cats not willing to be held. Can't administer flea treatments

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jean buchan
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cats not willing to be held. Can't administer flea treatments

Post by jean buchan »

I have had two rescued semi feral cats for seven months. One of them, Millie, has let me administer flea treatment with a lot of difficulty. The other, Pebbles, has never allowed herself to be held at all and runs as soon as I try to put it on. They both have lovely natures but are just terrified. Someone must have been very bad to them. They are mostly indoor cats but Millie loves to go in the garden. Pebbles is quite happy indoors, but the only time I get close to her is when I am lying down in bed and she allows me to pet her. Any tips, as I don't want my cats to have fleas? They are both due to get vaccinations at the end of the year and my vet has never even seen Pebbles.
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Ruth B
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Re: cats not willing to be held. Can't administer flea treatments

Post by Ruth B »

My first question is actually how are you planning on getting them to the vets for vaccinations?

I have a nervous cat, I'm not sure whether she was a feral or just totally unsocialised, but I got her when she was 6 months old and had been in rescue for 3 months and was totally unhandleable. Getting her into a carrier each year for her boosters has been a challenge and has ended up with both myself and my OH covered in scratches and bites, she isn't normally aggressive, but when we try to pick her up she panics. Like yours I couldn't even restrain her for a long time, fortunately when she is at the vets she freezes. In the end I spent a long time getting her used to me fussing her on her neck behind the ears, and as i have top loading carriers, this means that after 4 years I stand a good chance of being able to lift her by the scruff and quickly place her in the carrier. I tried all the standard tips, getting her in a small room with a towel to wrap around her, but nothing else worked, I now can't pick up as much as a handkerchief with out her panicking and running off, and i don't think she has been back in the bathroom or porch since i tried to use them to catch her in.

If you can get her to the vets then I believe there are flea treatments that last a lot longer than the normal month, injections, tablets (she might take one in food), and my vet even mentioned a new spot on that lasted 3 months, so it is worth discussing it with your vet.

Two of my three cats get done regularly with Stonghold and for a long time I just had to go with herd immunity, hoping that having two out of three done would at least keep the flea population in check, now I also keep in Frontline for Freyja as sometimes when i am sat on the bed she will come up and want some fuss, then if I have one to hand I have a chance of getting it on her, not restraining her but just rubbing the back of her neck with the tube and gently squeezing, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, which is why I use a cheap alternative to Stronghold and figure that something is better than nothing and Frontline is quite a good flea treatment (unlike some of the ones available at pet shops).

My best advise is to try and get her used to being handled at the back of her neck and then you just have to do the best you can. If it goes wrong then just let her be, I made the mistake of trying to put flea treatment on or get her in a carrier after what was really the point of no return and it just made her even more wary and took her longer to settle back down for me to try again. Now I know I have one shot at anything and if it it doesn't go right first time to leave her be and try another day.
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Mollycat
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Re: cats not willing to be held. Can't administer flea treatments

Post by Mollycat »

Great reply from Ruth there. I'm sure you're right about the pack control idea as breaking the flea life cycle has to keep the general household population down.

I too have an extreme nervous girl who can't be held or restrained. She is also extremely intelligent and we have a hit rate of just one in three appointments we actually make it to. I have put flea treatment on her, once, about 5 years ago, because my other cat came home from the vets with a flea. She is / they were both indoor cats. I dropped it on as best I could while she was relaxed, without holding her.

She has to go to the vets soon for checks and bloods and I'm going to have her wormed and flea treated while we're there, purely because we also have a dog who can bring in parasites. Once at the vets she is terrified into being completely docile, she can even be injected without restraint and lies there in the bottom of her carrier still as you like.

But on the other hand just how much do they need flea control? Before these I had 3 outdoor/indoor cats who were treated on a need basis which was normally around once a year, and even that was led by the one who had a bit of an allergy. I'm sure they had some fleas, but not in any numbers to bother them or start taking chunks out of humans. They were also not vaccinated and never saw a vet unless it was needed. One is 22 years old going strong, the other two died one of old age the other of a mouth tumour. The risks of parasites and the other problems they can bring is very real but for problem cats it's worth thinking outside of the accepted standard routine.

As an aside, it's worth reading up on vaccinations. There is ongoing research and debate in vet circles, possibly yearly vaccinations may not be needed and immunity might be lifelong after a certain number of years, or needed less often than yearly, and overvaccination is one of 3 things being looked at as possible factors in the huge rise in feline hyperthyroidism (the others are canned foods and fire retardants). I guess you have to weigh up the battle and the setback in gaining their trust against the fleas.
jean buchan
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Re: cats not willing to be held. Can't administer flea treatments

Post by jean buchan »

Thank you, Mollycat and Ruth b for your helpful replies.

Both of you have been very helpful.

I was at my vets last week to apologise for Milly missing her appointment. I think if I arrange an appointment for when my grandson Is available I may manage(with Milly), taking your advice into account. I was told that as there is a few months before their annual vaccinations are due, to keep trying. They also said that if I leave a carrier out and manage to get Milly to go in, just phone the vet and they will try to fit her in. This is not going to happen, I think. Pebbles loves a small space but it needs to be in a cupboard where she can't be cornered easily. They are both so fast and as I get older, I'm getting slower. I think I may have made a bit of a mistake having them at my age but I was so sorry for them and I do believe they are happy living with us. My first little kitten, Misty was not a rescue, but from a friend's cat's litter of four. She became very ill over a weekend and the vet tried all sorts as she wasn't eating or drinking. He discovered when he x-rayed her that her heart was three times the size it should have been so she had to be put to sleep at six months old, as he said she was probably born like that and there was no more he could do. I couldn't understand why it had taken four months to manifest as she had appeared perfectly healthy and was very active. I blamed myself and thought it was something I must have done. We were devastated! We had had her for four months and got used to having her around and she was a very confident little kitten. She used to jump on my shoulder when I was working in the kitchen, and would stand there like a parrot. She was a dear little thing but she liked to bite and I was covered in scratches from head to toe, even though I cut her nails regularly. She climbed all over anybody who was there wherever she wanted to, but we didn't mind. Our Pebbles is very relaxed around me when I am in bed and lets me rub the back of her neck but as soon as I move one of my hands away, she panics and runs like the wind. She never scratches(except my wallpaper) and never bites or hisses. Milly is even more relaxed and lies with her belly up and her legs in the air. She is very vocal and lets me know when she wants something. They both love their toys and chase each other round and round the house. You would hardly believe that they can't be lifted and carried. I will definitely ask about other treatments if I ever manage to get them to the vet. I'm not bothered what it cost as it would stop me worrying that I'm not caring for my cats properly. I'll also google for vaccination information too as I really don't want to lose the trust I have built up since I've had them.
Thanks again for your advice. It has helped a lot to set my mind at ease. I blamed my self so much when Misty died despite everybody saying it wasn't my fault. I love these two and don't want to have their health compromised. I have to watch very carefully what I give them to eat as they are very fussy and have recurring bouts of diarrhoea.
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