Floki’s Trauma

52 Replies

Yesterday morning, Saturday, my wife and I brought Floki to the vet. It was nothing serious but we wanted his nails trimmed and his ears checked. The last time they cleaned his ears because they were dirty and Rose thought they needed cleaning again.

Rose also wanted them to apply his flea medication that we had but couldn’t put it on him for the same reason we can’t clip his nails or clean his ears. He is a tornado in a cat’s body.

Our vet still makes the humans wait in the car which is something I do not like because I think it is important for the pet’s human to be there for psychological comfort and because it is easier to know what is going on if you are in the exam room.

When the vet tech brought out Floki, she mentioned that his ears were dirty again when he came in and he might have to shake some remaining fluid out of his ears from the cleaning.

When we got him home, he immediately ran under the bed. I figured he would hide for a little while even though there was no logical reason we would bring him home just to catch him again.

Later that day Rose mentioned she saw Floki briefly and watched him lose his balance and fell down. He then went behind the sofa to hide. Later he was back under the bed again. When he didn’t come out for their late afternoon meal, we started to get concerned.

I put his food next to the bed but by late evening he still hadn’t eaten anything so I picked it up. I then sat in the bedroom for a while with Rose. We usually sit on the bed and wind down before going to bed. The cats often come in during that time and hang out with us. Since we have to close our bedroom door at night because of Chris, we want to give them that time.

We still had not seen Floki and were worried so I looked under the bed and he was not there. I checked behind the sofa and in the Florida room but no Floki. I eventually found him hiding in the dining room and started petting him. He put up with me for thirty seconds and walked quickly away, falling over once as he went. He ended up back under the bed.

Earlier, Rose thought the dizziness was due to the ear cleaning but I suggested that maybe it was a side effect of the flea medication. At first she discounted my idea, but the fact that he was dizzy so many hours later made her look up the side effects of flea medication and found that one of them was dizziness that could last up to 72 hours.

I have always hated putting flea medication on our cats because it is a poison but Rose hates fleas, which is understandable. I try to push out the treatment as long as possible but sometimes, like recently, one of the cats is affected by fleas and we have no choice but to apply it.

We left our door open last night hoping Floki would come in our bedroom but as soon as we tried to go to sleep, Chris was on the bed digging his nails in my face so we had to kick them all out.

It is now 1:30 on Sunday afternoon and Floki is not only still under the bed, he has worked his way up inside the box spring. It is concerning and we will have to call the vet on Monday if he doesn’t come out.

Has anyone else had these issues with flea medication? The brand we use is called Cheristin.

52 thoughts on “Floki’s Trauma”

  1. Pingback: Floki’s Trauma — Bad Cat Chris – The Urban Fishing Pole: Cigar Blogger, Lifestyle

  2. onespoiledcat

    Ted has never had fleas so never had that medication but I do know that other medications cats get – like for ear problems – can cause bad reactions. It’s possible that’s the culprit. Best to call them and tell them what’s going on I should think. I hope he will be OK.

    Pam

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  3. The Island Cats

    Have you used that brand of flea medication before with no issue? It’s very possible it is the flea med. I know some people had a problem with a brand called Catego in the past.

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    1. catladymac

      I’ve used Catego with no problem, but that doesn’t mean others haven’t. I will keep a sharper lookout for any oddities in my cats. I also wonder if his ear cleaning may have poked a bit too hard. Hope he will be ok.

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  5. Doug Thomas

    I agree on the matter of being with the pet while the veterinarian does his work. First of all, the pet needs to have someone there who can answer questions about the behavior or signs that prompted the visit. Second, the pet needs you there for the reason you note. You are the one the pet is most familiar and comfortable with and the veterinarian is the one who gives shots and does scary things like takes the pet’s blood pressure. I hope Floki’s issues are short term and can be helped soon, poor kitty.

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      1. Doug Thomas

        I hope so, too. I’d like to know how that policy came about – perhaps a pet owner who put unrealistic demands on him or became physically abusive when he told them something they didn’t like.

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  6. lois

    I buy Revolution from our vet for my 2 outdoor cats and never have had a problem. I don’t use anything on my indoor cats, because they are strictly indoors only. I wonder if the dizziness isn’t a result of the ear cleaning. Maybe the vet went too deep? Inner ear problems usually cause imbalance. Good luck with Floki. You so wish cats could talk and tell us what is the problem…

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  7. Brian

    That’s really scary, I’d have him at the Emergency Vet, he probably needs fluids to keep the kidneys from being damaged. Poor Floki. I was ready to change Vets if ours didn’t open but thankfully they are letting one pet parent in now.

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      The emergency vet is expensive and since Floki is moving around I don’t know if I want to tramatize him more by dragging him out of his hiding place, which won’t be easy. I haven’t ruled it out and I keep checking on him.

