Cat No. 10: Fleas

In the meantime, let's talk about the unpleasant surprise upon my return: fleas. And lots of them.

I've since been told this is a crazy statistic, but I've owned cats for 16 years and never once had a flea problem. Oh sure, there's been the random flea dirt here and there, but nothing a few drops on the back of the neck couldn't fix. Because I live in the Northeast, I've struggled a lot more with tick control, which in hindsight seems like a cakewalk considering how easy it is to pull the little buggers off. (Gross, I know, but I am the designated "tick remover" in the family. I'm kind of over it.)

Nora was itching the day we got home, but it got worse as the week wore on. And she has the mood swings of a PMSing fifteen year-old, so when she's miserable, everyone's miserable. As in, "let me jump on your head in the middle of the night and scratch for ten minutes so you will wake up and be covered in flea dirt and be as miserable as me" miserable. That miserable.

The neck drops didn't work this time, so I moved on to an all-natural spray from Petco (where the resident pet expert informed me this is a "terrible" year for fleas). It smelled nice and Nora didn't seem to mind it, but she was itchy-scratchy again within a few hours. Next, I broke down and bought a flea collar. This was entertaining since Nora is usually 'free-range' and couldn't walk straight with a collar on, but it didn't work either and - in the end - just made her more miserable. Into the trash it went. (At least that will be flea-free.)

In my desperation, I did something I have never done before.

I gave her a bath.

Well, technically, I have done it before. When she was four months old, I gave her half a bath and swore I would never do it again. (This was just prior to her "Instate Quarantine" Episode, which is a whole 'nother story. Can we say high maintenance?) That's how bad it was then and that's how desperate I was now. A few people online recommended using blue Dawn soap (aka "oil spill bird" soap), which seemed like a cheap fix so we gave it a whirl. I wore jeans, two long sleeve shirts, and fully committed myself to getting absolutely soaked. And what do you know: it worked!

I don't think the fleas are totally gone, but it helped. A LOT. (And her fur is show-cat soft! :) She's going to the vet on Monday for her yearly shots, so hopefully they'll be able to give me a few ideas for future bath-less treatments.

But on the bright side, I think I can consider this Future Mom Training for those guaranteed delousing sessions. (Fun Fact: Sister V. and I caught our childhood lice in Disney World. How terrible is that?) Dunk 'em, shampoo 'em, and you're good to go, right?