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Hermit Cats
Oct. 4th, 2003 12:16 am... Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Our cats are funny creatures. We seem to have inadvertently trained a very peculiar behaviour into them. About two weeks ago our house was rampantly infested with these really awful fleas. Like we'd bathe the cats in flea shampoo and it wouldn't even kill the ones on them and they'd be crawling with them again 5 minutes after they got out of the bath. (And yes, we were keeping the bulk of their body submerged in soapy water long enough it should have killed any fleas) Poor babies. They're indoor cats and seem to have got the fleas from the dogs next door (best I can figure) but they were so miserable they would come and ASK to be bathed and not put up resistance to said bathing. O_O
Anyhow, they were getting chewed to pieces so we bathed them thoroughly and got them so Advantage and quaranteened them to the bathroom (which has no carpet for fleas to nest in) for a couple of weeks. They were both so sick and flea-bitten they didn't even resist. :/ So. We went and bought them a bunch of toys and made sure we spent at least a half hour a night playing with them so they wouldn't be too miserable in their confinement. Also gave them each a cat carrier to use as sorta a kitty cubby hole.
So... Now, a couple weeks later, the door is open and I discover we have hermit cats. They're totally attached to their cat carrier shells. They seem to believe they are keeping them safe from the fleas and so they only come out of them long enough to eat and use the bathroom. Augh! What have I done to their poor kitty brains!?!?!?
And now...
Our cats are funny creatures. We seem to have inadvertently trained a very peculiar behaviour into them. About two weeks ago our house was rampantly infested with these really awful fleas. Like we'd bathe the cats in flea shampoo and it wouldn't even kill the ones on them and they'd be crawling with them again 5 minutes after they got out of the bath. (And yes, we were keeping the bulk of their body submerged in soapy water long enough it should have killed any fleas) Poor babies. They're indoor cats and seem to have got the fleas from the dogs next door (best I can figure) but they were so miserable they would come and ASK to be bathed and not put up resistance to said bathing. O_O
Anyhow, they were getting chewed to pieces so we bathed them thoroughly and got them so Advantage and quaranteened them to the bathroom (which has no carpet for fleas to nest in) for a couple of weeks. They were both so sick and flea-bitten they didn't even resist. :/ So. We went and bought them a bunch of toys and made sure we spent at least a half hour a night playing with them so they wouldn't be too miserable in their confinement. Also gave them each a cat carrier to use as sorta a kitty cubby hole.
So... Now, a couple weeks later, the door is open and I discover we have hermit cats. They're totally attached to their cat carrier shells. They seem to believe they are keeping them safe from the fleas and so they only come out of them long enough to eat and use the bathroom. Augh! What have I done to their poor kitty brains!?!?!?
And now...
