Columbus's odd behavior
By scribe1
@scribe1 (1203)
United States
September 16, 2007 9:20am CST
On Saturday morning, I finally got tired of seeing my Columbus cat scratching all of the time and administered Advantage for cats. Doing that was no problem at all, since Columbus, for all of his 11 years, is the sweetest fur baby that anyone could hope to meet.
However, later that day, Columbus still did not stop scratching. And at night, he was one restless kitty, jumping on my bed, scratching himself. So at 11:30 pm., I got out of bed and opened a can of his favorite canned food. As Columbus ate, I went back to bed and slept, as everything got quiet again.
And today, Sunday, Columbus seems to have stopped scratching, but I'm still monitoring his health and behavior.
I'm thinking that he was scratching like that because the fleas were trying to escape. I could be wrong. Maybe the cat has something else, like ear mites. Anyone care to guess? (I will take Columbus to the vet if he goes back to scratching himself like that again. His last visit to the vet was in July, 2007.).
2 people like this
2 responses
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
16 Sep 07
Well it could be many, many things. I agre fleas are the most likely, and if you administered the Advantage this morning, then it will take a couple of days for them all to disappear, and he will probably be scratching until then. However, it could be dermatitis, perhaps caused by an allergy - have you changed Columbus' food recently, or perhaps washed the blankets on his bed in a different washing powder? It could also just be heat if it is unseasonably hot where you are. I always say when in doubt take the fur babies to the Vet - better be safe than sorry, especially as Columbus is quite old now. Hope it all sorts out.
@scribe1 (1203)
• United States
16 Sep 07
Hi Rosie!
Yes, you're right. Columbus just may have a skin allergy, although he's stopped scratching since I administered the Advantage. I haven't changed his food --- he's quite fond of the Friskies canned turkey giblets for senior cats, though he will nibble at other flavors, such as Friskies
gourmet grill and chicken dinner. I also change his litterbox frequently and wash his food and water dishes. And my own bedding gets laundered every week.
Just to be on the safe side, though,I'm going to see how he does right through Monday. If he's still not scratching, I may hold off with the vet visit. He received a clean bill of health during July's vet visit, so we'll see.
1 person likes this
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
16 Sep 07
Well please let us know how he gets on. Both Sasha and Wilby have worms at the moment, which are caused by fleas. I treat them all frequently, but with outdoor cats you just can't help it. Big hugs to Columbus!
@lucy0713 (32)
• China
17 Sep 07
In my childhood I kept cat!My family all liked cats just as cats can catch mice.And at that time,the cat kept by my family often scratched.But we didn't consider it as odd behavior.In out opinions,it's quite usual that there are fleas on cats' bodays.So I guess it's tht fleas that make your cat scratching all the time.
