More than one way to skin-- er, Advantage a cat?

[thistlechaser]

I'm pretty sure Ellie New Cat has fleas. She'll go from sleeping to viciously grooming one spot on herself. She seems to itch a lot. Maybe because my previous kitty was so old, but I thought grooming was generally a calm thing, not an OMG DIE DIE DIE FUR sort of thing.

I do have a flea comb, but as Ellie flees (ha ha) if I touch more than her head, using it is an issue. Sometimes I can get a few combs done on her side, but that came up with no fleas or flea dirt.

I'm going to pick up some Advantage today. Ellie's foster care woman said she put some on her before dropping her off to me (less than two weeks ago), but the back of her neck had been perfectly clean and smooth at the time she came out of her carrying case, so I wonder if it didn't happen. (Also, supposedly you can use Advantage up to once a week if necessary, so hopefully there will be no OD issue.)

Unfortunately I don't know what she weighs, but I'm going to guess over 10 pounds (the doses are over/under 10). Hopefully that's right. :/

All this might be moot though, as I have zero idea how I'm going to get it onto her. I HATE the idea of scaring her, I don't want to undo all this work. (Though she did recover quickly from the terror and trauma of me holding her still long enough to get a collar onto her.)

Her claws really need to be clipped (I can see them outside of her paws when she's relaxed or asleep), but I have no idea how in the world I'll get that done. She doesn't seem to use a scratching post much, so I don't have that much hope they'll take care of themselves.

I'm not sure about trying to wrap her in a towel to put the Advantage on. That would leave her head/mouth free, and as I have no idea on the status of a rabies shot, I'd rather not get bitten. I'm thinking I'll scruff her with one hand and put it on as best I can with the other, but that leaves all of her claws free to rake my hands. D:

Wish me luck, I'll probably try this tonight.

Edit: It'd be nice if I could wrap all this together: Take her to the vet, get her shots, have them clip her claws, and have them help with the Advantage, but I have no idea how bad she'd be there. She's still really scared all the time... She doesn't run away from me too much anymore, but she won't he held or grabbed or even have two hands near her at the same time.

Comments

[achika-soladia.livejournal.com]

There was a point in time that I could get my kitties into the kitty carrier using the laser pointer.

Of course, this was also back when both of them fit into the same carrier. Curse them for getting smarts.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

She does like the laser pointer! I don't think she'd follow it in though.

On the plus side, she seems to have no fear of the carrier. I opened it and put it down right next to her and she just sort of glanced at it.

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

and she just sort of glanced at it.

Uh oh, that is cat arrogance! "Nice carrier, too bad you'll never get me in it. Go ahead, try, I dare you."

My cat would do the same thing and it didn't seem like any sort of anti-flee stuff would solve the issues. Although we are pretty sure he had a serious case of OCD and that was probably his reasons for doing it.

[priestpluswolf.livejournal.com]

You're going to have to breech her comfort zone one way or another on this, either via vet - who are trained to handle frightened animals - or you yourself.

I recommend catching your kitty and scruffing her. Roll her over and check her belly for any sign of little red marks. Brush her fur backwards there, and elsewhere. If there's no red marks and no scurrying fleas /or/ flea droppings it's probably allergies or sheer nerves. Cats groom compulsively to make themselves feel more secure as well, and can wind up ripping chunks of their fur out, fleas or not.

If you decide to flea-dose anyway, the safest way for your kitty is to get two people, one to hold the cat's head while the other kneels with the kitty held between the thighs and knees on the ground, so it can't turn and get claws into anyone. It'll be alarming, and wearing heavy jeans is recommended, but there's no no-fear, no-stress way to handle it, on a new kitty.

To weigh a kitty, weigh yourself. Then pick up the kitty - scruff keeps them from ripping you apart, USUALLY - and see how much you weigh + kitty. Then subtract your weight without kitty, and you have kitty weight.

Honestly, if you're terrified of traumatizing your kitty, bring her to the vet. They can, at the least, tranquilize her.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I think taking her to the vet will be the best route. I emailed them to give them a heads up about what she's like, and they said no problem at all. Monday we go in, I'm going to see if we can get everything done then. Whew!

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

If you got the regular collar on her, can you get a flea collar on her? Can't give you too much advice on the flea front, since my cats are really mellow and do not mind a flea shampoo in the bathtub...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm a little skittish about flea collars. I know some of them have killed many pets (http://www.hartzkills.org or just google if you're curious). I'm going to see if the vet will put Advantage on her when we go in on Monday. :)