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  8. kittiesblue

    We absolutely hate that we have to remain in the car while our cats go into the vet. This made me particularly nervous when we took Sawyer after the walkabout. He was already hypersensitive. I have never heard of this brand of flea meds. Never had problems with ones we have used. Do you have an emergency vet in your area that is open and you can call. Hope Florida starts to improve. Even if he seems fine by tomorrow morning, make sure you still call the vet. Prayers that Floki is better soon. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, angel Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Sawyer & Kizmet

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  9. jamjet73

    Flea medication is not so good for cats or small dogs. It’s been years now so I can’t remember the homemade recipes I use to make for my cats, go online and google it. Best regards. =^..^=

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  10. The Hinoeuma

    Oh, dear…

    Ollie has never had fleas since I got him in Oct. 2017. He got them earlier this year and, as an adult cat getting fleas for the first time at eight years old, he didn’t react well. He had such an infestation that herbal remedies barely worked. I ended up getting one of those single pill doses that changes body chemistry over 24 hours to kill them en masse. I gave him one application of Advantage on his neck to finish off any left over, then put him on herbal drops.

    Some flea meds are just awful. I’m a big advocate of keeping the cat’s body chemistry uninhabitable for fleas. I have him on three different herbals for hairballs, urinary tract and, now, fleas.

    Luckily, he didn’t have any reaction to the Advantage. He likes his herbals and…fleas now gone. The incident created a behavior in him that wasn’t present, before. Now, when you pet him, esp. on his hind parts, he starts to bite his front legs, as if the memory of being bitten by the fleas makes him want to bite back, even for a hiney scratch. I’m trying to break the habit.

    I’m so sorry for Floki. It also sounds like they got rough with him for the ear cleaning. Poorly trained technicians can injure animals and a too deeply-wielded Q-tip could also have messed with his inner ear. That would cause balance problems, too.

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      Thanks. Chris had a problem recently with fleas and he became sensitive to petting on his back side. I’m keeping an eye on Floki for now but he is in a place under the bed that is hard to see.

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  11. Twilight & Sushi

    I’m so sorry for Floki! I use Seresto collars for Twilight and Sushi- with no problem at all – No fleas at all for 8 months! There’s no smell, and no negative reaction. The only thing you have to be careful of is that you buy it from Petco Or the Vet. There are counterfiets out there that seem like a bargain but they are cheap imitations (by China). Avoid the ones for sale on Amazon or ebay because there’s no way of knowing where they are actually manufactured at.

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  12. 15andmeowing

    Poor Floki. I would definitely call the vet tomorrow. I have not heard of that brand. I avoid flea meds unless absolutely necessary, but when I need them, I use Bravecto, my niece works for Merck and stands by their products saying they are safe. I will be praying for Floki.

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      Thanks so much. I will call the vet and let them know what is happening. Floki came out at 5:30 and headed for the Florida room where the litter boxes are. Unfortunately, at that very moment, Chris was blocking the doorway puking. Floki waited for a few seconds and then went back under the bed where he is now after 8 p.m.

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  14. Summer

    We don’t know about this brand of flea medication either. Clearly something is not agreeing with Floki, and it’s good that you are contacting the vet.

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  15. Rosemarie Huss

    I called the vet, waiting to hear back from them…poor Floki is still in hiding UTB…but at least laying on the pad that i shoved under there for him.

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  16. databbiesotrouttowne

    dood…..we iz late ta thiz post; we hope by now yur like 10000000000000000000 purrcent better and if ya went two de vet; they toll yur mom and dad WHY thiz happened…..st francis’ blessingz ♥♥♥

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      Floki was going to go to the vet this afternoon but he finally came out and used the litter box around noon today and seemed okay so my wife decided to wait and watch him.

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  17. Caren

    poor Floki, I am praying that since today is Monday that he is doing much better. We don’t use flea medication on Roary (maybe we should?) only on Levi. I have never used it on any of my cats.

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      Thanks, Caren. He came out today to use the litter box and then back under the bed. Frankie and Chris go outside for short, supervised outings and sometimes they pick up fleas.

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  18. Timmy Tomcat

    We are concerned with you and we worry that he is not improving yet. We always used the Frontline Plus which is Fipronil but have not needed it this year despite now having our fenced Cat Yard. We have never heard of the one you mentioned.
    Our Elder Buddy did develop Iatrogenic Vestibular Disease when he was 19. He had breakfast and promptly fell off the table and was “Floppy Buddy” for a day and then 3 days at the vet. He then was fine and it was like it never happened.
    https://timmytomcat.blogspot.com/2017/12/friday-with-buddy.html

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    1. Charles Huss Post author

      Thanks for your concern. Floki spent 3 days under the bed and finally came out for breakfast Tuesday morning. He seemed mostly fine but had truble jumping on the bed last night and while he did eat breakfast this morning, I noticed he had a small coughing fit afterwards,

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