my cat has gone weird

by Jade
(Uk)

This Is Her As Herself

This Is Her As Herself

my cat had fleas so we put some flea medicine on her neck like it said on the box... now she has been acting strangly... like meowing when she has food and just sitting in the rain also she normally sleeps on my bed now she is sleeping in my mums knicker draw... please give me a explamation

kind regards Jade and Michelle

Answer by Kate
Well this is quite difficult to diagnose. i don't think it would have anything to do with the flea medication, it may just be coincidence. or it could be that she is still bothered by fleas and this is making her act strangely or lets say differently from her normal behaviour.

I always advise people when there cats behaviour changes to always visit the vets in case their is some underlining illness which needs treatment. the only ways cats often express illness is through their behaviour as they can not tell us how they feel.

I would suggest taking her to the vets explaining the change in her behaviour and also to ask about the flea treatment you gave just in case it has had an adverse affect.

best wishes Kate

Comments for my cat has gone weird

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Cat weird after fiprinil flea treatment
by: Anonymous

I too have had cat acting bizarrely after flea treatment almost same constant meowing non stop once friendly cat looks crazed and won’t come near us only comes in to eat i will never use over counter flea product again and not sure he will be the same again
Flea treatment
by: Anonymous

My cat has not been sleeping in his bed after flea treatment he lays on the floor stiff. Wants to run into the room when I open the door and doesn't want to be pet. Im worried but hopefully he goes back to normal soon.
Cat is acting weird after flea treatment
by: Ursula

My cat is an in/out cat and I know from cats I've owned previously that whenever they have fleas they will avoid touching the floor. Mine kept jumping on top of bookcases, curios cabinet, crawling into drawers left open. So I thought I'd treat her with one of the last applications of OC FIPRONIL. That's been a week ago. She's come into the house once to eat a little and then fled into the basement. She's back outside and now refuses to come into the house and while outside she keeps chewing and licking her paws. Outside she lays in my lap and I massage her fur and I don't see any fleas. I believe she has chewing lice because she spends so much time in sandy places around the house. I believe I used the wrong flea medicine! I remember I had bought and used Frontline-Plus previously without any bad effects! I still have 1 application of Frontline-Plus left but I'm afraid to apply it now. What to do.
My cat went weird with worming med
by: Emma

My cat has just gone a bit mad after worming her with the topical treatment, clawing the carpet and darting about looking wild-eyed. I've had a sniff of her fur and the wormer has a real chemical smell so it's probably that.
Fleas feast on humans as well.
by: Anonymous

To those who don't want to use the flea med, I would let them know that fleas do bite humans and are very itchy! I have four house cats and wasn't aware that they had fleas. They don't go outside at all. But I started finding a lot of dander where they lay or sit. Went to the vet today to see what I could get for the dander. I was informed that if the dander wipes up and has an orange color, that the problem is fleas, due to the blood in the flea feces. So I got an expensive 3 month treatment for each cat, which cost a fortune, but what else can you do? My cats are also acting more agitated than usual since I gave them the med. I'm hoping they are better tomorrow. I also have a bunch of flea bites on my ankles which are making me pretty weird too, so I can relate. I previously thought they were spider bites.
It's real
by: Anonymous

My guy gets close to his bowl and then acts like he hit an invisible brick wall. He lowers himself to his belly, then turns and walks stiffly away. Cats are almost as sensitive to smells as dogs. The Advantage II has a strong chemical smell even to me and to have it actually on his body must be upsetting his stomach.
Cat Gone Weird After Flea Treatment
by: Cindy

I think it's normal for the cat to get a little werird after a flea treatment as the fleas scatter on there body and struggle for their lives. Cats can feel this on their bodies and they are confused, they want to run away from it. You figure if they can feel the fleas roaming on their bodies then when the fleas go haywire on their bodies, it intetensives the feeling and make them more itchy. I think its the confusion they must feel mentally that causes the weirdness, and in my cats case her activity till fleas died off, and not a harmful side effect of the medication. But always consult a vet if you are concerned.
advantage flea treatment
by: Anonymous

I decided to treat my 3 cats with advantage flea treatment, although I had not seen any fleas.
My cats have scratched continually for over a month. They have been very unhappy and started to act strange. They sleep in silly places like tissue boxes,marble surface in kitchen, and look really miserable, I will never treat my cats again.

Comment
Maybe your cat is allergic to the advantage flea treatment or maybe there are other issues. However saying that you would never treat your cat again for fleas is irresponsible until you know for sure what is causing the itching.

I don't now if you are aware that a cat with fleas can become anaemic and that fleas sometimes carry other viruses. So not treating your cat in the future could cause other more severe problems.

