Found a stray Calico with fleas

Moby65

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A young Calico (declawed) stray started hanging around the marina where I spend a lot of time and on a cool rainy day she showed up at my boat soaked to the bone. Picked her up and I had a hand full of ribs --- she has missed a lot of meals. Brought her in and dried her off --- she looked bad. Everything went fairly well considering we are not "pet" people, but now she is constantly licking her body to the point the fur is missing --- the inside of her front legs are bare skin. I am thinking she was someones house cat and never exposed to the outside world of bugs. We have had her scanned for a chip and contacted apartments and condos in the area --- no takers, looks like I am stuck with a cat until I can find someone to take her. In the mean time I need to take care of this skin/fur problem. Any help from you cat people will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 

moxiewild

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Well, she was declawed, so definitely a former house pet.

I would post on Nextdoor and Lost and Found pet Facebook groups to ensure she’s not lost rather than abandoned or dumped.

Outside cats aren’t impervious to parasites :) If she really is doing this in response to fleas, she either has a very severe infestation or flea allergy/sensitivity.

A lot of other things could be going on, but flea treatment is definitely the best place to start.

Have you seen any fleas on her? A flea comb is super cheap and widely available and can help you confirm an infestation and also help manually remove them.

Otherwise, there are common OTC flea treatments - like Frontline -available.

Revolution is even better, but requires a vet prescription. Since you’ve already had her evaluated, you should be able to call up that vet and ask for a script with no problem. Revolution will protect her on a month-to-month basis.

You can also ask your vet if they can prescribe 1-5 pills of Capstar. It will kill any and all fleas on her, but it only lasts 24 hours. I usually use it in the first week or so to get control of the issue quicker. Capstar can be safely combined with monthly treatments like Revolution.

I would also consider having her dewormed, as it’s inevitable from living outside. Broad spectrum wormers are only a few bucks, and you’ll likely only need 2 treatments several weeks apart.

Aside from that, you’re going to need to treat the environment. Vacuuming everything and laundering linens in hot water every day or two for a while. Flea traps an also help. Try to confirm whether she has fleas first if you can.

Are you keeping her inside only for now?

Thank you so much for taking her in, especially for not being pet people!

I found my own abandoned little declawed calico some years ago, and she has contributed so much happiness to my life -

CC5902A0-235A-4355-BD57-C1D5CA782B9F.jpeg
 
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Moby65

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I have been reading about the flea problem with cats and after checking her I don't think it is fleas. I don't think she was lost for a long time --- maybe a few weeks at best. We really figured someone would respond to our ads and she would be back to her owners by now. We have been feeding her tuna, chicken, pumpkin, beef, venison and she eats it all. Just read where we should not be feeding her tuna so that is stopped now. Thinking back 10 days ago she was not licking and pulling her fur out so maybe the problem is us --- what we are feeding her might be the problem. We looked up foods to feed cats and thought that would work rather than buy foods with a lot of filler. Maybe a mistake? Please keep in mind, this was supposed to be a "couple of days" project, she was going home to her owners. lol She is a neat little creature, but needs a new home. Our life style does not work well with pets. Any ideas?
 

fionasmom

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It could be a food allergy and you might try switching to cat food....but if it is a chicken allergy that will cause the flare up, etc so you might have to try an elimination diet.

Unfortunately, declawed and young does not mean that anyone is looking for her. If she belonged to an old lady who passed away recently, that might have been the end of her family. I have encountered 6 of those scenarios in working with strays and ferals. With cat especially, people think that they will fend for themselves. You have put out a lot of notifications with no replies, so that is suspicious. You said you are near a marina....people who dump cats might think that she would get a fish once in a while, that a marina is a nice area and someone will take her in, etc.

One vet visit might be a help and possibly a vet might have some contacts to help you to get her a home or to a rescue. Try googling cat rescues in your area as well. You are very kind to help her and I completely get that you do not want to keep her.

If someone who is a complete stranger offers to adopt her, you might ask for some compensation for the money you have spent caring for her. It will prevent people who sell animals for research or as bait animals in fighting organizations from being bothered.
 
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Moby65

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After more research I am thinking more and more that her problem is her new owners --- non pet people. I never thought that a cat might not be able to eat fish and chicken, but the more I read about this little critter I'm finding that some cats react badly to some people foods. We are rethinking the food menu and hopefully get this issue under control.
 
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Moby65

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After more research I am thinking more and more that her problem is her new owners --- non pet people. I never thought that a cat might not be able to eat fish and chicken, but the more I read about this little critter I'm finding that some cats react badly to some people foods. We are rethinking the food menu and hopefully get this issue under control.
 

FeebysOwner

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Depending on where you are located, most grocery stores carry a few brands of cat foods in beef and turkey, sometimes liver, besides chicken and all the 'typical' fish flavors. Friskies is one of them, it may not be the best food, but probably better than feeding this girl human food. Another, better, canned food is Fancy Feast, not that badly priced and most cats love it. I don't know whether 10 days (and maybe more before that) of human food could cause an issue with essential nutrients that cats get in their own food, but could be a possibility maybe.

I agree with fionasmom fionasmom about looking around for some cat rescues - many of them have volunteers who foster cats and have connections to low cost vet clinics. Next Door Neighbor web site is another good place to look for groups who work with cat rescues - even local pet stores in your area might be able to help direct you to some groups that would be able to help. I also agree about being careful who you turn her over to.

I hope you can help her find a new home!
 
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Talien

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A relatively cheap and widely available Cat food that's still got decent ingredients is Fancy Feast classic pate. Any flavor will do, just make sure it's labeled "classic" because the other varieties have a lot of junk ingredients. If you are feeding her people food then she's not getting the nutrients she needs and she will start to get sick before too long.

I completely understand not being able to take care of her long term because I was in a similar situation last year, though for me it was because I already had 4 of my own Cats and there really wasn't any room for a 5th. Get in contact with rescues and no-kill shelters in your area and see if any have room, you could also ask the vet you took her to if they can help find placement for her.
 

jefferd18

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I have been reading about the flea problem with cats and after checking her I don't think it is fleas. I don't think she was lost for a long time --- maybe a few weeks at best. We really figured someone would respond to our ads and she would be back to her owners by now. We have been feeding her tuna, chicken, pumpkin, beef, venison and she eats it all. Just read where we should not be feeding her tuna so that is stopped now. Thinking back 10 days ago she was not licking and pulling her fur out so maybe the problem is us --- what we are feeding her might be the problem. We looked up foods to feed cats and thought that would work rather than buy foods with a lot of filler. Maybe a mistake? Please keep in mind, this was supposed to be a "couple of days" project, she was going home to her owners. lol She is a neat little creature, but needs a new home. Our life style does not work well with pets. Any ideas?

What you are describing are classic flea symptoms- the over-licking, the bare skin on the legs, pulling out fur, etc. And I can't believe that she would be out in the elements for days or weeks and not get any fleas. Please apply a topical flea treatment to her, it may help and it certainly won't hurt. Thanks for taking her in.
 
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Moby65

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Found a home for our stray cat. A young lady looking for a pet and has had cats before so she knows how to take care of them. This made my day, but I sorta hate to see her go. Been around some cats that I just did not like, but this one is a cutie and well behaved. Her new home is close ---- maybe I will pay her a visit in a week or two. Thanks for the help.
 

fionasmom

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That is wonderful news! Paying a visit is a good thing as well as it reinforces that you want to make sure that she has a good home.
 
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