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| Patty, at rest between scratching his ears with his hind foot |
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| See how he's worn off the fur on his ears? |
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| Can you see the white stuff in Sweetie's fur? |
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| Diatomaceous earth on Patty's back |
Patty's been scratching at his ears. I have dosed him with Revolution, but he was still scratching hard. I do NOT find any fleas on him, but the veterinarian who checked him over earlier this year said he probably has an allergy to flea bites. As a good measure, I rubbed a very small portion of diatomaceous earth into his fur, and even managed to get some on Sweetie too, before she could dance away.
Diatomaceous earth looks like flour, but it has remarkable drying abilities. Bugs that come in contact with it will dry up and die. I've put it in their food, and sprinkle very small amounts in the corners of The Cat Hotel. I do NOT want them (or me!) breathing the stuff in, so I rub it into their fur so there would be no dust. Now Sweetie has big 'ol white handprints on her black furs, and Patty's bright golds and browns are a bit grey. We had just had a rain shower, and both of them were damp from running through the wet grass when I came out to visit with them. Seemed a good time to powder them!
If you are considering the use of human food grade diatomaceous earth, please read up on it first! Yes, many holistic websites will extol the wonders of it's effectiveness, but it's dangerous because of it's drying abilities, so inhaling it or rubbing it into eyes, nose, etc. is a HAZARD! The small bag that I purchased of the stuff has lasted me for years, because we use only tiny amounts.
Now, it's rained here for 1-1/2 days, so I'll bet both Sweetie and Patty have managed to wash themselves free of the stuff. And it's cold! Such crazy weather around here...
Ear scratching can also mean ear mites or an ear infection. Jenna has yeast and bacterial infection in her ears. We started with a deep ear cleaning (and dental cleaning) under anesthesia and have been using medicated drops in her ears.
ReplyDeleteOh poor Patty. I've heard only one flea bite could cause excessive itching. I hope itching will go away. We use diatomaceous earth, too, and only a tiny bit. I've read inhaling large amount has bad effect.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting! It's too dry here for fleas, thank goodness.
ReplyDeletePoor Patty. Flea bites are awful for some pets. Raven is having similar itching problems. I found one flea on her 2 months ago and have treated her with Advantage for those two months, laundered all her bedding, and vacuumed like crazy. I found only one bite mark on her but she's bitten the fur off the backs of her legs and the underside of her tail. Hopefully we killed the little bugger(s) before they multiplied.
ReplyDeleteYou take such good care of them. It's wonderful.
ReplyDeletemeowloz guys...patty....tell yur mom ta rub sum coconut oil onta yur ear....troo lee.. 100 % pure organic coconut oil....it may help with de scratchezz N shuld help ya re gain yur furz....me...tuna....hada bad re actshunz ta shrimp...loosed me furz N all in spot bout 4 x 2....de food gurl rubbed coconut oils on de spot, de dry skinz wented a way, N me furz iz growin bak ....sew now eye due knot knead a...... two pay !! ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteN heerz a linx....thiz bee just for info purpozez onlee ~~~
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Nutiva-Organic-Coconut-Oil-Dog-Cat-Supplement/255005.aspx
We purr Patty's ear will get better.
ReplyDeleteWe had not heard of using that 'earth' for that purpose.
Neat :)
Purrs Georgia and Julie,
Treasure and JJ
Could he have mites in his ears? Poor kitty, hopefully Revolution will take care of everything.
ReplyDeletePoor Patty. Ivan scratches behind his left ear to the point of scabbing sometimes. Stress from living with Caroline? You be the judge. I don't know about Patty's itch, though.
ReplyDeleteSend the cool to us!
Fleas, ugh. Ear mites, double ugh! Please check for ear mites too. They can cause endless itching and supposedly, the cats can actually hear them in their ears. Triple UGH!
ReplyDelete