Hi everyone,
I am a bit concerned about one of our babies, Ezra. He is 4-1/2 months old and is quite a big boy for his age. We have a total of 5 cats, all strictly indoor cats. We suddenly have developed a bit of flea problem over the last few weeks for the first time ever. We are currently watching my husband's co-worker's 15-year-old cat while he is out of state on an extended assignment for work and we are fairly certain that he brought fleas with him. We have never ever had a single flea problem before in either our dogs or cats. We have been bathing all of the cats in regular Dawn dish soap since that is even more effective at killing fleas than most flea shampoos and I feel it is a lot safer than flea shampoo. I gave all of the cats baths last night (Saturday night). This was their second bath. Their last one was about a week or so ago. At least the fleas seem to be significantly decreased now and I think we have a handle on the problem. Ezra did completely fine during his bath a week ago and had absolutely no problems; however, since his bath last night just over 24 hours ago, he has been very lethargic and slept literally all day long today (Sunday) and has barely moved. He didn't come running for breakfast or dinner like he always does and I had to bring it to him. He is still eating, although not quite as much as usual and he's only eating his wet food (he and our other kitten who is around the same age as him get a mixture of wet and dry kitten food in the morning and evening) and not touching the dry, which is not really like him since he usually eats both. Also, as I was making a sandwich with turkey cold cuts earlier this evening, I did give him a few pieces of turkey, which he did eat. However, after he eats, he goes right back to sleep. He's not playing and I don't think he has even used the litter box today, at least not that I've seen, although I haven't had an eye on him every single minute. He did feel a bit warm when I picked him up earlier in the day, but he seems to be a more normal temperature now. Other than being extremely sleepy and having just a bit of a decreased appetite, he doesn't show any signs of being sick at all. He's not sneezing, coughing, wheezing, breathing funny, shivering, drooling, and does not have a runny nose or runny eyes. He looks completely normal. He also still purrs whenever I pet him or hold him, which he has always done. Is it possible that he could have caught a cold from his bath, or possibly even swallowed some of the bath water while I was rinsing him under the faucet? Could the bath just have really stressed him out to the point of sheer exhaustion? (He did put up more a fight during this bath than the one a week prior.) I definitely plan on calling our vet's office tomorrow if he's not improved by then, but in the meantime, I guess I'm just looking for some advice and reassurance. I just want my baby boy to feel better!
I am a bit concerned about one of our babies, Ezra. He is 4-1/2 months old and is quite a big boy for his age. We have a total of 5 cats, all strictly indoor cats. We suddenly have developed a bit of flea problem over the last few weeks for the first time ever. We are currently watching my husband's co-worker's 15-year-old cat while he is out of state on an extended assignment for work and we are fairly certain that he brought fleas with him. We have never ever had a single flea problem before in either our dogs or cats. We have been bathing all of the cats in regular Dawn dish soap since that is even more effective at killing fleas than most flea shampoos and I feel it is a lot safer than flea shampoo. I gave all of the cats baths last night (Saturday night). This was their second bath. Their last one was about a week or so ago. At least the fleas seem to be significantly decreased now and I think we have a handle on the problem. Ezra did completely fine during his bath a week ago and had absolutely no problems; however, since his bath last night just over 24 hours ago, he has been very lethargic and slept literally all day long today (Sunday) and has barely moved. He didn't come running for breakfast or dinner like he always does and I had to bring it to him. He is still eating, although not quite as much as usual and he's only eating his wet food (he and our other kitten who is around the same age as him get a mixture of wet and dry kitten food in the morning and evening) and not touching the dry, which is not really like him since he usually eats both. Also, as I was making a sandwich with turkey cold cuts earlier this evening, I did give him a few pieces of turkey, which he did eat. However, after he eats, he goes right back to sleep. He's not playing and I don't think he has even used the litter box today, at least not that I've seen, although I haven't had an eye on him every single minute. He did feel a bit warm when I picked him up earlier in the day, but he seems to be a more normal temperature now. Other than being extremely sleepy and having just a bit of a decreased appetite, he doesn't show any signs of being sick at all. He's not sneezing, coughing, wheezing, breathing funny, shivering, drooling, and does not have a runny nose or runny eyes. He looks completely normal. He also still purrs whenever I pet him or hold him, which he has always done. Is it possible that he could have caught a cold from his bath, or possibly even swallowed some of the bath water while I was rinsing him under the faucet? Could the bath just have really stressed him out to the point of sheer exhaustion? (He did put up more a fight during this bath than the one a week prior.) I definitely plan on calling our vet's office tomorrow if he's not improved by then, but in the meantime, I guess I'm just looking for some advice and reassurance. I just want my baby boy to feel better!
