flea medication | Bad Cat Chris

A little over a year ago I wrote about something bad that happened to Floki after a vet visit. You can read about it here. Something similar happened yesterday morning.

Rose made an appointment for a nail trim and for them to check his ears and clean them. Unfortunately, his rabies vaccine was out of date and they wouldn’t see him unless we also had him vaccinated. Personally, I think it is ridiculous for an inside-only cat to be required to get a rabies vaccine but I understand it is a big money-making scheme for both the vet and the government so nothing will change there.

I brought him in for his 8 a.m. appointment and, since I was the first one there, they saw us right away. The vet tech took him to the other room for his nail trim and then brought him back. He was very nervous and seemed like he wanted to get back into his carrier. The very instrument that brought him there in the first place.

When the vet arrived she checked him out thoroughly and gave him his vaccinations. I thought it was just a rabies shot but it seems it was also a distemper shot as well. I don’t know if that was required or if she just included it without asking. After that, it was time to put on his flea treatment. That did not go well.

Suddenly, he lost his fear and respect for the new people and behaved like he did for Rose and me whenever we have to do something to him. He ended up on the floor and the vet said we should give him a minute to calm down. It looked like he wanted to get into his carrier so I suggested putting him in the carrier and treating him while he was in it. As soon as I made the suggestion, Floki made his way in through the top hole and the problem was solved.

When we got home he seemed okay at first but then he started walking like he was drunk, just like he did the last time he had a problem after his vet visit. Soon he was hiding under the bed in the spare bedroom, just like last time.

He came out yesterday evening for a little while. He even slept on our bed. I thought he was okay but then back under the bed he went. This morning he was out just long enough to eat breakfast and then back under the bed again.

Rose put a blanket next to the bed last night and I put food and water there for him. Today we found the food gone and Chris lying on the blanket. Perhaps he was there keeping Floki company. Or maybe he came for the food and then got tired.

Last time we thought the problem was either caused but the cleaning of his ears, which was unlikely considering how long it lasted, or it was a result of the flea medication. Since then his brand of flea medication has changed and he has not had another episode until today. This time we suspect it might still be the flea medication or it could be the vaccine, which is certainly plausible since vaccines are not 100% safe. That is why I hesitate to vaccinate our cats unless I have to.

It is now a little after 3:30 on Sunday and Floki is still under the bed. I think he hides under the bed when he doesn’t feel well so that is a bit concerning but I do feel good that he did eat something this morning. Hopefully, he will be back to normal soon.

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.