I Don't Know What To Do - 15+yo Cat

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FeebysOwner

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That is one determined squawk. To me it looks like she just wants your attention.
This is her most insistent squawk - she has different ones/tones/volumes depending on what she is squawking about - and this one usually means 'f-o-o-d!!'.

She did this again - way after her breakfast - around the time I would normally feed her something from my brunch, but I was late today! After she got a bite of my food, off she went to the patio to hang out on one of her perches.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Goodness, (such a scratchy voice :) ), what a sweetie!!
I said before I have a voice lower/raspier than Suzanne Pleshette did! So, given Feeby has never been around other cats - or, at least not for the past 13 years, maybe she learned to 'mimic' my voice!?!? LOL!
 

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Baby/pet scales can be expensive. I have found one for $50, and that might be one of the cheapest I've seen so far, in terms of better reviews. Looking at postal scales, but the bases aren't really big enough to hold a large cat (especially not laying down), despite some of them that go up to 90 pounds.
I bought a digital luggage scale for $15 or so (on sale). It has a hook on it where I can put the cat's carrier handle. I just turn it on with the carrier (empty) on the hook and it zeroes, and then (leaving the scale ON) I go get the cat, put him/her in the carrier, and lift the carrier just off the floor with the scale. When the reading stabilizes, there's the cat's weight! My weight lined up well with the vet's scale, so I think it works pretty well.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Update on the flea issue:

Feeby was acting 'squirrely' again (biting at her back end mostly), so I flea combed her Tuesday evening. Found 3 or 4 'big' fleas that looked pretty much dead, but also over half-dozen 'little' fleas still moving about. :cringe: And, so...

Today, I am in the process of using the IGR spray I just got (Martin's, as recommended on the fleascience.com website). I am using the finest mist I can and even after an hour the stuff is not quite dry in some places! It is a warm day, with some breeze outside, so I can open the windows and run ceiling fans to help with drying - and yet, taking a long time for any area that is not very well ventilated!!! Thankfully, Feeby is blissfully sleeping away in her back perch room. With any luck this stuff will dry before she will want to venture in those areas that I have sprayed, so that I don't have to restrict her movements. The smell is very subtle compared to the Adams I was using, but you can tell that I have sprayed 'something'. The test about after-smell will be when my husband comes home from work... :eek:

However, based on my experience so far, I will need to find a way to get her away from her hang-out room for at least a few hours at some point!! That will be the hard one!! It may have to wait a while too, as our weather is declining after today, with a big chance of rain tomorrow. So, ventilation/drying time will be an even bigger issue. :frustrated:

Still plan to treat her with Advantage II today - 3 1/2 weeks after her last treatment.

And, so the flea saga continues. After this, other options that have been given to me will be enacted as needed! 🙀
 
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FeebysOwner

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Eureka! Feeby left her perch room to go to the patio over an hour or so ago. I quickly went in and sprayed the area. It is actually already pretty dry. Sprayed the one and final room right after (still damp, but she rarely goes in there :crossfingers:). So, whether or not it works is a whole other story. Now, just to treat her again...
 
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FeebysOwner

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The Feeby Weekly Journal (2/10 – 2/16)
  • Status quo for the most part - squawks and all.​
  • She has 'nailed' the concept now that her food is in the kitchen and heads there whenever she wants a bite to eat. It seems to be working out pretty well leaving out food for her all day long. I do still re-scoop it for her and add some water when needed. And, I can replace the dish and put down about 2 oz more whenever she finishes the previous dish. Most of the time her last serving is gone by bedtime, so I pick up the dish for the night, and start anew the next day. Her dry food is still out all the time & overnight, but she rarely eats any of it.​
  • Averaged 250 calories per day, and weighed in at 16.0 pounds this AM. It would seem she is going to fluctuate between 15.6 and 16.0.​
  • Less 'squirrely' acting after her flea treatment, and the household IGR spray last Thursday - will flea comb her again in a day or so to see if any of it really made a difference or not.​
  • Has officially abandoned her bed/box which was a little small for her and has 'adopted' an even smaller bed/box. :confused2: This box is so small, she is 'stretching' out the sides when she lays in it - and has to hang her head over the edge. Going to find a larger box - and of course watch her ignore it. :crazy:
 

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Fleas freeze to death in about 2°C (just checked, it's 37°F). In case it's at all possible to get the house temperature that low for a bit. I heard some A/Cs do that but I don't know how popular they are - I've never used A/C.
 
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Fleas freeze to death in about 2°C (just checked, it's 37°F). In case it's at all possible to get the house temperature that low for a bit. I heard some A/Cs do that but I don't know how popular they are - I've never used A/C.
I am guessing that would probably freeze up my A/C unit - not to mention Feeby (and me)!!! From what I have read the temp has to below 32 F for a sustained period of time - and, anywhere/anything in the house that would not reach that temp is where the fleas would survive - e.g.; inside couch cushions, bedding, etc.
 

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I am guessing that would probably freeze up my A/C unit - not to mention Feeby (and me)!!! From what I have read the temp has to below 32 F for a sustained period of time - and, anywhere/anything in the house that would not reach that temp is where the fleas would survive - e.g.; inside couch cushions, bedding, etc.
I thought maybe it could work if you guys could leave the house for half an hour or so. I'm not sure of course, but I don't think it takes much time for them to die in such cold temperature. From what I know they are quite weak against cold.

I'm sorry you are going through this. Any insect/parasite infestation is a nightmare.
 
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The Feeby Weekly Journal (2/17 – 2/23)

Well, that was an eventful weekend, and not in a good way! No 'status quo' reporting today!

All seemed fine for the week, until late afternoon Friday when Feeby threw up just a bit. She’s been throwing up once or twice a month now since the flea debacle. Don't know why, so I have just come to terms with it because it isn’t any more often. However, this time she seemed as she wasn’t feeling well afterward, and as the evening progressed, she really didn’t want to eat anything. I finally got her to eat a whole jar of baby food meat before bedtime. 😥

Saturday, you could tell she still wasn’t up to par and her eating showed it. She seemed to start out OK in the morning, and even came to the kitchen for breakfast. After a bite or two she didn't want anymore. However, she was more than happy to eat some human food as a snack. Later in the day I did get her to eat some of her own food, with baby food meat added.

Yesterday, not all that crazy about eating again – that is, her own food; but was more than happy for human snacks. By evening, she seemed to be feeling better and even ate a bit more of her own food. And, she gladly ate bites of my filet that I had brought home from Saturday night’s dinner out. Later, before going to bed, I brought more of her own food to where she was laying, and she ate a fair amount of that.

Today has gone quite a bit better. She has eaten most of her first meal of the day (without baby food meat), and has spent time out on the patio, which was a rarity this weekend. She again ate human food from my brunch.

I did her usual weigh in and was pretty shocked to see she weighed 15.2 pounds (after last week’s 15.6). So, she lost 4 oz in a week?? I am also factoring in that she was getting less liquid/water, perhaps causing a bit of dehydration (checked for that, but nothing noticeable). Still, I can’t believe that 3 days of limited eating would result in 4 oz!!!!! I calculated that I was able to keep her caloric intake this weekend to about 75%-80% of her normal amount, so I wasn’t all that worried about it having a real big impact.

We did have a bit of a cold spell this weekend, but it doesn’t usually make that much of a difference in her eating/behavior. We’ll see how today goes. I hope it was just another one of Feeby’s recent flukes. :confused2:
 
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