My New Cat Is Suddenly Acting Indifferent To Me

[jefferd18]

I recommend buying XL dog Revolution from your vet and dosing it down to treat all your pets, if you have only a couple cats then you can treat them for a few months in a row. Most cost effective I have ever found. Your vet should/may have the dosages for cats but you can easily find them online, or someone on here might have it. I don't have it in front of me or else I would post it right now.

There are many products you cannot interchange between dogs and cats but luckily Revolution is one you can, which is great for how expensive it is. I wouldn't recommend this if I didn't know 100% that it is ok.

Thank you!!

 

[jefferd18]

Hi. First of all, unless you are not in the US, I am pretty sure Advantage II (the one you want) is sold OTC - in pet stores and on-line. Secondly, you need to get a product like I used - Adams Flea Spray to spray all carpeted areas - AFTER vacuuming. It contains IGR (more about that in the web site link I will provide below). And, then vacuum, vacuum, vacuum, and respray as well. This spray smells awful (alcohol content) until it starts to dry, so do NOT have cats in the room you are spraying. Once dry, you would never know you sprayed the area.

Once you treat the cats with Advantage II, you can expect some level of fleas to go on for at least 60 days, sometimes more.

About the behavior - we just got through a flea infestation - the first in Feeby's life (she is 15+ yo). She absolutely freaked out to the point of making her ill. But, the key when I look back was her moving from location to location, abandoning old places for new ones, to get away from the fleas (this was over weeks). Finally, she resorted to spending 99% of her time on a coffee table to try to avoid them. Feeby was bit more distant to me, but only from the standpoint she didn't want to leave the coffee table unless she had to.

Unless your girl has some sort of allergy to fleas that is causing the discomfort, she too may have been made ill by just having the fleas. But, as @ArtNJ suggested, if her hysterectomy was recent, she could have related issues causing some of her problems. She likely needs to be looked at by a vet one way or the other.

Here is the web site that I referred to above that is very informative and helpful with regard to fleas and eradicating them.

FleaScience

I think fleas can get anyone down. I once stayed overnight at a friend's house. His dog had fleas real bad and although they never bit him or his wife, they made a meal out of my legs for eight straight hours. I was miserable all night and woke up with welts all over my body the next day.

I am wondering about the hysterectomy myself, she acts like she is in pain when I hold her.

 

[jefferd18]

Hopefully the vet is able to determine that she's ok fingers crossed

This might also help re; the fleas ;
from @catsknowme;
would add that salt is effective against fleas, especially in the bedding and carpets - it dries them out. A comb dipped in warm salt water is effective at immobilizing fleas while de-fleaing but use only a tsp or less of salt per cup of water. And have a strong salt solution nearby to dip the comb full of fleas into, so they don't escape.

Dry salt on the bedding a carpet? Thank you! It has to be a special comb, right?

 

[Furballsmom]

It has to be a special comb, right

I don't know, I didn't think so but maybe catsknowme will have a chance to reply

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just use a standard flea comb, and have a bowl of water with any kind of dish soap added (use a good amount) to drown any fleas you find during the combing. The soap breaks down the protective layer that fleas have which causes them to drown. After immersing the flea comb in the bowl, and seeing the fleas drown, you can wipe any hair from the comb with a paper towel before combing again. Start at the head and run the comb down the back area - one long stroke, repeat on sides, check the legs/paws, face, and the run the comb through the tail as well.

As far as salt, if you are in a humid climate, be careful using salt as it can collect moisture from the air and create a whole other set of other problems if it is not thoroughly vacuumed up. I used salt in the vacuum bag, but if you read through the web site link I gave you (FleaScience.com), they indicate if other treatments are done as recommended, there is no need to add anything to the vacuum bag.

 

[Furballsmom]

but if you read through the web site link I gave you (FleaScience.com), they indicate if other treatments are done as recommended, there is no need to add anything to the vacuum bag.

 

[susanm9006]

I just wonder whether she has picked up the scent of the new cat in you. That is certainly enough for her to give you the cold shoulder.

 

[rubysmama]

The only thing that has really changed is that the flea situation is getting more intense. She had topical flea protection put on her twice but not in the last six weeks. She is now letting Figaro rule the roost and she didn't put up with his bullying when she first got here, she would always smack him. Its like she has lost her moxie.

It could be the fleas getting her down.

She wasn't that friendly with me over on the parking lot, I wonder if her true self is now coming out.

Generally, though, even ferals eventually get friendlier once inside with their human.

She now cringes when I go to pet her, and when I hold her, she meows like she is in pain.

Is she eating and using the litter box normally? Just wondering if she might be constipated.

However, crying like she's in pain when you pick her up, sounds like something that definitely needs to be checked out by a vet.

 

[jefferd18]

It could be the fleas getting her down.



Generally, though, even ferals eventually get friendlier once inside with their human.



Is she eating and using the litter box normally? Just wondering if she might be constipated.

However, crying like she's in pain when you pick her up, sounds like something that definitely needs to be checked out by a vet.

I am taking her to the vet this week. She may still have some scar tissue from her surgery.

She eats like a truck driver, in fact, she is starting to get on the chubby side.

I think I might have inadvertently done something that brought the feral back out in her. She now freaks out a noise, any noise, and she runs when I try to pet her. She doesn't hiss at the cats anymore which I am not sure is a good thing. None of this makes sense. In the past, whenever a cat befriended me, they never looked back.

Her fleas have been treated and she got a lot of rest in yesterday but she is still very cool towards me. i might have to face the fact that she would be happier in another home, maybe a less noisy one.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Some cats overeat to console themselves when they are not feeling their best.

She has been through a lot and the noises are probably part of her reaction to not feeling great - and all that she has been through.

All of this could change if you find out that there is some residual effect from her spaying that can be addressed. I wouldn't 'write her off' just yet.

 

[rubysmama]

I am taking her to the vet this week

Please keep us updated.
Meanwhile sending healing vibes your way.

 

[jefferd18]

Thank you everyone for your understanding and interest in my thread about Gypsy.

Update: She cuddled with me a couple of times last night. Her about-face should have been reassuring to me, but it wasn't, because I didn't know what I did to her in the first place to make her so standoffish and I am afraid I will do it again.

 

[rubysmama]

Has she been to the vet yet?