Sick And Depressed Ragdolls

slave2_ragdolls

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I had a mother and her 2 twin sons since the sons were adopted by me at 12 weeks old. I kept them inside almost all their lives while occasionally letting them outside in my fenced in yard. They were always angels and never left my yard ever. Recently they have been wanting to go outside longer and I allowed it because they were just happy to be outside in my yard. Within the last 3 weeks, they have been bringing in fleas and now my house is infested. I am vacuuming almost daily. I put Frontline Plus on all 3 cats and it did nothing to relieve the cats from constant scratching over 2 weeks ago. I unfortunately came home last week to a dead brother in my basement after being away on a small 3 day vacation. The mother (14 years) and brother (12 years old) have been hiding downstairs depressed and not eating or drinking water for a few days because they knew that poor Brutus went to the rainbow bridge too early while I was away. I took both cats to my vet and he said that they were both infested with fleas and both have an upper respiratory infection. He recommended the 3 month Bravecto Feline treatment for fleas and some Azithromycin oral treatment for 10 days to clear up the infection. 4 days later the cats are eating and drinking water and appear to be flea free. The mother (Chuba chuba) and her son Shanahan are still hiding at the bottom of my basement stairs all day and all night but appear to be getting better with each day. The 3 cat's spent their whole lives together and were very close, especially the 2 twin brothers. Chuba chuba and Shanahan sleep side by side constantly because they are depressed I think. How long will it take them to except the fact that their deceased brother is not coming back? I feel real guilty that I left for 3 days to go away and poor Brutus had to die alone. Any words of encouragement would help me get through this.
 

duckpond

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Do they not come up from the basement at all? I think if they could come upstairs, or even in the back yard for a bit it might help them? Are they eating and drinking well now? It may take a while before they get over the loss, but i think some fresh air, and out of the basement might help?
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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The mother Chuba chuba will come up to eat then head back downstairs again. Shanahan came up for about 15 minutes yesterday to eat at the top of the stairs then back down again. They both are using the tile floor at the bottom of the stairs for the bathroom. I moved a litter box down stairs to help with that issue. They are both good cats and normally use the cat box upstairs, and are using the floor only because they are depressed I think. I have a Litter Robot upstairs that nobody has used in the last week that they love. Maybe I will let them outside in my yard tomorrow to help them feel better. They both got Bravecto for fleas so my house probably won't get any worse. The fleas are bad in the house and my ankles are raw from getting bitten over the last 3 weeks. My vet said the Frontline Plus is ineffective in my area before I put them on Bravecto. I just gotta keep vacuuming daily until I can get a handle on the fleas. Any other ideas are welcome.
Do they not come up from the basement at all? I think if they could come upstairs, or even in the back yard for a bit it might help them? Are they eating and drinking well now? It may take a while before they get over the loss, but i think some fresh air, and out of the basement might help?
 
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