I wanted this to be a Happy New Moggie post!

[Miss M]

A couple of weeks ago, we chicken-sat for our neighbors across the street. We were also to feed the cat.

There was a stray cat that also frequented their house, a very friendly cat -- friendlier than their own cat. This stray took to following us when we walked home, and apparently spending the night around our house, as it would greet us the next morning.

Finally, we figured if we fed it a little, maybe it would stay and kill mice for us. So we bought a food dish and some cat food, and began giving it about 1/4 cup of food every morning, as well as clean water. Sure enough, a few days later, Shay saw the cat with a nearly-dead mouse. We were pleased to have a mouser, and named her "Daga" (pronounced DAY-gah). Shay said this meant "colorful" in Yiddish. We also got her a flea and tick collar, as she seemed to have some ticks on her, and we didn't want her to contribute to the population of pests around here.

We're pretty sure it's a female, as, for one thing, it's a calico. I understand calico males aren't impossible, but they are very rare.

White, orange, black, and tabby:

ILoveBunnies finds the right spot:

Bunny-Wan Kenobi gets Daga to attack a stick:

Daga's spot, with her food up under the shed, so it won't get rained on:

We think Daga must have been somebody's housecat once upon a time, because she's extremely friendly.

Unfortunately, Daga is very ill right now. Yesterday, she never appeared. Today, she didn't come out until we went to take care of the bunnies this evening. She hobbled down the side of the pad the house sits on, walking with her legs wider than normal for stability. She staggered over to me in the light rain, and I scratched her head for a moment, and then she shook her head -- which pitched her onto her side. Then she slowly headed over to the shed. I stirred up her food with my hand, so she would know it was still there, but she was not interested, and just went under the shed.

We've explored several possibilities -- rabies, rat poison, and the new flea and tick collar.

She's not been agitated, aggressive, or nervous at all, so we figured rabies was the least likely. Rat poison would not be at all unlikely around here, as there are horses, chickens, and dogs a-plenty. I looked everywhere for my bottle of antidote-strength Vitamin K, and couldn't find it. (Ugh! Moving! You lose everything!)

Looking up the collar, her symptoms are right there in the side effects of the thing. It reaches full strength a few days after being put on, and today was three days.

Shay went out, and got her to come out. I brought some scissors, and he cut the collar off. She headed back under the shed. We replaced her dry cat food with a little tuna, in case it is rat poison, so she wouldn't being eating anything that could scratch up her insides. We also took a plastic storage bin with little feet and a low side and put an old t-shirt with rags inside of it in the bin, and put the new little bed under the shed as well. The ground is cool and dank right now, and we want her to be able to stay warm and dry, so she can recover.

We sure hope she makes it through this! It was a Hartz Ultra Guard + Flea and Tick Collar for Cats and Kittens. Since looking it up this evening, we've found a lot of complaints similar to ours.

 

[MaggieJ]

I sure do hope that removing the flea collar helps her. Hartz has a lot to answer for! Marilla was sick for a few days this summer when we used the Advantage spot-on flea treatment for her. Never again! We will use DE in future.

 

[Miss M]

Thanks, Maggie! We figured, flea collars have been around for decades. We thought they were time-tested and safe. Had no idea they could do this to a cat. It was heartbreaking, and I don't know what we're going to find tomorrow morning!

Advantage does it too, huh? Wow. Sorry to hear it had Marilla under the weather. It's just awful, you try to prevent a problem, and you cause one.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Poor Daga, and poor you! I know you must feel terrible that by trying to help her you may have hurt her instead. She looks like a wonderful sweet kitty.

Hopeful she will feel better in the morning now that the collar is off. :clover: Did you wipe her neck down with water or anything to remove any pesticide residue?

For future reference, DE will kill fleas and ticks too. You can sprinkle some by her feeding and sleeping areas as well as apply a little to her fur.

