Please help! Cat lethargic and acting strange :^/

[stephanietx]

Hope you're keeping the beneficial nematodes in the fridge.  They will help immensely!  They also help with other soil borne insects like roaches and ticks, snails and slugs, and other pests.  We apply our nematodes in the evening so they have many hours of cooler temps to burrow into the soil.  If you can do it after a rain, that helps.

 

[txcatlover94]

To sort of follow up with an update/question after applying the Advantage to Bendel: I know it's supposed to be effective and work within 12 hours, but for any of you who may have had cats with a terrible flea problem, how long does it usually take before they return to normal? 

Saturday before application he was showing an improvement in behavior. After the application (2 days later), while he is definitely not as miserable itch wise as he was, he still is hiding, scratching (though not as constant), and now has iterated ears (loss of hair and red).

With the itching, it still seemed like something (maybe all the fleas weren't killed?) might be bothering him, so I ran the flea comb through last night (which didn't come up with any fleas) and put on some flea powder (safe to use with Advantage etc.).

While he will jump up and sit on my lap now, he still refuses to lay on the carpet in my room and will not even jump up on the bed. He also still goes into hiding during the day.

Do you think that he was so miserable from the fleas (I think he had them pretty bad) that it's just going to take a while for him to recover and return to his normal routine?

I have an appointment at the vet for him tomorrow, but I want to make sure that I'm not overreacting. (I don't want to do too much to him and make it all worse!!) 

 

[nansiludie]

 
To sort of follow up with an update/question after applying the Advantage to Bendel: I know it's supposed to be effective and work within 12 hours, but for any of you who may have had cats with a terrible flea problem, how long does it usually take before they return to normal? 

Saturday before application he was showing an improvement in behavior. After the application (2 days later), while he is definitely not as miserable itch wise as he was, he still is hiding, scratching (though not as constant), and now has iterated ears (loss of hair and red).

With the itching, it still seemed like something (maybe all the fleas weren't killed?) might be bothering him, so I ran the flea comb through last night (which didn't come up with any fleas) and put on some flea powder (safe to use with Advantage etc.).

While he will jump up and sit on my lap now, he still refuses to lay on the carpet in my room and will not even jump up on the bed. He also still goes into hiding during the day.

Do you think that he was so miserable from the fleas (I think he had them pretty bad) that it's just going to take a while for him to recover and return to his normal routine?

I have an appointment at the vet for him tomorrow, but I want to make sure that I'm not overreacting. (I don't want to do too much to him and make it all worse!!) 

I've had cats with a bad case fleas and also outdoor ones that had gotten infested and none of them acted the way Bendel has, for him its hard to say, has he ever had fleas this bad before? I do think the itching is expected as he still has the previous bites. I am concerned about his ears though, is there any discharge or any debris in his ears at all? Is it especially hot where you live? He might be seeking out cooler places.

 

[txcatlover94]

He had fleas really bad as a kitten when he came to us - so bad that we were up in the middle of the night once stripping sheets off the bed and taking showers, yuck! Since then, while I think he's had them, he's never had them as bad as he did this time.

 As far as today, he has stopped itching (from what I can tell) which I think has also included his ears. I think (although I'm not sure) that the ear problem must have been caused by the fleas or Advantage. I don't think it was ear mites or anything like that as he never kept any of his ears bent like cats usually do in those sorts of situations. I now think the place where he has been sleeping has just become a new favorite spot (he does go through phases where he'll choose a new spot and then stick to it like glue for a while), but I still can't figure out the carpet thing. Out of curiosity today when he wanted to be fed, instead of letting him eat on the dresser in my room I put him and the food down on the floor. He did eat down there but jumped right back up on the dresser when he was done - who knows. Other than that one oddity he seems to be fine and healthy in all other aspects!