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

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FeebysOwner

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Not sure if you follow it or not, but fleas came up in Jcatbird Jcatbird 's thread and the Victor Flea Light was suggested. So maybe something to look into.
Amazon.com : victor flea light
Thanks! Back when the fleas were horrendous, I did put dishes of soapy water on the ground underneath a bright light - especially in certain suspect locations - and caught loads of them. I haven't done that in months and months. I should do that just as a test to see if I 'catch' any. If I am correct on the status of our flea situation, I would be counting on not finding any or perhaps almost none. I really think they mostly reside on Feeby and the Adv II does weaken them. Whatever eggs are being produced are hopefully being sucked up in the vacuum.

I would DIE if I did that flea light test and found much of anything!!!!
 

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I absolutely love these flea lights! Besides catching escapees, it’s a great indicator of how many are around and where they like to hide when the vacate the kitties. Fleas like dark places to hide out but head straight for these lights at night. I have at least one in every room. Closets and under beds are great flea egg spots. Killing fleas anywhere I can find them is a plus. My fluff girl, Smokey is a flea detector. When she leaves her usual spot, I know to look there for fleas. I have had to work outside a lot lately and I think hitchhikers came in! :livid: Smokey will lay on any paper I put down, including a paper towel. I started bringing in cardboard boxes which I toss into recycling after a week. The cats love laying in the boxes and I think we are managing to toss some eggs! We are trying out Bravecto but some are still on Advantage2 until they have their vet checks.When these cats have any fleas at all, their appetite drops. The heat seems to coincide with all the above. Sometimes I feel we are chasing our tails a bit.;)
 
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FeebysOwner

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Jcatbird Jcatbird (and, anybody else who still feels like following this thread) - Fleas don't bite me or I don't know if they do. My husband, however, gets 'welts' from them, so we (think) we know when they are 'out and about' because he gets bit. He hasn't been bit for months. The only time we find fleas other than on Feeby through flea combing is when she lays on one of our laps - for a long period of time. And, then maybe, very rarely, a flea or two will end up on us. They are 'catchable' at that point, so I consider them to be in their dying stages, and they are literally 'falling off' of her because of that. When my husband finds one like that, they haven't even bitten him.

I also know where she goes in our home everyday because I am home and can trace her steps. While I vacuum all other places, those are the areas I really concentrate on. I even clean/vacuum the papers my husband lays down for her! Her most recent favorite box is vacuumed/wiped down at least 3 times a week. She no longer goes into any accessible closets, nor does she go under the bed (I guess because of arthritis), so while those areas are vacuumed and sprayed, it is not as often as the places she frequents.

We certainly could be bringing them in from outdoors. I have sprayed the outdoors/yard, but need to do so again. But, to me, that is never-ending - even though nothing has changed outdoors and we never had a flea issue until last year (after 35 years). I repeatedly vacuum/spray the screened in patio where she spends time. Because we have constant rains here - some of which blows into the patio, I re-spray that area often. Feeby was never even treated for fleas until this whole issue started last year.

Overall, she is doing well - eating consistently for the most part and 'holding her own'. She has always been overly reactionary to petting her backend, but that was exacerbated when the fleas were at their worse. Now, she appears to be about as reactionary as she was before the fleas.

I am just SO AFRAID of treating her with Bravecto because of the neurological warnings. My vet wants to treat her with it, despite the fact that years ago he felt she has a mild neurological problem. He said the warnings are over-rated and unnecessarily alarming. So, I almost feel like trying to 'finish off the fleas' with it might just finish her off.

I will put out the flea light set ups and see what happens. Maybe, I will be unpleasantly surprised.

I know I sound like so many of the posters here who rebut every offering they are given, so I understand if members think I am somehow missing something that is obvious to them, but not to me.
 
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Jcatbird

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I am with you on everything you said. I don’t think anyone can know every detail of the situation as well as you do. Everything you said is totally valid. :hugs:
None of my cats had neurological issues but I was still leery of Bravecto. I started with my , apparently, strongest kitty one morning. I wanted to do it when I could quickly get vet care if needed. It turned out okay but there is a warning on it too about cats with heart worms. Even though BJ is supposed to be clear of heart worms now, I will not give it to him. I am using Advantage 2 on delicate kitties and Bravecto on a few others. I would not have even tried it if the other treatments out there had worked. I don’t seem to find fleas inside either but the flea light does catch a few. :dunno: I have lived here by the wetlands for twenty years and until about three years ago, never had a flea issue. They seemed to arrive quickly and by droves! I am of the same opinion , it is an endless battle outside. I try spraying outside too but with two acres and a swamp nearby, kind of useless and I must be very careful not to do it before rain in order to protect surrounding creatures. The nice thing about the lights is, they are non toxic!:woo: Maybe the lights will actually finish off the fleas for us both! That would be a great ending. I think a whole lot of people share the same concerns.
If she is holding her own, I think you are in good shape. I have older kitties with some pain related to age and the abuse they received before coming here. From the waist ( do cats have a waist? Lol) down they are a bit touchy. I handle them carefully if I have to pick them up and don’t pet the rear half. I’m so sorry that Feeby has that too. Maybe that’s why she got tired of combing? My Purry will NOT allow combing on his backside. The vet thought he had been kicked a lot and he required orthopedic surgery. I hate it when he is feeling the old injuries but very grateful that the surgery worked. Most of his days are still good ones. We do what we can. IMHO you know her best and should trust your instincts.
 
