Conference misery::feline

    My dear little Miss Moffet was born in the board shop at the Maynard
    Mill.  She was accidently splashed with some chemical (wish I could
    remember what).  In some places her hair grew out white, in other
    larger areas it didn't.  (Come to think of it, I think it was acid.)
    
    Try giving your cat a little tomato past in its food, just a pea size
    piece.  It's suppose to improve the condition of the fur.   
    
    Best of luck. 

    Thanks!  I will try that.  She has a very healthy appetite.
    Karen

    I'd be suspicious of an inability to remember a brand name.  I can't
    remember the euphemism you used ("recognized treatment"?), but that
    in conjunction with the brand name amnesia sounds like a "home rememdy"
    gone awry.
    
    len.
    

    Years ago when JFCL was a young kitty instead of a dignified old lady
    kitty, I used to put flea collars on her because I used to let her (and
    Nebula) outside if I was working in the garden.  She turned out to be
    allergic to one of the flea collars I tried, and all her fur fell out
    on her neck.  Poor kitty!  Of course, I got rid of both kitties' flea
    collars, and gave JFCL a bath (never one of her favorite acitities
    anyhow) with mild baby shampoo, to get rid of all of the oofending
    chemical.  It tooks months and months for the fur to grow in right
    again, though it eventually did.  I never put another collar on either
    kitty after that - and, sorry, I don't recall what brand of collar she
    was allergic to: it was some years ago now.  Nebula didn't have any
    problems with the same collar, but I got rid of hers too since the cats
    wash each other and I didn't want JFCl to pick up any more of whatever
    chemical it was since her system obviously couldn't handle it.
    
    /Charlotte

    Thanks Charlotte!  How many months was it about?  From what I can
    gather, it was around August that she bathed Evvey.  So it is now
    around seven months.  Her fur has started to grow back but it is much
    shorter at this point.  You can actually see a "demarcation" line
    around her whole body.  She also scratches and makes balder spots. 
    There is an occasional long tuft that sticks out from the shorter areas
    adding to her unsightly appearance.  I am afraid that if I ever get
    fleas ( I suppose it is inevitable but it hasn't happened yet!) what
    can I bathe her with.  I am sure if that same chemical hits her again
    her sensitivity will be so amplified that it will kill her for sure this
    time.
    Karen

    Karen,
    
       I would suggest that you bath her with a mild baby shampoo ( this
    will atleast wash way any eggs and some fleas away.)  Also incorporate
    brewers yeast flakes into her wet food. (brewers yeast flake can be
    purchased at a health food store)  The brewers yeast from what I
    understand will repel the fleas.
       
    
     Linda and Gloria
    
      
    

    Please don't forget the low tech. methods.  I only use fine tooth
    metal flea comb.   It's takes about 10 to 20 mins a cat but I like 
    to think of it as quality time when I can show my cat some attention 
    and take out the dead hair before it becomes a fur ball.  
    (Many years ago, one of my cats had to have a fur ball removed 
    surgically as it was blocking up her inside.)  
    
    I am not anti flea baths, but I don't fancy my chances of bathing any
    of my cats without major injury, mine.
    
                                          
    Gross-out alert:
    
    My sister uses her fingers and squashes the fleas between her thumb
    nails.  It sounds gross, and is, but it works.  

    re .4 - Is JFCL an acronym for something?  Or is it the DECsystem-10
    	    assembly language instruction I remember from the good old
            days?  If so, why would anyone name a cat that?  BTW, I (we)
    	    always used to pronounce JFCL "juh-fickle".  And for you non-
    	    DECsystem-10 programmers out there, JFCL stands for "Jump on
    	    Flag and CLear.
    
    re .7 - OK, I admit I have used the same technique to get rid of
    	    fleas (catching them one at a time and crushing them - they're
    	    hardy little buggers and you have to make sure you hear them
    	    crack, which makes it even grosser).  But if there's more than
    	    a few, it's impractical, and it doesn't deal with the eggs and
    	    other fleas not currently hitching a ride on the cat, so it has
    	    limited effectiveness.
    
    len.
    

    I normally use a flea comb and have a bowl of soapy water close
    by.  When I catch them....I just dunk them in the water and watch
    them drown!!!!!!  The soap makes them slimey so they can't jump
    out!!
    
    Sandy
    

    Years ago when I had a dog and lived with several ;'), we used to keep 
    a can of oil handy to put ticks into.  I suppose that would work
    equally well with the fleas.  Vacuuming is still one of the most
    important aspects of delousing your house.  I suspect that the woman
    who had the fleas and gave the bath to Evvie wasn't able to clean as
    regularly as we would hope for.  She also had a dog that she suspecte
    of having brought the little "buggers" home from the grooming shop. 
    Yes, to make this whole thing sound even worse.... she was the one
    working at the groomers shop!  She should have known about the
    chemicals she was using and at the very least, remember what she had
    used on the poor cat.
    Karen

    Oil, as in 10w40 or vegetable?????!!!!
    
    A simple glass jar (baby food size) and rubbing alcohol is all you
    need.  Quickly puts them fleas (and ticks) to rest!  

    JFCL was the fastest no-op on a PDP-10, back when I first got her.  Her
    half-Siamese companion would have been POPJ, but I got over-ruled, and
    she became Coal-Sack Nebula (a dark cloud in the Milky Way, suitible
    for a black kitty who thinks she's a star!).  How did you name your
    cats?
    
    It was several months before JFCL's neck fur grew properly, but I don't
    recall how many - this happened years ago, when she was a much younger
    kitty.  The affected area was only a couple of inches wide at the most,
    anyway.  She has medium-length, silky fur.
    
    /Charlotte

    
    This is an old topic but I'll add this bit of info as it surprised 
    me.  I was at Animal Emergency Care in Acton about two weeks ago 
    and the Vet took a phone call while I was standing there.  All I 
    heard here say was "You need to get all of it off.  Rinse the cat
    thoroughly in clear plain water entirely until every bit of it is 
    off of him.  do it right now immediately and if anything seems wrong, 
    bring her in immediately"  I thought I'd ask what toxic mess this 
    poor kitty had gotten itself into for my mental rolodex of kitty
    tips and the vet said "Hartz Flea/Tick products" -- I should have asked
    for a bit of clarification but didn't so I don't want to alarm anyone
    unnecessarily but I'd be interested to know if anyone else could
    elaborate on this for me.  She specifically said Hartz but I find 
    that odd as I thought that was a relatively respectable name.