I hope someone can help.
After being perfectly fine all day, one of my two cats suddenly started racing around the living room. Couldn't sit still. No idea why. I picked her up and she hissed at me... something she NEVER does.
She has been battling a bad case of fleas, so I thought maybe that had something to do with it. I don't use any pesticides on my cats (including toxic flea drops). I de-flea them using a mixture of 4-parts warm-water, 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide, and about 1/4 oz of Peppermint Extract that I comb through using a flea comb. I kill the fleas off rinsing the comb in the solution. Works great, but you have to do it daily over a week (as well as vacuum) to get them all.
So I de-flead her and found about 2 dozen of the nasty buggers. She was still growling through most of it and refused to let me comb her belly (most fleas were on her back/neck anyway). When I felt I had gotten most/all of them, I dried her off & set her down, where she promptly disappeared in the (dark) space between the couch-arm & wall (not her usual spot. Took me a while to find her.)
When I finally found her, she was still going nuts, twisting & spinning, eyes as wide as saucers. When she saw me, she hissed again and tried to claw & bite me. She was in obvious distress.
When I finally chased her out of the corner, she found a spot on the couch where she keeps licking the underside of one leg. No sign of injury or redness. If I pet her, she gives a low growl, calms down, but then may suddenly hiss for no reason.
She remained restless for another ten minutes, alternating between twisting/spinning activity & rest. While resting, I noticed she was breathing rapidly & drooling. And it is difficult to tell from touch, but her ears felt warm (compared to her sister.) My first thought was "rabies", but she's a strictly INDOOR cat and I don't have mice.
As I type this, she has finally calmed down, still licking her fur in that way that tells me I didn't get all the fleas.
My poor kitty has a history of medical problems, nearly dying from Salmonella two years ago, and nearly dying from e.Colli last April. Both have weakened her immune system, and left me too broke to pay for another major illness if she is having a serious problem now.
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks.
After being perfectly fine all day, one of my two cats suddenly started racing around the living room. Couldn't sit still. No idea why. I picked her up and she hissed at me... something she NEVER does.
She has been battling a bad case of fleas, so I thought maybe that had something to do with it. I don't use any pesticides on my cats (including toxic flea drops). I de-flea them using a mixture of 4-parts warm-water, 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide, and about 1/4 oz of Peppermint Extract that I comb through using a flea comb. I kill the fleas off rinsing the comb in the solution. Works great, but you have to do it daily over a week (as well as vacuum) to get them all.
So I de-flead her and found about 2 dozen of the nasty buggers. She was still growling through most of it and refused to let me comb her belly (most fleas were on her back/neck anyway). When I felt I had gotten most/all of them, I dried her off & set her down, where she promptly disappeared in the (dark) space between the couch-arm & wall (not her usual spot. Took me a while to find her.)
When I finally found her, she was still going nuts, twisting & spinning, eyes as wide as saucers. When she saw me, she hissed again and tried to claw & bite me. She was in obvious distress.
When I finally chased her out of the corner, she found a spot on the couch where she keeps licking the underside of one leg. No sign of injury or redness. If I pet her, she gives a low growl, calms down, but then may suddenly hiss for no reason.
She remained restless for another ten minutes, alternating between twisting/spinning activity & rest. While resting, I noticed she was breathing rapidly & drooling. And it is difficult to tell from touch, but her ears felt warm (compared to her sister.) My first thought was "rabies", but she's a strictly INDOOR cat and I don't have mice.
As I type this, she has finally calmed down, still licking her fur in that way that tells me I didn't get all the fleas.
My poor kitty has a history of medical problems, nearly dying from Salmonella two years ago, and nearly dying from e.Colli last April. Both have weakened her immune system, and left me too broke to pay for another major illness if she is having a serious problem now.
Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks.
Last edited: