I am so pissed off.
I decided to give the neighbor’s neglected cat a bath and bought some waterless shampoo. It has the consistency of hair mousse. You’re supposed to rub it on the cat til it’s soaked and then dry it off with a towel. I was going this route because I was afraid he’d have a heart attack if I gave him a real bath.
Came home and sat down outside with him and followed the directions. I have one moussed up cat and I start toweling him off. But it’s just pink stuff coming off on the towel and his hair looks weird. He’s too dirty for this.
I take him inside to gently give him a water bath. Put him in the dry tub and fill a cup with warm water and pour it on him. And it’s pink too when it rinses. What the hell?
I make it my main mission to get his head clean because it is completely black with what I think is dirt. Realize as I’m scrubbing that it isn’t dirt – it’s blood. And HUNDREDS of fleas come pouring out from under his face/head scab as I wash. As he gets completely wet, see that he is totally infested with fleas. It seems they’ve concentrated on his head because he can’t flick them away since he only has one back leg. That’s why he’s so skinny. The fleas are killing him. But I don’t have any flea soap.
He’s all limp in the bottom of the tub and I don’t know what to do. It seems wrong to get him all wet and just give the evil fleas a bath without killing any of them. I want to go to the store for some baby shampoo so I can thoroughly wash his head without hurting his eyes and get some flea shampoo. I’m afraid he will die while I’m gone and I don’t want him to die alone.
So I swaddle him up like a baby and tote him into the store with me to buy the shampoos. I cover his head and nobody notices. I got him home and washed and dried him the best that I could. I wanted to let him stay in the house with me til he dried off but he is still a flea farm. He was just so weak in the tub that I didn’t want to push it.
I went out in the garage and petted on him awhile ago. He’s drying off and started purring. I so hope he doesn’t die. If he makes it, I’ll give him a couple of days and then bathe him again to try and get all of the fleas.
He is so skinny that you can’t poke your pinky between his shoulder blades. That’s how close together they are.
You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat their animals. Sure, your house is all tidy and you act all nice when people are looking…but I KNOW how you are.
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I am crying like a fucking baby.
I love you so, so much. Thank you for giving love to this orange. I know I live 5,000 miles away, but if I can do anything-send more shampoo, flea collars, ANYTHING, I will do it in a heart beat.
Poor little orange lion.
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Chickie said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I freaking bawled while I was bathing him. He started meowing but he wasn’t scratching or fighting. It sounded like he was saying “Ow” over and over during the second bath.
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October 2nd, 2009 10:46 pm
So you washed your pussy and carried it into the store? What did you use for that, a douche bag?
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Chickie said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
One of these. But I turned it inside-out.
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October 2nd, 2009 11:11 pm
Unbelievable. I can’t imagine. My cats are both psychotic and are still treated like royalty. Not, you know, Queen of England royalty or even Princess Diana royalty, more like, Sarah Ferguson’s cousin who is a duchess or something… yeah.
So this… pisses me off bad… I think you should get Oy to deliver a special present to their mailbox.
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Chickie said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
I’m thinking of finding a dead squirrel and tossing it in their pool to fester while they are away.
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Atlas Cerise said:
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 pm
Want to try some birds?
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:21 am
Those would fit perfectly in the skimmer basket!
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October 2nd, 2009 11:13 pm
Oh….he needs a kitty wig. That’ll make him feel better. LOL
Just kidding, They are fuckbags. I hope a family of red ants moves into their house and eats the shit out of their genitals.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:23 am
Hahahahaha! I love the red ants idea!
I’m considering going over to their house (since they’re on vacation) and sleeping with him in one of THEIR beds so he’ll be comfy.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:24 am
And the kitty wigs? I think I need one to wear on my fist. I could draw a face on it and talk to it at work.
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October 3rd, 2009 12:17 am
Warning: Don’t read this comment if you are not Chickie.
I knew it…. Poor little guy! All that pink is the “flea dirt”, or the digested blood pooped out by the fleas. (Sorry, folks, but it’s true.)
If he has fleas, he probably also has tape worms. You can tell if he has very dark, wet, glue-y poops (plus you’ll see the tape worms, frankly) If you can afford it, take him to the vet and they’ll give you pills to clear those up. They can also give you a treatment to kill the fleas. They’ll come back because he lives outdoors, but you are right – the fleas have literally sucked him dry.
Chickie, you are a saint.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I’ve cleaned lots of his poop and haven’t noticed any tapeworms. There’s no way I can take him to the vet (Sweety isn’t heartless but I’m fairly certain he’d hit the roof if I spent money taking their cat in.) but when they get back, I am going to tell them what a mess he was and that they should take him to the vet to get checked for worms. Hopefully, I can shame them into it.
