Friday, November 26, 2010

Flea Update...

Well, it turned out that Bugsie was telling me all about the fleas. I rubbed her down with NEEM oil, and they quieted for a while.

I ordered some Siphotrol premise spray...
http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/Siphotrol-Plus

which took too long to get here by UPS for my comfort (actually only 5 days) and when it arrived, I ordered some Advantage...
http://www.for-the-love-of-cats.com/ss-advantage

which arrived a few days later by mail. I've treated all the cats and the fleas are dying. I need to treat the premises again, since the fleas were so bad that they were hiding in places I didn't think to spray - like the closet, under the bed, the cat beds, and so on. I've changed sheets twice, and I'll have to do it again, and spray each layer as I add the sheets back.

Yep, we were infested alright!

Now, I have to purchase advantage another month-worth, and get the infestation out of the yard, which is where they are coming from. I'll need a yard fogger and more premise spray. The diatomaceous earth is good, but just not good enough.

Part of this is carpet. I haven't had carpet for several years, so they have a place to hide now. I have to keep the carpet treated all the time. I have DE in the carpet now. However, it's sitting on top of the carpet - even after 2 weeks. It needs to get down to the base of the fibers. I'll have to invest in a rake to get it there, and keep the top of the carpet sprayed with the premise spray. Salt works too.

The other part is where they are coming from - the yard and driveway. We humans walk from the cars to the house, and they jump on us for a free ride inside. I need to treat the yard and entire premises.

So, this might be entitled - "How to De-Flea Your Home" instead of Flea Update!

**********

It would be really nice if I could take the cats out for a flea-dip and fog the house, but Queenie won't have it. I can't get her near a carrier. At least not and keep my skin intact....

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Cat Meowed All Night

I tossed Bugsie out of the bedroom last night. She likes to cuddle by burrowing into my underarm area. She kept this up last night and kept waking me up, so I tossed her out of the bedroom for a cat-free night. She wouldn't quit complaining about it.

All night, she tried to get back in the bedroom - rubbing on the door, burrowing under it, and meowing. Not until I finally got up 20 minutes early, and talked to her - including a floor cuddle - did she stop. I think she felt really rejected that I turned her out after she tried to cuddle.

The issue is the fleas. I'm working very hard to keep them out of my bed. I clean all the flea-dirt off the sheets in the morning before I make the bed. I use an extra flat sheet to cover my bed during the day, and I change that often. I try to keep the cats away from my pillows and head. Still, I've had to wash sheets twice extra in the past 2 weeks because I'm changing the sheets more often. The fleas are horrible!

I'm exhausted. Another cat-free night tonight, with ear plugs.

I wish the mailman would come and bring my flea stuff. It would make things a lot more pleasant.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Flea Report

I tried the diatomaceous earth, and it seems to be making the fleas jump on the cats and the furniture. I wiped down the cats with NEEM oil, and it made their fur nice and shiny, reduced mat creation and helped the mats come out easier, and seems to keep the fleas away a little bit - but now they are all on the furniture.

I sprayed my furniture with Siphotrol, but I'm almost out, so I ordered more.

We are covered up with fleas! Man! So, I'm going for Advantage.

I saw a commercial on TV from 1-800-Pet-Meds, saying how their flea stuff was cheaper, but I compared them to Entirely Pets, where I usually go, and EP is cheaper. And the shipping is free over $85, so you know where I'm getting my flea stuff.

For the record, I'm paying what you pay. See the link here...

Entirely Pets Advantage Purple, 4 months

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

It Never Fails...

It never fails me...

As soon as I schedule time to work on the site, something happens. In this case, I got sick. I planned to spend all last weekend turning the site into an e-book that you (or anyone) could purchase, so I can re-vamp it.

The site, while still effective, is not as focused as I want. It needs some help. It's gotten away from me in 5-1/2 years. It's time for an update and some polish.

In website talk, there are too many "bounces;" or folks going to one or two pages and then leaving the site. I want for-the-love-of-cats.com to be the place you want to spend time and where your problems are addressed.

So, I've had to put it off once again. I'll keep at it, though. Maybe it will all be a "page-at-a-time" deal, where I put all the pages together later, instead of doing the whole thing at once...

Grasshopper: Master, how do you eat an elephant?
Master: One bite at a time, grasshopper.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cat Food Review

It's rare that I have to make an unflattering review of any product. I hate to do it, really. But my integrity with my readers is too important for me to fudge the truth. Here goes...

The product is ProPac Superpremium Adult Cat Food, Hairball Formula.

The truth is, my cats would rather go hungry than eat it.

I bought a 6 lb bag at Agri-Feed Pet Supplies for $9.97. Not cheap, but not the most expensive food on the shelf, either.

Results, as seen with my 5 cats...

There were 2 bowls full of food with clean fresh water between them. The cats were begging for food, and the bowls were not touched. This was after they had eaten the food for about a week. Something really bothered them about it. I then replaced one of the bowls with a bowl of cheap (by comparison) Friskies and put it next to the bowl of ProPac. The cats cleaned out the bowl of Friskies for several days running, never touching the ProPac bowl.

This is disheartening to me. ProPac brand has all the good things I want for my cats - no grains, added nutrients, 29% protein, and so on. The laboratory analysis says it should be perfect for my cats. And the ingredients are what I'm looking for - wholesome, people-grade protein sources.

This is not a reflection on Agri-Feed at all. They did nothing but carry this food. Their price and service was exceptional, as always. They are a serious source of alternative and quality foods - in fact, they carry my (and the cats') favorite, Innova Evo, which is out of our price-range right now. I only mention them to tell you how much I paid for the food and the source.

This review is about the food, not the store.

The local shelter can use the food. Maybe some of their cats will eat it. Mine certainly told me that they won't.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Cheap Flea Stuff....

I've talked about this before. Most of my readers have one or two cats. But when you have 5 cats, flea stuff gets really expensive! And fleas are running rampant around here right now.

I just don't have the funds to buy Advantage or Frontline right now. So, I'm trying some herbal and holistic methods. I've giving NEEM Oil and Diatomaceous Earth a try in combination. Not that I don't believe in this stuff, because I do.

The Diatomaceous Earth product I've been using has additives, and I'm not sure how good they are for use on a cat's skin and fur. So, I got some edible Diatomaceous Earth and found some for a reasonable price. It's fairly inexpensive and it works well.

I found that a shaker is the best way to apply it. A salt shaker or spice shaker works. Keep it dry, and it will sprinkle well. You can add teaspoons to your food to clean out your digestive tract, too! But we are adding it to your cat to remove fleas, remember?

I'm still using salt on the carpet. It's cheap and easy. I also use salt on the mattresses and furniture. I leave it for a few days, then vacuum it up, along with hair and flea eggs. I spread the salt again after vacuuming.

NEEM oil is mixed with olive oil or for human use, with Neutrogena Body Oil. I spray it on and the fleas leave me alone so I can sleep. The product here can be used directly on the cats.

Yep, they are bad right now. These measures will make things better, though.