This Is A Flea/possum Nightmare And I'm Beside Myself

[kittypa]

Where to even start... over the summer we had a fleafestation from hell. I also had a new cat show up who didn't get along with the two cats I was already caring for. It was a horrible time. I ended up having the yard sprayed by a professional a couple times and things got better. I TNR'd two of the cats and had them treated while they were at the clinic.

With winter coming I spent a lot of money and time putting up a shelter in the back yard because the cats don't get along well enough to all share the porch.

I started seeing fleas again so I had the yard treated again a week ago last Saturday. By Sunday afternoon one of the cats was sick from the poison so I spent Sunday night at the emergency clinic with him. It took him about a week to fully recover.

Yesterday I noticed a possum had got into the shelter and crawled into one of the kitty condos for a nap. Well, this evening he is still there so I'm thinking he needs a little encouragement to leave. I went out there, walked up to the where he was, and got a look. He is completely infested with fleas. The fleas are all over the place in there now. As far as the possum goes, he is either dead or playing possum really well. I watched for a bit and couldn't see any breathing. Then I had to get out of there because at least a dozen fleas jumped on me instantly.

Now we're expecting rain tonight and and the shelter is useless. My little Black Kitty was happily hanging out in there until the possum showed up. Now... ?

I'm just sick about this. I'm going to have to deal with the possum and the fleas, and the cat will probably not want to use the shelter after this. All that work and money is wasted and the poor kitty has no place to shelter.

Anyways, thanks for listening.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my goodness!!
I'm so sorry this has happened, can you use diatomaceous earth and salt? The rain isn't helping, but I'll bet that cat will use the shelter after. It's not wasted, I don't think hang in there!!

 

[foxxycat]

Too bad you couldn't put frontline or other flea treatment on him. Get some DE. Diametereous earth (I spelled it wrong) get food grade and sprinkle it in the areas the kritter likes to hang out. Other than that get a live trap and transport to another location.

 

[foxxycat]

Looks like we have same thoughts Furballsmom

 

[foxxycat]

Would it be possible to put the cat furniture up on pallets? I wonder if that will help keep the furniture from getting wet when it rains...

By the way that shelter looks smashing! What a cool cat place for them!!

 

[Furballsmom]

It does look marvelous!

 

[kittypa]

The furniture is not going to get wet. We had a thunderstorm right after I put the shelter up so it's been tested.

I think the possum is dead. He hasn't moved. After my being out there, if he was playing possum, he would have left after I left.

I have plenty of diatomaceous earth. I'll have to get rid of the possum first, then treat the inside of the shelter and all the furniture. It's going to be a while before any of the cats will go back in there. Once they have a bad experience with a place that's pretty much it.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think I'm confused, what's the bad experience? If you remove that particular condo the shelter as a whole should be fine.
In any case, hopefully they give you a pleasant surprise and end up using it

 

[kittypa]

I think I'm confused, what's the bad experience? If you remove that particular condo the shelter as a whole should be fine.
In any case, hopefully they give you a pleasant surprise and end up using it

If a cat walks into a place, and fleas jump all over it, that is a bad experience. He won't go back to that place. I don't know if Black Kitty was swarmed or not. Probably was. Having his place invaded also qualifies. And he's completely feral so there is no getting some Frontline or Advantage on him.

 

[Furballsmom]

I see. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and that cat, that hopefully, by some chance of luck it wasn't in the area/shelter these past couple days when the possum was .

 

[DreamerRose]

Possums are night feeders, so maybe the possum was just deeply asleep. Can you call Animal Control and have it removed? Another thought is coyote urine to keep it away. I've seen it in garden stores and feed stores.

