore because our European washer is not very large by comparison to US models. We also cannot run the washer and dryer at the same time because all the power goes out!! Many, many hours and washes later, we were done.
We vacuumed. I read that salt kills fleas, so we sprinkled regular table salt EVERYWHERE there was a rug or upholstered furniture and let it sit overnight, then vacuumed again. Then we repeated that process.
I read that mint repels them, so I got essential oil of peppermint and put moist cotton balls with a few drops of oil on them in every room. I anointed Harry's butt. I put a drop or two on our bed. The occasional wafting of the aroma was so pleasant that I intend to do this again once the weather is warm enough to have windows open and fresh air circulating.
The battle of the fleas was won after two weeks of never ending washing and vacuuming.
All of these kittens had had worms. Tee had the most dreadful diarrhea at first, Scruff's worms were...unfortunately and much to my horror, clearly visible in his poop. It just had to be assumed that they all needed treatment. I became quite the regular up at the pharmacy. Each cat had to be treated twice, with the treatments being two months apart. As serendipity had it, I was in possession of an actual paper calendar without which I would have been lost. Round one, Dose One for Scruff. Round One, Dose Two for Tee. Second Round time for Calzini. I had to designate a drawer for all the medicines, each box or tube labeled with a name.
Tee's problem abated, but did not stop, even after Round Two, Dose Two. She was much better, but not all better. Same thing with Scruffy, who we sometimes called "Stinky Butt." The solution? Adding probiotics to their food for a while. I also had Tee (because she prefers dry food) on "digestive health" kibble. Somehow, after several months, their little systems adjusted and everyone poops normally now. Yay!
Imp also got the deworming medication, even though he didn't appear to have them. Better safe than sorry. But little Impy, while his asthma was slowly improving, and he got the worm medication, was still horribly thin, even to the point of appearing frail. He ate like a champ but didn't gain any weight. I asked the vet if he could possibly have a tapeworm. With that, Imp was prescribed medicine for that and within a couple of weeks he was noticeably gaining weight. Good grief! A tapeworm!! It was finally, at this point, I began to think he would live.
When Lupo was introduced to the clan, I did a Frontline treatment on him while he was still a "street cat." He had a minor ear mite problem that a little vinegar and water took care of, so when he entered the house, all he needed was treatment for worms.
Little Notte was fine...she was too small for Frontline at four months old anyway, but she had not contracted any fleas, thank goodness, and her ears were clean.
Percy also was flea free, but it was the middle of winter. He had a yeast infection in his ears that required ten days of drops. He seemed to realize that they helped him, though, because he eventually put up with it without trying to rip us to shreds and screaming like a banshee.
Just when I stopped worrying about him, Imp started having a urinary problem. He is currently on an antibiotic and medication to lower his urine ph. We are hoping this is a simple UTI (urinary tract infection) and not a chronic problem that will require constant medication and monitoring.
For now, we breathe a bit.
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