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

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FeebysOwner

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The Feeby Weekly Journal (2/24 – 3/1)

Roller coaster week for eating, but even so she still managed to average around 250 calories per day. And, she gained back 2 oz. Today, she weighed 15.4 pounds.

She is spending a fair amount of time on her patio, and back to coming to bed every night to sleep with me. All of her bed/boxes have been abandoned, for now anyway. Before bed time, she has now decided to sleep against the wall behind my recliner. The one long-time habit that she hasn't resumed is how she used to 'take over' the foot of my recliner most evenings. Now, she will spend some time in my lap, and then leave the recliner altogether instead. I wonder if she will ever do this again, considering that she has 're-adopted' pretty much all of her other old habits that stopped with the flea debacle. :headscratch:

My husband got a good taste of her squawking this weekend, more so than typical for him apparently. He actually called it ‘screeching’ (:eek:) – if that might give you an idea of how dramatic she can be at times!

So, still guessing the squawking is from boredom and seeking attention - I am back on the search for some entertainment. I set up a squirrel/bird video for her to watch on my tablet. She seemed interested - mostly the squirrel parts - but only for a few minutes. I tried again later - just left the tablet resting near her, and ignored her for the most part. Based on the angle I placed it, she did re-position herself to watch it; but again not for long. She actually got up and left her perch, apparently to get away from it. Oh well. She was purring throughout the time she did bother to watch. Will try a couple of more times in the coming days, just to see…:think:
 

terestrife

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I was looking around this thread and saw you still had flea issues. Have you tried Revolution? I use it every few months, works great for fleas.

Edit: I comb my cat's to check for fleas or flea dirt regularly.
 
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I was looking around this thread and saw you still had flea issues. Have you tried Revolution? I use it every few months, works great for fleas. Edit: I comb my cat's to check for fleas or flea dirt regularly.
Thanks. I haven't tried Revolution as it doesn't contain an IGR, so there is no help with the flea eggs/larvae. The Revolution Plus does contain IGR, but it enters the bloodstream, and is one of the class of parasitic treatments that carries a caution about seizures, even in cats that don't have a history of them. I am kind of hesitant to start a 15+ yo cat on such a treatment, given the vet suspects she might have a small neurological issue to begin with. So, I have stuck with Advantage II - although on a 3 1/2 week schedule vs. monthly.

I check Feeby for fleas with a flea comb at least every other week, most times once a week. Sad thing is, there are always a few 'dying' fleas on her as well as flea dirt. So, between her treatment and treating the house with an IGR, I guess the best I can hope for is keeping the fleas to a minimum. :ohwell:
 

terestrife

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I check Feeby for fleas with a flea comb at least every other week, most times once a week. Sad thing is, there are always a few 'dying' fleas on her as well as flea dirt. So, between her treatment and treating the house with an IGR, I guess the best I can hope for is keeping the fleas to a minimum. :ohwell:
Oh that's too bad. Sounds frustrating. :sigh: might help to do more combing, I've seen people in the forums do this. They comb daily to try to catch them all. I did this when my cat was badly infected. I would comb her twice a day until I didn't see anything on the comb. Flea meds take time to catch everything. Make sure have a bowl of soapy water to clean the comb.
 
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Oh that's too bad. Sounds frustrating. :sigh: might help to do more combing, I've seen people in the forums do this. They comb daily to try to catch them all. I did this when my cat was badly infected. I would comb her twice a day until I didn't see anything on the comb. Flea meds take time to catch everything. Make sure have a bowl of soapy water to clean the comb.
She has been on Adv II since last July, and the house has been treated multiple times with an IGR. However, I did use a different one this past time (supposed to last for 7 mos - who knows), and the fleas/flea dirt has been less when I do comb her. I did do daily flea combings for quite a while before I reduced the frequency, as she also has to have 'booty duty' on her behind since she is lousy about cleaning back there! Very familiar with the soapy water!! I use it when I flea comb her, and actually keep a couple of dishes on hand in case we run across a flea in the house, which thankfully is happening very infrequently (knock on wood)!
 

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She has been on Adv II since last July, and the house has been treated multiple times with an IGR. However, I did use a different one this past time (supposed to last for 7 mos - who knows), and the fleas/flea dirt has been less when I do comb her. I did do daily flea combings for quite a while before I reduced the frequency, as she also has to have 'booty duty' on her behind since she is lousy about cleaning back there! Very familiar with the soapy water!! I use it when I flea comb her, and actually keep a couple of dishes on hand in case we run across a flea in the house, which thankfully is happening very infrequently (knock on wood)!
Ok good. I hope things keep improving, i know how frustrating it can be.

