A stressful day as we discovered Lily has fleas! She has never had fleas before in the whole of her life. She never mixes with other cats so has probably not had any contact before.
We thought she was behaving slightly differently but have not noticed her scratching & certainly never seen any on her.
First sign was white things dropping off her yesterday....silly me thought she had dandruff! Of course it was eggs....crikey we nearly had a fit!
Anyway I have been hoovering all afternoon, she had been Frontlined & I have sprayed all over where ever she has been with this special spray Luckily she lives mostly in the kitchen & utility room.
Cost us £33 but we can do no more.
The chap at the vets said the flea problem was massive this summer!
Anyway I have had no time to go out with camera so a photo from yesterday.
This is a veiw across the fields to the little hamlet of Copp. You can perhaps see the church on the hill...there is a primary school next to it plus farm & about four houses.
Three good things:
1. The geese I saw yesterday were apparently pink foot geese on their way from Iceland flying south. I learnt this from the local news tonight. They have stopped off at Martin Mere near Southport. There are usually 20,000 but this year they have double that.
2. Dettol.
3. I have wire brushed the garden gate ready for painting.
Ooh I love Marton Mere! I must find time to go over to Welney if the geese are on the move though the hides aren't quite as comfy. That flea spray is really expensive though it's supposed to last a year. Nala (our next door cat) has had nightmares with fleas - stronghold won't work on her they aren't best friends with the Hoover next door! Little Ecclestone must seem like a metropolis compared with Copp!
@dh@snaphappi we are shocked but I do t know why as Willow, Cathy's cat has got to be treated regularly...we must have thought she was immune...she is fifteen too!
@judithg Copp is the next place next to Great Eccleston & is very small but is home to the local school in the area. There are over 100 pupils plus large church. Well I hope Frintline works on Lily....she u sitting on the floor in front of me now ...no signs of scratching still. I am hoping they will all be dead by morning! There will be no sitting on my knee tonight! Ha ha!
I think it odd that she was not scratching Cats can get lice too...'!Diagnosis is easily made by visually observing lice or their nits (eggs) in the hair. Adult lice are flat, six-legged insects with no wings. Nits can be seen attached to the individual hair shafts and appear as small white dots.'
Thats what I love about English countryside - little hamlets dotted about on hills and green fields and hedges!
Pat, here is a little poem for Lily that I just thought of:
Bring the ukelele, quick,
My Cat Has Fleas!
Pour the 'Frontline' on, be slick,
I'm on my knees in
Kitty-litter 'cross the floor'
'Cos she's scratching more and more.
Please help me, please,
My Cat Has Fleas!
@happypat Frontline works on Nala - apparently there is a tablet if all else fails and the fleas leap off! Good that there's a school locally. Also there's an article in the Times saying that we should allow cats on surfaces so they don't get stressed! Though it also says that rural cats don't get stressed....
@snaphappi oh hilarious Maggie......thank you so much I will read it to Lily when she wakes up....from a distance ha ! A perfect poem for the occasion!
@maggiemae what put us off was that the White dots were loose ...I thought eggs would be sticking to the hair follicle that's why i thought she had dandruff....how green am I?
A beautiful autumnal rural scene -- nothing like the countryside to capture the seasons . Poor Lily and you --at least animal fleas do not like humans !! ( or so they say !! ) Been such a dry and mild summer/autumn --so these little infestations flourish in the countryside where Lily may be moussing !! Frontline should do the trick !! good luck !
@judithg well it's been strange cause she has been sleeping on any ledge she can find...I think it's because by keeping the fleas cool they were less active...clever girl ! I can't say that Lily is stressed ....she might be now as we all are!! Why do we have pets? I don't mean that!
@beryl thanks Beryl.....Lily mousing!! She is far too lazy for that...she never moves ten foot from the sides of the house!! The chap said they tend to stick to their own kind so that is a relief!
I don't worry at all about fleas. I de flea all my animals regularly but occasionally the fleas become resistant to what ever I'm using. The Cambridgeshire fleas seem immune to frontline! I think fleas are bad this year. Lovely shot, what a view.
@lucypics oh thanks Lucy you have put my mind to rest a bit.......we are fairly immune to all things animal orientated ...ring worm, scours etc but in the house it is a different matter somehow!
Love the bright green fields against the rich brown earth. What a nightmare about Lily! Come to think of it, Betty has been scratching a lot lately.... !
@phil_howcroft well I am all genned up on fleas now Phil....what with all the advice off FB I know every horrid detail! We are all sprayed, doctored with Frontline hoovered & everything washed...on the war path! .
Aah, the perils of owning pets. Gibson gets harvest mites every year, he goes bald in patches, it makes him look awful and really uncomfortable for him. He gets an injection which helps with the itching. Maybe Lily got the fleas from a wild animal she's hunted down.
Lovely shot and what a stressful time you have had. We had a cat once and she only ever got fleas once and that was after she had been in a cattery for a couple of weeks while we were on holiday, so I can see where you are at. We always used to Frontline her after that regardless because they can pick up ticks here too. Luckily we never had problems again.
A lovely scene and although it's harvest time it makes me think of 'We plough the fields and scatter.....' Jinks had fleas in July this year. I was horrified. And the vet insisted we had to treat the whole house because of the life cycle of the flea so we were in turmoil. We'd been using Frontline but have gone on to Advantix now.
@quietpurplehaze I have ordered some flea & fly bombs ....you set them off, leave the room & hey presto when you come back all is dead! Have brushed Lily again this morning....hopefully all fleas are dead by now.....sprayed & Detoll everywhere so hopefully have got on top of the job Hazel. We must be diligent from now on & she will have to be treated regularly. Poor girl is worn out ...sleeping all night & this morning....nasty biting things!
Btw why have you changed to Advantix......didn't Frontline work? Luckily Lily only stays in the downstairs kitchen area so it's all fairly localised. ( hopefully)
@lucypics Lancashire fleas seem to be immune to Frontline too! Can't re treat for another 8 days...we have bought a de fleeing comb now in the meantime! Apparently if you shampoo your cat with flea shampoo it works wel........Lily would be hysterical if we bathed her.....the cat in the You Tube video is obviously very used to being bathed...I am fed up of the whole flea problem!
October 3rd, 2014
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Thats what I love about English countryside - little hamlets dotted about on hills and green fields and hedges!
Bring the ukelele, quick,
My Cat Has Fleas!
Pour the 'Frontline' on, be slick,
I'm on my knees in
Kitty-litter 'cross the floor'
'Cos she's scratching more and more.
Please help me, please,
My Cat Has Fleas!
Oh crikey just felt something going up my leg.......I nearly had a fit but it was a beatle...I think this house wants fumigating!!
I mean don't talk about itching!!