 

[Nyctra]

That's why I'm wary of flea collars and other flea control stuff...something just never seemed right about them to me.
My cats don't tolerate being powdered, so I put a ring of DE on the floor and catnip in the middle so they roll in it. Dusty kitties. lol

 

[Miss M]

Did you wipe her neck down with water or anything to remove any pesticide residue?

No, didn't even think of it... all we could think of was getting it off quickly and letting her go get out of the rain and lie back down.

Then as we were reading, people were talking about giving their cats baths after taking it off. I really do not think I will give a stray cat we've known for just a couple of weeks a bath. Maybe I'll try a damp cloth tomorrow, if it isn't raining.

I know how to use DE to treat, but how do you use it preventatively?<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:17 am __________<br /><br />

My cats don't tolerate being powdered, so I put a ring of DE on the floor and catnip in the middle so they roll in it. Dusty kitties. lol

Oh, now that's just plain brilliant! :lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I know how to use DE to treat, but how do you use it preventatively?

Put some where she sleeps so she will lay in it, or just put a bit on her once a week or so. It wont keep them off of her (neither does a flea collar), but any that do get on her wont have much time to reproduce before they die.

Marilla was sick for a few days this summer when we used the Advantage spot-on flea treatment for her.

Poor Marilla! I'm glad she recovered!

 

[Miss M]

Put some where she sleeps so she will lay in it, or just put a bit on her once a week or so. It wont keep them off of her (neither does a flea collar), but any that do get on her wont have much time to reproduce before they die.

Okay, thank you!!!

 

[MaggieJ]

We figure they must have changed the formula because we have used it in the past with no problems. Poor Marilla was very lethargic and irritable... you could tell she was feeling horrible. She barely ate for three days. Of course, it was the weekend and her vet's office was closed. I was set to get her to the vet Monday morning, but Sunday afternoon she ate and drank some and began to perk up.

I wonder if calico cats have particular sensitivities.

 

[JessicaR]

Our cat Boo got sick for a few days, after we discovered he was biting the flea collar of our other cat. We threw it away after that. I hope she gets better, she is a pretty cat!

 

[ZRabbits]

So sorry to hear about your Cat. Had a Calico many, many years ago. Was told by the Vet I could make MILLIONS if she was a Male. Male Calicos are very rare.

Glad to hear you got rid of that flea color. Nasty things.

Hoping your cat gets better. She's a lovely girl.

Karen

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

when i first read the title of the post. I thought it said I want this to be new happy maggie post. :lol: :lol:

 

[mystang89]

Could the cat have gotten sick from eating the rats which had eaten the rat poison? I don't know anything about cats or how all that would transfer so just a thought.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

We figure they must have changed the formula because we have used it in the past with no problems. Poor Marilla was very lethargic and irritable... you could tell she was feeling horrible. She barely ate for three days. Of course, it was the weekend and her vet's office was closed. I was set to get her to the vet Monday morning, but Sunday afternoon she ate and drank some and began to perk up.

I wonder if calico cats have particular sensitivities.

That is exactly what I was thinking...sort of like vienna marked rabbits and collie type dogs with ivermectin.<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:55 am __________<br /><br />

 

[3mina]

The very best use for a flea collar is in your vacuum cleaner, in the bag or the filter for bagless machines. You vacuum up the pests and the flea collar kills them. I keep a chunk of flea collar in the vacuum at work, just in case.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How is Daga this morning, Miss M? Better, I hope? :clover:

Could the cat have gotten sick from eating the rats which had eaten the rat poison? I don't know anything about cats or how all that would transfer so just a thought.

It is possible, but highly unlikely, according to this article at the link posted below. I have copied the relevant info here:

SECONDARY POISONING IS UNLIKELY.
Back to the original question posed by the homeowner about the cat.
Is secondary poisoning possible either via ingestion of the livers of dead rodents, or via secondary ingestion of rodent baits?
Well, theoretically it is possible, but realistically, it is highly unlikely. Let’s examine why.

