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To start - yes, I'm taking her to the vet! But because it's not an "emergency", they can't bump up her regular first establishment visit which is Saturday.
After my beloved cat, Puck, passed away last month, I adopted a new baby. Her name is Cricket Tallulah and she's a 2 year old rescue from the South who was transported to New England. She's been in three foster homes for the past 4 months, most recently in two homes with more than 5 cats and 6 dogs each.
She came home with me last week. A few days later, I noticed what seemed like a bumpy tail (might have been there all along - I didn't touch her tail until she was ready!). She hasn't lost any hair and her tail doesn't seem to both her (moving normally, not overgrooming it) so I assumed it was old injuries from when she was a street cat. Then scabs started popping up on the back of her head and neck, and I realized that what's on her tail is scabs. A whole lot of them!
A few rounds of a flea comb later and I'm pulling up scabby crusties, but no sign of any kind of infestation. That doesn't meant they're not there, of course, so I'm vaccuuming and washing like crazy, but it doesn't seem that this is likely. Her last fecal was clear (getting another this weekend) but it seems like the foster didn't keep up her flea treatment.
She previously wasn't fed any one brand or type of food regularly, so I'm giving her cans of Wellness pate (which she had before - though she rotated protein) mixed with Smalls Turkey and a *tiny* bit of the highest quality kibble I could find to tide her over at night. She houses wet food but grazes the dry to give me a few more hours so I don't get woken up at 3 AM. Puck had some food sensitivities but never with scabs like this.
Obviously the stress of moving in with a new person could contribute, but I feel like I'd see her grooming, scratching or even biting more than I am.
Any idea of what it might be and what I can do to make her more comfy until her vet visit? I don't know that she's super uncomfy, but given all of the scabbing it can't be comfortable!
Last edited by charolastra00; 08-22-2023 at 03:15 PM..
Pretty soon after I posted this, I was flea combing her tail and a flea jumped out and landed on me. -.- So I think we know what it is!
Called the vet again and they suggested vaccuming all the floors and furniture where she spends time daily while removing the bag immediately to the trash outside until she can get into the vet on Saturday for treatment. They also recommended diluting dish soap in water and dunking my comb in that after each pass to help kill any fleas that are still in her coat, but not risk a negative reaction from OTC flea baths. Not to mention her fosters clearly hadn't trimmed her nails in months so while I've been able to get a few claws, I'd be risking life and limb to give her a full bath before the vet techs can help take care of her. She's getting more and more trusting with me every day, but not *that* trusting, yet!
So, fingers crossed we can get this handled quickly. On Saturday when we're home from the vet, I was instructed to wash all the bedding (both mine and hers) in hot water and to do another deep clean vacuuming and mopping with castile soap to try to kill off anything alive in the floor boards.
Paws crossed for Cricket that her tail and back heal up quickly once she has started flea treatment. I let the rescue know that there is likely an outbreak in one if not all of the fosters. Hopefully that will prompt them to stay up with flea treatment, rather than go months without!
Pretty soon after I posted this, I was flea combing her tail and a flea jumped out and landed on me. -.- So I think we know what it is!
Called the vet again and they suggested vaccuming all the floors and furniture where she spends time daily while removing the bag immediately to the trash outside until she can get into the vet on Saturday for treatment. They also recommended diluting dish soap in water and dunking my comb in that after each pass to help kill any fleas that are still in her coat, but not risk a negative reaction from OTC flea baths. Not to mention her fosters clearly hadn't trimmed her nails in months so while I've been able to get a few claws, I'd be risking life and limb to give her a full bath before the vet techs can help take care of her. She's getting more and more trusting with me every day, but not *that* trusting, yet!
So, fingers crossed we can get this handled quickly. On Saturday when we're home from the vet, I was instructed to wash all the bedding (both mine and hers) in hot water and to do another deep clean vacuuming and mopping with castile soap to try to kill off anything alive in the floor boards.
Paws crossed for Cricket that her tail and back heal up quickly once she has started flea treatment. I let the rescue know that there is likely an outbreak in one if not all of the fosters. Hopefully that will prompt them to stay up with flea treatment, rather than go months without!
Ugh… fleas are such a pain to get rid of. On the bright side, it sounds like you have gotten some great advice from the vet.
I have a feeling the dermatitis will clear up once you kill all of the fleas. IMHE, the flea treatments for cats are very effective. And I second the recommendation re: Castile soap.
See the vet first. If you have an appointment in a day or two, so much the better.
But if not, and if you feel that you have to bathe Kitty first to get rid of fleas, be prepared. I've had to do that before, most notably with my Annie, who came from a farm, and whose coat was encrusted with barnyard manure and associated pests when I got her home. Castile soap works well, but lacking that, any mild soap will do--Johnson's baby shampoo, Ivory, and the like. Heck, even a mild human shampoo, like Pantene, will do. I used that on my Annie, having nothing else.
Kitty will hate it. It's true, cats hate water. They're fine swimmers if they have to swim, but they hope they never have to. Kitty will spread her paws and extend her claws, and you're going to be shredded if you don't do it correctly, because she will try to swim in the water in the tub. Talk to her the whole while, reassuring her. Never--I say again, never--let her head go under. I've found best results happen when Kitty can feel the bottom of the tub under her feet, but she has her head out of the water--like humans in the shallow end of the pool. Best to raise the water to just where it touches her belly. You can dunk her body and tail (remember, keep her head above the surface), and soap her down. Rinse, of course.
Have a fluffy towel handy. Kitty will want to shake, like a dog, which is fine and normal, but after that, wrapping her up in a fluffy towel will keep her warm and you safe. There is a way to wrap a cat up in a towel so you are safe and she is comfortable, but it's a little difficult to describe. The towel will absorb a lot of the water in her coat. Regardless, talk to her the whole time, reassuring her.
It sounds awful, but I have found that one of the best ways to bond with a cat is to give her a bath. That's how Annie and I got along so famously, I guess--after her bath, and me picking/combing out the manure in her coat, she knew that I would never harm her. I could have, but I did not, and somewhere somehow, she put two and two together, and realized that I was her friend.
I miss you, Annie.
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Puck had some food sensitivities but never with scabs like this. 