My chubby cat has issues cleaning her butt too. I've had to remove stuck poop a few times lol.
 
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My chubby cat has issues cleaning her butt too. I've had to remove stuck poop a few times lol.
I use unscented, hypoallergenic wipes to clean the area, they are not terribly 'wet' so easy to use. But, there is enough moisture in them that if there is anything 'stuck' back there, the wipes moisten it enough that I actually use the flea comb and gently comb them out, instead of 'rubbing her to death' back there. Thank goodness she is very tolerant of the whole thing!
 
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Alas - the next 2-3 days will NOT be Feeby's favorites. Next door neighbor is having roof replaced (badly needed), and so lots of noise to be expected. The very first guy who appeared on the roof brought Feeby slinking indoors from the patio - before any commotion even started! They are taking a lunch break, and Feeby is back outside again. Little does she know it will be a very brief patio venture...
 
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The very first guy who appeared on the roof brought Feeby slinking indoors from the patio - before any commotion even started! They are taking a lunch break, and Feeby is back outside again.
Good for her for making use of the lunch break LOL

Yeah, Poppycat's exactly like this as soon as he sees somebody wandering around up on a roof, and we've had a LOT of roofs replaced around us thanks to Denver's affinity for hailstorms.
 

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I had my roof reshingled a few years ago, and though the noise nearly drove ME crazy, it didn't faze Ruby in the least. :dunno:

Here's hoping Feeby enjoys her "lunch" breaks, and that she can relax while the noisy work is taking place.
 
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Here's hoping Feeby enjoys her "lunch" breaks, and that she can relax while the noisy work is taking place.
Feeby was pretty well freaked out when we had our roof done a few years ago - but that was happening directly overhead!! At least, this is not that close and loud!! Today, when the guys next door went back up on the roof after lunch, Feeby proceeded to head inside, and I found her not more than 2 minutes later snoozing away in a place far from the noise!!!
 

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Alas - the next 2-3 days will NOT be Feeby's favorites. Next door neighbor is having roof replaced (badly needed), and so lots of noise to be expected. The very first guy who appeared on the roof brought Feeby slinking indoors from the patio - before any commotion even started! They are taking a lunch break, and Feeby is back outside again. Little does she know it will be a very brief patio venture...
Poor baby. I know how scary and disturbing stuff going next door can be. Our neighbor can have people working in the yard and has my girls scared thinking they will come into their yard. Hopefully they will stop making all that noise quickly so Feeby can have some peace and quiet!
 
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Hopefully, they will be done today sometime. Had a lot of wood to replace, so they worked until dark last night, and started this morning before 7AM!!! I went out on the patio for a second after I got up, and Feeby followed me. As soon as she heard the nail guns start, she abruptly turned around and headed back in. We'll see if she gets a chance to go outside IF/when they take a lunch break today!!
 
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It's funny, but not at the same time. Roofers took a lunch break, it took Feeby most of their break time to realize she could go out on the patio. She got a drink of her water out there, and then went to relax on one of her perches. Just a few minutes later, one of the guys is back on the roof (no nails guns, yet). I look out and she is still on her perch, but boring holes into his body with her eyes, as if to say "Don't you dare"!!!!

And, they DID dare, so guess who is back inside!?!?
 
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Roofing apparently done! This is the before and after pics of Feeby. Before she realized her time on the patio is once again unlimited - 'basking' in the serenity of silence. After she realized her time on the patio is once again unlimited - 'basking' in the confines of the house. That's a cat for ya!!!
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The Feeby Weekly Journal (3/2 - 3/8)

Today, she weighed 15.6 lbs, so back where she was a few weeks ago, on an average of 260 calories per day this past week. So, food intake within her typical range, and weight as well. All good...

Starting to see an 'uptick' in the fleas again. I have actually seen a few around the house - besides the ones I find on her with a flea comb. :censored: Started yet another thread on this site about flea treatments...don't think it will produce much in the way of new insight. I clean regularly, but guess I will do another serious overhaul to the house, even though it hasn't even been quite a month since the last 'overhaul'. I must be missing something. Treated her with Adv II at the 3 1/2 week mark (yesterday). If I don't come up with another treatment idea, I am going to start treating every 3 weeks after this until I move on to something else. Resurrected my flea research again... :frustrated: Frontline Plus might be an option, as doesn't enter the bloodstream nor does it contain the questionable isoxazoline parasitic connected with possible seizures.

Tried the bird/squirrel videos again - a couple of times. Not more than 2-3 minutes into the video, she realizes it is not 'real' and proceeds to leave the area where it is playing. It's almost like she finds it annoying - maybe she thinks I am insulting her intelligence!?!? :hmmm:
 
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