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October 3rd, 2009 8:24 am
Oh, the poor little guy! But good for you, taking care of him like that.
Maybe it’s a poor analogy, but I’m reminded of the saying “A person who is nice to you but not to the waiter is not a nice person”. You’re neighbors don’t seem like nice people, neglecting an animal that way.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
That analogy is perfectly fitting for this situation! I was actually thinking that to myself last night. I bet they’re crappy tippers too.
And what gets me is that they have 5 or 6 other cats they take care of. It’s like they’ve written him off because he’s old and was getting dirty.
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October 3rd, 2009 9:07 am
Do. Not. Surrendr. That. Cat.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
No worries there. I’ve already decided that I’m kidnapping him for the rest of his days. They will have to come over and take him out of the garage when I’m not home if they want him back.
And if they do get him – I’m going to keep up with his flea baths and twice daily wet food diet.
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October 3rd, 2009 12:15 pm
OMG. Those people need to be covered in fleas with their legs and arms tied behind their backs. How horrid.
Chickie…bless you. I hope he makes it.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I was this_close to taking him INTO their house last night. I thought maybe we could sleep on the couch and infest the house with any remaining fleas.
He’s still alive this morning and he ate so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I fed him a Last Supper last night before the bath just in case he didn’t make it and I noticed he hasn’t pooped himself yet. I’m taking that as a good sign.
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October 3rd, 2009 12:56 pm
Oh Chickie, this makes me so sad for you and that cat. Could you report them for animal abuse? They are just evil to care for their other cats and not this guy.
He does need treatment for tape worms. If he eats any fleas they get tape worms. Let me know if I can help you in any way.
You are my HERO for caring about that cat. It gets me because I use to have an orange tabby and I loved him so much.
Love to you and your new cat. I hope that you do not get fleas in your yard. After he is treated you can put this medicine on the back of his neck to kill fleas. It works for a month. You could also get a flea comb after he is not so infested with fleas. I am thankful for you.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I don’t want to report them because then he might get taken away. If he’s here, I can pretty much keep him 99% of the time.
I’m really, really hoping he doesn’t have tapeworms. Maybe he didn’t eat any fleas because he couldn’t get to them? I’m really going to try and get the neighbors to take him to the vet.
Sweety keeps our backyard flea-free with something and I’m going to ask him to start doing the front too.
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October 3rd, 2009 3:38 pm
Oh! This is So So sad Chickie! These people sound like monsters—to treat this dear Cat so badly—to be so indifferent to him…It just makes me cry and makes my blood boil—ALL at the same time! I know that HE knows you are trying to help him….!
These people should br drawn & quartered, as they say—(I know you could come up with as REALLY Torturous idea)….They should not have him anywhere near them….!!!!
You are a Saint, my dear. St. Francis of Chickie!
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
It’s just so weird to me that they are so indifferent to him! She said to me that they just didn’t know what was wrong with him. Obviously, they don’t look very hard at him.
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Chickie said:
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Oh, and LMAO at St. Francis of Chickie! Thank you :)
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October 3rd, 2009 3:43 pm
You may have saved him just in time (I hope) it sounds like he is anemic! Be careful with the over the counter flea meds, many of them have neurotoxins. I use one of the ones that last a month on one of my cats and she had a really bad reaction to it. I learned to use tea tree oil to keep the fleas away. Once he has gained some weight, switch him to dry food; it’s better for him and his teeth and his poop won’t smell as nasty.
Neglect is abuse too (and illegal) and if you decide to call the humane society, let them know that you would like to foster the cat. They may let you keep him. you may want to take pictures.
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Chickie said:
October 4th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Ah, tea tree oil! I use shampoo for the pets that has that in it to repel fleas and soothe their skin but it had never occurred to me that I could find just the oil! I am going to get some of that. He does have access to dry food too and nibbles on it during the day. I started the twice a day wet food for my cat (and him) because they were so damned skinny. I can tell that my cat’s gained weight and hope that now he will too.
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October 3rd, 2009 5:03 pm
Strange – we need a license to drive and marry, but NOT to have children or pets. Here Today Gone Tomorrow hit the nail on the head. I have take in strays in the past, who were neglected such as this cat – and my heart breaks …. you are special Chickie!!
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Chickie said:
October 4th, 2009 at 11:19 am
I think more things should require licenses.
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October 3rd, 2009 7:10 pm
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