Out Damn Flea...

We had to take the kitty back to the vet yesterday, she had developed more itchy raw spots around her neck and they weren't healing properly like the first round of hot spots she had. Turns out even though we'd treated her with Advantage she still a few fleas left (even the vet had a hard time finding them but he found two live ones) and she's very allergic to their bites. So we got more Advantage with instructions to give her another dose in two weeks instead of the normal four, and she got a steroid shot for her allergies.

Then I went out later in the day and bought her another mouse (one is MIA), more treats and a new scratching post from Petsmart to put under my desk. Of course, after I bought it I realized it too short, but my husband's opposed to having cat furniture all over the house and with her elevated cardboard scratcher I think it will work for now. They didnít really have a very good selection of sisal posts, mostly a bunch of huge carpeted furniture. Hereís a really good looking scratching post Iíd like to work up to ;-) She has the little Softpaws nail caps but I'd like for her to go au natural eventually, I think it would be healthier for her. She's been getting her little vinyl claws caught in things lately, too, poor baby. She's so gentle, even when she's in her schizoid running through the house mood, she's not at all destructive. I think the first anti-declawing law just passed in California this week, more related links below.

Today she's been very calm and very sleepy with some bouts of playfulness mixed in. I think the steroid shot is making her feel a lot better but it's also making her somewhat tired. I put a piece of cardboard covered in double-sided tape beneath the offensive recliner that she likes to hide under, so far she's stayed away from it, thank goodness, and is sleeping in safer places. Besides being a dangerous place to hang out, it's nasty and dusty under there and she has inhalant allergies as well.

I think the fleas are officially dead for now, luckily we only have one and a half carpeted rooms in our house so the vet didn't think spraying was warranted. I think I'm going to check into some online places to get her Advantage, it was like $75 from the vet .

Iíve been reading Pam Johnson-Bennettís Think Like a Cat - How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat -- Not a Sour Puss and itís really interesting and so far useful. Phoebe is such a little personality I feel like I need all the insight I can get into understanding her. Sparky thinks Iím nuts for doing all this researching and obsessing but Iím actually enjoying it and learning a lot.

Since we got her I did some research and found out she's not a mutt at all, but an actual real Burmese color variation, she's a Black Smoke Asian. So technically we have our black cat ;-) There's a photo hanging on the wall at our vet's office looks exactly like her that I thought was like stock art but turns out to be a past patient. She has the most beautiful silky coat, itís black over a white undercoat.

More kitty links:
Declawing - What You Need To Know
The Paw Project - Declawing FAQ
De-Clawing.com Directory Listing
Why Cats Need Claws from the Whole Cat Journal
Cats International.org - Cat Behavior Articles
Burmese Cat Club

P.S. I just noticed this is my 100th entry in this weblog :-)

Posted by Morticia at May 06, 2003 11:33 PM | TrackBack