Persist with flea treatment for stressed cat?

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scribbler
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Persist with flea treatment for stressed cat?

Post by scribbler »

I've seen a couple of threads which touch on this subject but I thought I'd post myself to benefit from the collective experience here.

There's a lot of detail below (apologies for the length), but in summary - should I persist trying to give my rescue cat (suspicious, won't be handled, traumatised by recent vet visit) her flea treatment even though it's stressing her out, or should I just leave her alone? And if I don't treat her, should I keep her from going outdoors?

The context is that I adopted a 6 year old cat (Poppy) about 5 weeks ago - she was apparently handed in by a neighbour who noticed she had returned to an empty house after the occupants had left. The rescue centre advised that although she was generally chilled she didn't like being handled and absolutely hated the vet - gets aggressive, bites and scratches, so much so that she had to be sedated before she could be examined by their vet.

She settled very quickly from day one - exploring the house, no hiding, eating well, etc. She likes head scratches, but is not a lap cat and definitely doesn't like being picked up or held (she sat on my laptop once and hissed and bit me quite hard when I tried to move her!)

She's due a monthly flea treatment so I made an appointment with the vet so they could see her and issue a prescription. Managed to lure her into the carrier with treats, but we were a bit late to the vet and were told we couldn't be seen. Annoying, but I made another appointment. This time she wasn't falling for the treat trick and wouldn't go anywhere near the carrier, and all my attempts to grab her just ended up stressing us both out, so I cancelled the appointment at the last minute and rescheduled for 2 days later. I found out about the 'cat burrito' method from searching online, and for the next appointment managed to catch her in a towel after a few attempts and wrestle her into the carrier.

Anyway, saw the vet (he couldn't physically examine her: too aggressive, and he agreed she'd probably need sedation for her annual checks) but I have now got a prescription spot-on treatment (Advocate). My next challenge is that she now won't allow me anywhere near her to administer it! I thought I'd try the burrito method again, but I can't get close to her with the towel - or with anything else in my hand for that matter, even if it's nothing to do with her. I tried shutting us in a small room so she couldn't escape and grabbing her, but she got into such a state that in the end I just had to leave her to calm down. She's submitted to a couple of head scratches since, but watches my hands like a hawk. I had the tube in my pocket at one point but as soon as I tried to get it out and slowly uncap it with my other hand, she was off like a shot.

I might have to enlist a second pair of hands to help with this, but it does feel as if the trust that she had started to build is being damaged. It's obviously for her own good, but try telling that to a suspicious cat! I know it's partly because it's come so soon after the vet visit, but I'm not sure we can have this drama every month. I asked the vet about oral options, and they mentioned a tablet (Comfortis?) but say some cats won't take it and suggest I give the spot-on a few more tries. To add to it, she's desperate to be let out in the garden (I've bought a cat flap but haven't installed it yet) but I'm reluctant to allow that until she's had the flea treatment. The vet mentioned she's a bit chubby, so a bit of outdoor exercise probably wouldn't hurt.

I'm trying to balance out the risk to her feeling secure in her own home - not cowering or leaving the room - against protecting her (and me!) from fleas and giving her the run of the garden as well as the house. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
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Mollycat
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Re: Persist with flea treatment for stressed cat?

Post by Mollycat »

scribbler wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:07 pm it does feel as if the trust that she had started to build is being damaged.
For me, this sentence is all that matters.
I am very biased here because my own Molly was also rescued at 6 years old and I've been where you are, she is now 14 and still "unique".
Fleas won't get out of control in the next few weeks and as it sounds like she's become more suspicious of you already, I would stop right there and focus on the relationship. Even if the fleas get on top for a little while, you'll be able to deal with double the problem 10 times better with her trust.
That's my short answer.

But having walked this path before you, if you want any more detailed info, I'll gladly share with you everything Molly has taught me.

Edited to add, Sarah Henry and Purdy who I had with my ex were never routinely flea or worm treated and all went out. Purdy had scabs and hair loss which the vet called a flea allergy, but as it vanished the moment Henry died who was known to be bullying her, I doubt that verdict.
Last edited by Mollycat on Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
booktigger
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Re: Persist with flea treatment for stressed cat?

Post by booktigger »

To be honest, I stopped quite a few years ago treating my cats monthly for fleas, and despite fostering cats until a couple of years ago, the only problem I had was ironically a cat who was going to the vets every fortnight for tests, I couldn't get rid of his till the vet visits stopped, so I wouldn't stress either of you out worrying about that, or stop it letting her have some freedom, especially as the rescue will have flead her. I wouldn't go down the tablet route, the problem with comfortis is that (unless it has changed in the past 5 years, as that is when I last used it), it was only for 2kg cats, so my 5kg cat had to have 2.5 tablets (same cat, he developed an allergy to spot ons after the above incident) and they aren't pleasant or small.
scribbler
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Re: Persist with flea treatment for stressed cat?

Post by scribbler »

Thanks both for your responses, really helpful to know your own experiences. (Mollycat, I’d certainly be interested in finding out more about your journey with Molly - although I appreciate every cat’s personality and history will be unique!)

We always had cats when I was growing up, and I had a (younger) rescue for a while about 10 years ago, but they were all much more amenable to being handled. With Poppy I’m not sure if she’ll get mellow as she settles, or if this is always going to be her. My previous rescue wasn’t routinely flea treated and she went out, and we never had any infestations. Maybe we were just lucky.

I did attempt to dose her while she was napping this morning, but she woke up, moved her head and ended up with it on her whiskers. Suffice it to say she wasn’t best pleased while trying to get it off her face (her expression was actually very funny, and hopefully it’ll do her no lasting harm) but as you’ve both suggested I’ve decided I’m going to leave well alone for now so she stops being suspicious of my motives.

With Comfortis I thought I’d give it a go and see if she takes to it. She’s 5kg so as you suggest booktigger, that could be a lot of tablet to try and disguise in food, but if it doesn’t work at least I’ll have given it a shot!
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