Scott....Lisa...Renae....???

I just got an email about how to apply flea treatment on a completely feral cat. The cat is not allowing anyone close to her. She was spayed, but the vet told the lady who brought her in that he does not subscribe to using Advantage on feral cats? (Have you guys ever heard such nonsense before)? Do you have any tips I could pass on to this person about how to successfully apply Advantage on this cat without getting clobbered by doing so? The only thing I could come up with was the towel method, but even that way you risk getting clawed or bit.


Thanks!

Hmmmm...

Well, thankfully, I haven't personally had to physically handle our adult ferals - just the kittens. We usually take them to the vet after transferring them from a cage to a crate (or we're capturing them in the crate).

I would think that they would do these things while the cat was anesthetized, but obviously that's an issue.

I suppose you could try to confine the cat to a VERY small space in a cage, then apply it through the cage, but I'm purely guessing.

I think you'd have your hands full with the towel method, even if you're wearing thick rubber gloves.

Hi All,

My first thought is to call the vet, ask what the issue is for him or her with using Advantage on feral cats. I don't think that very many vets would opt NOT to get paid for something they could provide -- so I would assume this one has some experience or information that supports the decision not to use Advantage in this case. ASK!

We use chemicals like Advantage with our cats ONLY when there is a critical need for them. If there are just a few fleas or a little bit of flea dirt, we might not use Advantage on all of the cats. What has worked for us is to use it on only one or two cats -- choosing the very healthiest of the group -- and that has handled the flea situation for us. (The reason for choosing healthy animals to use Advantage on is that a healthy animal can better handle the effects of the chemical than a young, senior or chronically-ill animal. I was thinking that possibly, the vet in this case we're discussing is seeing a chronic condition and does not want to further complicate things by using Advantage).

Thanks Linda, but according to the email the cat is in good health, it was the vet's decision not to use advantage on feral cats. The cat is now in the bathroom of the owner, and apparently infested with fleas. They are afraid to do much with her at this time, because she has a sort of attitude.

I love using Advantage on my ferals because it not only takes care of the fleas, but also ear mites and some worms. But....I have never tried putting it on the one feral who won't come near me. I have several ferals who will let me pet them (on their terms), but won't let me pick them up, so for them I start petting them, and when they are really into it I keep petting with one hand (using that hand to open up a spot in their fur) and then using the other hand I very quickly squirt on the Advantage. It is a bit of a juggling act, but it works. I found that Frontline had a strong enough smell that they knew when I had the open container in my hand and would stay away, but the Advantage must not be so obvious because they don't shrink away when I have a open vial of it in my hand.

If the cat is in her bathroom already, she might try a full body press. Put on a pair of sunglasses or protective goggles just in case he gets wild....you don't want your eyes scratched...and then sit on the floor on knees with ankles crossed in back, quickly grab cat and tuck between legs and under body, using body to hold him down (this is how I pill ferals). With one hand holding head down use other to separate fur and apply Advantage. When finished run like a bat out of hell!

Anyone ever use one of these?

http://www.livetrap.com/cgi/search.c...traint+Modules

Maybe spray the room ( high in the air ) with feli way first before handle the cat may would help ???

We do not treat our ferals for fleas. They all live in a park and it would be useless to treat one time since they have constant exposure. There is no way we could trap all of them every time we needed to do a flea treatment.