You need to discover the cause of the itching first and a trip to the vets is the only way to do that. There could be many causes which it is impossible to diagnose without an expert eye.

My own cat was allergic to flea bites. It only took one flea and she would be in a terrible itchy state. Which we had to have treated by the vet with anti-histamine drugs to stop her suffering. That is why we made sure that we treated our cat every month and the house with only the best flea treatments.
My cat acts weird too
by: Julie

I have tried the oil but it doesn't work very fast and she does not like it I prefer the tablet Capstar at most vets it is only 6 dollars for a pill but it works within 15 minutes now my cat start meowing and running around all crazy and licking a lot but it's just the fleas dying I guess they bite more when they do and you will start seeing them come off your cat like crazy but within 30 minutes my cat calms down and is much happier with all the fleas gone I would recommend vacuuming after to get all the dead fleas that fall off your cat and he or she should get the rest by cleaning themselves but do watch out for tapeworm cause fleas do carry it.
My cat is acting funny.
by: Anonymous

Today I gave my cat flea medicine and he immediately started acting funny. He has been hissing and his back legs don't seem to be acting right. I am worried about him.

Reply
Hi Sometimes the smell of the treatment can upset the cat for awhile but the smell should ease in a few hours.

If your cat is still behaving strangely tomorrow or if other symptoms appear then contact your vet.

As long as you used a good quality flea treatment which was designed for your size cat all should be well. Remember never put dog flea treatment on any cat as it is poisonous to cats.

Hope he is better soon

Kate
advantage
by: Anonymous

Hi there,

My bf used a half a tube or less of advantage for cats weighing 9 or more pounds on his five pound cat. Is this ok?

Comment
yes I think that the fact that he only used half the tube would be fine. of course keep an eye on your cat and if you notice any changes over the next few days, then consult with your vet.

kate
Flea Prevention in Cats
by: Claraes

do NOT use OTC flea preventives on any pet, espceially on cats. Some brands are Hartz, Sentry, Sergents, among others.
They ahve a harmful chemical in them called pyrethrins. Some cats have died, others are permanently damaged, such as paralysis, muscle twitching.
If you are facebook please go to Tiny timmy's Healing Journey. Timmy was victim to one fo teh products, and has permanent weakness in his hind legs. He is a brilliant little cat.
His peeps have gone to the
EPA, asking that these products stop being manufactured, but first being pulled from the shleves.
I ahve a dog who had a reaction last year, although not as severe.
Do a search on Tiny Timmy, even if you don't have a facebook account. He is damaged, but not broken. He is an adorable little cat, who loves doing waht he does, edcuating the public about the dangers of using these products.
If you suspect it could be one of the OTC flea products, drops, spray, collars, any product, get your pet to emeergency care immediate.y
my tom had funny reaction to flea pill
by: kym

My poor old tom (actually only 2 yo) always comes home infested with fleas.
I used flea powder until he started refusing to let me apply it. I guess it doesn't taste too good. :)
A couple of months ago I switched to pills (I'm saving the spot-on stuff for last resort) which I crush up and put in tuna -- about the only thing he'll eat and that has a strong enough small to mask nasties like worm paste &ct.
Anyway. One day he was scratching quite a bit so I crushed up a pill and fed him.
The directions say it starts to work in 30 mins. About 1 hr after eating he started to scratch REALLY a lot -- so it seems the first reaction of the fleas to the meds to to bit even harder.
Within a day all the fleas appeared to be dead.
Anyway, the vet says a grooming cat (my tom just qualifies under this heading :) can remove 75% of fleas in 24 hrs but the next thing to worry about is tapeworm infestation because wild fleas are normally carriers.
med's
by: Anonymous

I just sprayed the house for fleas, applied frontline plus and brought my girl back in. As other comments on this site she walked on furniture as much as posable. My thoughts were she was avoiding the fleas. She quit sleeping on my bed and that’s ok until fleas are under control. She is not the same. The frontline is not acting fast as reported. I powdered her down with a flea powder and gave her a bath with flea shampoo about two weeks after the first application of frontline. The first spraying was with bombs and really didn’t work, had fleas jumping on me two weeks after. Sprayed with household flea spry that doesn’t have the problems of the bombs. Much better, my girl seems better but I just don’t like putting the crap med's on her. Not enough research. Got to be something better and safer. I’m afraid to treat her with the last two. I wouldn’t put it on me!
Yes its the medicine
by: L

Hi there! My cat acts weird every month for a couple days after I give him the medicine. What he does is he wont sleep in his bed and it drives me nutts...
there is something weird about the flea medicine and I dont know what it is! unfortunately we have to give our cats this medicine otherwise the will get worms...but there has to be a better medicine out there...so if you figure it out let me know!

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