First, most of the anticoagulant baits used for rodent control are formulated with low dosages of active ingredients ranging from 25 to 50 parts per million.
Even with primary poisoning or secondary ingestion of bait, a 20-pound dog, for example, would need to consume anywhere from a minimum of 1.6 to 96 ounces of our two most popular bait actives (brodifacoum and bromadiolone) to obtain the value needed for a single-dose poisoning.
The range depends on the particular active ingredient, the dog species and several other factors.
Multiple feedings of these baits over a prolonged period would require significantly less dosages.
Still, consider the chances of the average client’s cat, dog, exotic animal, etc., encountering and entirely consuming enough rats on a periodic basis to accumulate enough poison to cause true secondary poisoning — not to mention enough rats dying above ground in areas accessible to a foraging non-target animal.
Moreover, I personally cannot imagine any companion animal with this type of appetite being taken care of as a “beloved pet” around a typical dwelling.
All this is not to say, however, that secondary poisoning is not possible.
The most likely scenario conducive to secondary poisoning would be in those cases of severe or chronic rodent infestations where many rodents (particularly rats) would be poisoned over the course of days or weeks.
This would need to be coupled with hungry dogs, cats, or some other free-ranging animal exhibiting a daily opportunistic foraging strategy.

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/secondarypoison.htm

 

[garden lady]

We figure they must have changed the formula because we have used it in the past with no problems. Poor Marilla was very lethargic and irritable... you could tell she was feeling horrible. She barely ate for three days. Of course, it was the weekend and her vet's office was closed. I was set to get her to the vet Monday morning, but Sunday afternoon she ate and drank some and began to perk up.

I wonder if calico cats have particular sensitivities.

I think they do. I have had a couple over the years and I think a vet told me something like that once. I would have to look it up, but I was thinking the same. I just looked it up. A calico patched tabby is called a caliby. The cat in the picture has gray. I cannot remember what my vet said, but it might be about the male. I found this about males. "Because of the genetics involved, calico males generally have impaired vitality and are almost always sterile."

 

[bitterroot]

She's gorgeous. Fingers crossed the flea collar was the issue, and that she's able to recover quickly.

 

[Marinea]

Almost lost our Jack Russell to a flea collar a few years ago. We put one on him and a couple days later he was defecating blood! Just blood, no stool. I was so frightened. Took him to the vet, and as I walked in the door, the assistant said to me "Take that collar off". Up until that point, I had no idea they could cause such problems. Good news is, if it IS the flea collar, the cat should be fine.

DE, for cats, is the way to go. I use a homemade lavender essential oil on my dogs.

 

[Miss M]

I wonder if calico cats have particular sensitivities.

That is exactly what I was thinking...sort of like vienna marked rabbits and collie type dogs with ivermectin.

That's interesting... I'll have to see if I can find anything out.

I thought it said I want this to be new happy maggie post. :lol: :lol:

:lol:

The very best use for a flea collar is in your vacuum cleaner, in the bag or the filter for bagless machines. You vacuum up the pests and the flea collar kills them. I keep a chunk of flea collar in the vacuum at work, just in case.

I bet that would work well... probably want a HEPA filter on the vacuum to keep the pesticide from blowing out into the air?

How is Daga this morning, Miss M? Better, I hope? :clover:

She's gorgeous. Fingers crossed the flea collar was the issue, and that she's able to recover quickly.

Good news is, if it IS the flea collar, the cat should be fine.

Well, we saw Daga early this afternoon, as we came back from the post office and from getting some tuna for her (if it's rat poison, we don't want to feed her crunchy food). It was still raining, so she didn't come out from under the house. We still don't have our skirting, because we've been having to repair the pad, which was damaged by the hurricane that blew through before we moved in. But she was walking around some under the house, still stumbling, but she did meow a couple of times. She didn't make a sound yesterday. I think she has improved a little.

She hasn't eaten for the last three days, as far as I know. Hopefully, with all the rain and the water in her dish, she has drunk some.

I'm sure we'll be going out later to see if she'll come out, and try to get her into her bed. I don't know if she even knows it's there.

Thanks for all your well-wishes! She is such a sweet cat, and it's so sad to see her like this.