To Dana:
>We found some fleas the other day on both of them.  We gave Ivan a good
>flea bath and that seems to have worked fine but with Tasha's ulcer and
>everything, I'm afraid to give her one (It's a kitten safe flea shampoo).
>How long should I wait or do ya think it's okay to do it now?
 
      Your'e using the right shampoo.  It all depends on how frightened or
not Tahsa is of the bath.  A gentle bath with a lot of comforting talk, get
her in and out - probably shouldn't be any major problem.  I would certainly
continue the ulcers meds for another two weeks - better to be safe than
sorry with ulcers.
 
     Having fleas can cause a lot of stress in itself.  I'd rather chance
the 10 minutes of stress than the several weeks of stress that fleas can
cause - waking up quickly from a deep sleep, running out in the open to
scratch....low grade anemia in severe infestations - yes, a quick bath is
preferable to this....
 
Best of luck,
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1297]