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FeebysOwner

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I absolutely love these flea lights!
I looked up these lights - are they just sticky paper on the bottom to trap the fleas, with a light on the top part to attract them to that location? I know they say they are safe around kids and pets, but have you left yours out where cats can roam around them? And, overnight?

I tried my old DIY approach (bright light placed over a bowl of soapy water, but this is difficult to do as I have to keep my eye on Feeby where ever I place them. I have done it twice, for just about 3 hours at a time and didn't get even one flea, but I am not sure I am leaving them out long enough. Plus, we have an open floor plan, so unless I lock Feeby in a bedroom (not anything she is used to), I have no way to leave them out longer.

Thanks.
 

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Is there something you could add to the flea water to discourage Feeby from drinking it? I would think soap would be enough. But cats can be stubbornly curious creatures.
 
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You could try this - give her music, visit her, see how she does :)
Could maybe. She has no interest in music, TV, or videos. I'll brainstorm on this one... I am a late night person and so is Feeby, but my husband is an early morning person. So, I might be able to lock her in the room with us for 3-4 hours...
Is there something you could add to the flea water to discourage Feeby from drinking it? I would think soap would be enough. But cats can be stubbornly curious creatures.
That is why I was asking about the flea lights that Jcatbird Jcatbird mentioned. I am really not so worried about Feeby trying to drink the soapy water as I am her getting to close to my DIY lights.

Good news, I guess - I did a flea combing, and found maybe 1-3 fleas? Not sure, as only one was actually moving. The rest looks like dirt (maybe not even fleas) and there wasn't any real 'blood' in the water, per se.
 
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FeebysOwner

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Update for Week 7/27 - 8/2

A day late in my update on Feeby! This week is her unofficial birthday, making her 16+ yo. :bday: She found my niece in OH 8/6/2006 and was guesstimated at 2-ish yo – then saw the vet here in FL about 6 mos later who also estimated her to be 2-ish.

She weighed in 14.0 – 14.2 lbs (using a range this time, since this scale is still not being totally consistent) vs. 14.4 last time, which was also an average. Her daily caloric intake was around 250, just a smidge under the previous week. However, her eating has been down significantly over the past 3 days (about 200 a day). She has had some similar 'flukes' before - a couple of times in May and again once in June, so who knows. :think:

Haven’t done any more DIY flea light tests, since they came up with nothing. But, I might go ahead and get the 'sticky flea lights' mentioned above and see if that makes a difference since I can leave them out for longer periods of time and in more different locations. And, as usual, she is due for another flea combing. :paranoid:
 
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Early update -

Feeby is down to an average of 209 calories per day (8/1 - 8/7), so while I haven't weighed her, you can bet she has lost weight. I've tried adding canned chicken with water to her food, and even added some more baby food meat to her regular food - nope. She will still eat the Glyco when the baby food is added, but not so much when added to her regular food? So, today, I tried crumbling up dry food to add to her canned food - no go. Finally, I just gave her FF without her urinary care food - she ate a bit more than normal. So, now I guess I will have to find some toppers to add to her food, to see if that makes a difference. Everything else seems normal.
 
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Weekly Update 8/3 - 8/9

Inconsistent scale weigh ins - again - so, Feeby weighed 13.8 - 14.0 pounds today. Given her lower caloric intake this past week, I guess it is reasonable to think she lost a couple of ounces. She closed out the week averaging 219 calories per day (from 250 the previous week).

That average includes the 260 calories she ate yesterday, with me feeding her exclusively FF. So, I guess she is on a urinary care food 'strike'. If that is all that is going on right now, we'll have to live with it. :ohwell:

I gave her a break from flea combing since it was her birthday week, so no new news on that front.
 

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For some reason I havent been having notifications on this thread so apologies Feeby but a belated Happy Birthday, I hope you had a great day and were spoilt.
I know you weight Feeby on the same surface but is it the same time each week ie before any food. Kiwi can have days when she doesn't want to eat as much cat food so I give her fresh chicken to make up her daily calories. Would/could Feeby top up on chicken?.
 
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For some reason I havent been having notifications on this thread so apologies Feeby but a belated Happy Birthday, I hope you had a great day and were spoilt...I know you weight Feeby on the same surface but is it the same time each week ie before any food. Kiwi can have days when she doesn't want to eat as much cat food so I give her fresh chicken to make up her daily calories. Would/could Feeby top up on chicken?.
Thanks! But, she is spoiled EVERYDAY!! ;) We do her weigh in around the same time every Monday, so who knows. She is pretty regular with the litterbox too, but not like she used to be! Maybe I had one less cup of coffee (LOL)!?!?

I did add canned chicken in water to her food, but for whatever reason she isn't impressed with that either. Still gun-ho on her Glyco being smashed up in baby food meat, but no so much with baby food meat being added to her food. Go figure...
 
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