De-fleaing a stray cat...

Hi All,

A cute little black and white cat has been coming to my ground floor flat for about a year now. He is very friendly and always sits on my lap, cuddles up to me in bed and I buy him cat food which I feed to him about two times a day, maybe once if he only comes once in a day. I work full time so I only really see him in the morning and in the evening. However, he happily stays at mine over night and is often a complete nightmare to try and make leave when I am going out somewhere. 

He is always always waiting for me when I get home from work and will come and meow outside my bedroom at about 6.30 in the morning when I'll let him in... I never leave him in my flat alone.

I can't work out if he is a stray or not.. None of my neighbours know who his owner might be and he doesn't wear a collar- All I know is one other lady sometimes leaves him a bit of food outside. This wouldn't really be a problem, however I have noticed lately that he has fleas- itching all the time, bald patches starting to show where he is itching so much, twitchy tail, always licking hind legs and won't sit on the sofa and piano stool that he used to love anymore (presumably coz they're infested with fleas)... Since I have realised he has fleas I have tried to leave him food outside to eat rather than letting him in. However, I'm finding it so hard to not let him in when he is meowing and just wants a cuddle or it's raining and needs a shelter...

I want to buy him some Frontline Spot On flea treatment because he looks like he is in such discomfort with the fleas and he has had them for over a month now and his owner (if he has one) has done nothing to cure them... Would this be ok to give him? I can't really afford to take him to a vet but I know what cats with fleas look like and he deffo has them.

Please help!!!

Hi @LauraCatLady  Welcome to TCS.

If you have been feeding this cat twice a day for a year he's yours now! He may have had a home in the past, but the fact that he comes to you for food and shelter means that you are his person.

Has he been neutered? If not you really need to do that ASAP. It sounds like it's easy for you to handle him so just put him in a carrier, take him to the vet and get him fixed and treated for fleas and worms at the same time. Outdoor cats almost always pick up worms, but it's easy enough to get rid of them.

I recommend getting the vet to treat him for fleas and worms the first time round. Most of the Over-The-Counter stuff is cheaper, but it doesn't work as well and can cause allergic reactions or even kill cats and dogs.

If you let us know where you are (Roughly, just country/state and city will do) we can help you to find some low cost clinics in the area where you can get him fixed and treated.

Hiya,

I live in New Barnet, London. Can you advise approximately how much this will cost me?

Thanks,

Laura

I'm not sure of the exact cost. My parents live in the UK and it cost them around 70 pounds to get their cat spayed, micro-chipped and treated for fleas and worms. This included a post-op check up. It's usually more expensive to get a female spayed than a male neutered, so if he is a boy you would expect to pay a little less.

Places you could check out;

.https://www.pdsa.org.uk/near-me

http://www.cats.org.uk/what-we-do/neutering/financial-assistance

Cats Protection offer means-tested financial assistance for spaying/neutering nationwide in the UK. The RSPCA  offer assistance with spaying/neutering costs for people on benefits too. The Blue Cross  have a neutering grant scheme too.

If you're going to take the next step and get him treated and micro-chipped it would be a good idea to turn him into an indoor-only cat too. Cats don't last very long outdoors. He'll be much safer in your apartment.

Let us know how you get on. We'd love to see some pictures of him too.

 

Norachan said:

If you have been feeding this cat twice a day for a year he's yours now! He may have had a home in the past, but the fact that he comes to you for food and shelter means that you are his person.

Click to expand...

Norachan took the words right out of my mouth.

First, it is very dangerous for him to be outside. Can he not stay inside even if you're not there?

As to the fleas, will he let you give him a bath? I think I would try that 1st. Put a dab of dish detergent on his fur (not too much or it will be hard to rinse it all off) & give him a bath & thorough rinse. May need to be repeated. This won't cost you anything.

Eventually though he needs a vet & to be fixed. Does he look like he still has his b***s? If you can clearly see them, he is not fixed.