 

[Jcatbird]

Can you sneak Capstar into food? That would work for each day you can get one into him. I put them in a tiny bit of meat baby food with a couple of pieces of cruchy dry food so they don’t notice the pill. The smallest amount of baby food possible seems to work best so the pill does not dissolve and put a bitter taste into the food. Once they eat the pill I give them there regular meal.
I have found that taking a mop and drenching the floors with Dawn dish liquid in water and leaving it foe about 15 minutes before soaking it back up with the mop kills fleas on floors. Some forms of Sevin dust are pet safe and could be used. You can always vacuum it up later. Did you try moving the info the possum was in to assure he is dead? I’d drag it out of there. If it is alive then I would just put a tarp over that condo and leave it for the possum to keep him away from that fabulous shelter you built! Better to sacrifice the condo than the whole shelter. I would then trap him and take him somewhere else! If he is dead then maybe removing him will be the end of your flea problem but you need to move him quickly. Fleas will leave a dead animal as soon as the blood coagulates.
I am so sorry you ran into this problem. I have had the same thing happen. A possum invaded the space and contaminated it. Maybe this will make you feel better though. Once I cleared out the possum and the fleas ( I just cleaned the area well with Dawn dish liquid and later with a mild solution of Clorox) the cat did return. In fact the kitty seemed to be waiting for it. This was a feral cat that did have other places to go but it went where I fed it. Take heart and don’t give up! Hope remains! I really think you can get this back under control. This shelter is so awesome, what cat would fail to check back to see if it is habitable again? Sending you all the good luck possible to solve this!

 

[kittypa]

Do I want animal control crawling around when I have 7 cats on the property and a feral cat shelter in the back yard ?

The shelter is already infested. The whole thing and everything in it needs treated and it will be.

The domino effect is substantial.

I’m pretty sure the possum is dead. Well after dark he still hasn’t moved a muscle. I’ll deal with him in the morning.

I’ll have to treat the shelter and at least the area around it.

Capstar in the food sounds good for Black Kitty and Mama Kitty.

Thank you for the encouraging words.

 

[Jcatbird]

You don’t even need animal control. You can usually borrow traps ,if he is alive ,and remove him to a wooded area yourself if you have to. I even caught a large buzzard in one! Lol Can you imagine trying to get that thing. I did and after release, it never came back to steal cat food. When it flew away, it knew to stay away! Lol

 

[kittypa]

Well... that was unpleasant.
I hauled the inhabited condo out and buried the poor possum about four feet down in the garden. I used some Black Flag spray that is made for pet beds in the shelter so I can could work in there without being swarmed. Tomorrow I’ll clean up in there and treat the rug and furniture with DE. From now on, any leftover cat food will be picked up at sundown so we will not be attracting night critters. I had no idea how many fleas a possum could carry. I reckon the squirrels are toting a few as well but there’s not much I can do about that.

 

[Jcatbird]

I am glad you got that over with. At least the squirrels are less likely to go in there. I doubt they carry as many fleas if they are tree dwellers. They may pick up some off of the ground but hopefully not like a possum. I am betting that once the fleas and dead possum are known to be gone the kitty will quickly return if you feed it there. It really does help to keep unwanted visitors away to remove leftovers. I did the same. We have possums, raccoons and a fox! Not to mention a dog during the day. You might want to put the food up beyond the reach of any dogs too. I used a tall tool bench. Let us know how things go for you and that beautiful kitty. Have a better day today. I am thankful you have done so much for your kitties! Bravo!

 

[Furballsmom]

Have a better day today. I am thankful you have done so much for your kitties! Bravo!

...and I am as well , and I'm sending you good wishes that your hard work pays off and the cat(s) decide the shelter is ok after all

 

[kittypa]

Black Kitty is already back in there.

He’s using a tree that is on the opposite side from where the possum was.

I hope he doesn’t pick up any stray fleas. I have the door closed but he used a little escape cutout I cut in case a predator blocks the door while they’re in there. You can see it on the left of this photo.

 

[Jcatbird]

Yay!!!!! One word left in case you need it...... Capstar.

 

[Kflowers]

kittypa that's a lovely hang out for you kitties. I'm glad you removed the possum, but I'm also glad he got to spend his last hours in comfort.

jcatbird, a buzzard? Dang, it never would have occurred to me to try to trap one. Best I can do is try to avoid running over the flock here that likes to fly across the street at windshield height.