What do I do if I have three cats and one dog all with fleas and I can’t afford flea medication?

Pray! The disturbing question is on the quora.com website. It is a question of hopelessness. A question which tells us that the person who asked it does not have enough money to be a good cat caregiver. Sorry but that is the only conclusion. It might not be their fault but you can't be a good cat owner on a shoestring. You have to have some money for the basics. Ensuring that your cats are flea-free is one on the basics. Flea combing can keep fleas under control if there is one cat and the home or flat is flea-free.

Cat fleas and treatments – comprehensive page

Budgeting :) - image: MikeB

But if there are three cats and one dog, all with fleas, there will be fleas throughout the home as well. Flea combing only won't fix the problem.

The only way to get rid of them is to use a flea spot-on treatment for the cats and the dog and clean the entire place top to bottom and maintain a high level of cleanliness. Get rid of the carpets too!

And use flea treatments for cats on cats and flea treatments for dogs on dogs. Don't mix them up or use dog flea treatments on cats to save money as it can kill cats. There are lots of examples.

The question might go back to the beginning - the moment when the person decided to acquire some cats and a dog. They did not ask themselves the question: "Can I afford three cats and one dog?" Or can I afford one cat and one dog? Clearly not. They don't have enough money.

Perhaps they fell on hard times and started off with money. I'll grant them that. It can happen. But the more likely reason is that they adopted too many cats because they fancied another cat and didn't really ask themselves some tough questions and provide honest answers. Three cats and one dog is not hoarding but all cat hoarders end up being out of their depth. They can't cope.

Idea: go to a pet food bank and save money on pet food and use the money saved on buying flea treatments.

Pet food listed banks in a map of the USA and UK

The adoption of cats and dogs starts before the animal is adopted. It is called budgeting. Knowing that you can afford to look after the animal for their entire life barring some unforeseen catastrophe. This is a lifetime commitment. If it can't be made the cat should not be adopted.

I am being tough and perhaps harsh but there are too many cat ownership failures which is why we have millions of feral and stray cats. Ferals and strays are a clear sign of failure in cat domestication. It is estimated that there might be over 200 million feral/stray cats in the world. Each one is a human failure.

Idea

There are food banks and pet food banks in the USA. There are food banks for people in many countries. Some - perhaps many - pet owners struggle to care for their pets well. Fleas are the biggest health risk for cats. Why aren't the pet food banks stocking over the counter cat spot-on flea treatments such as Frontline?

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Do you have sinus problems? Take an antihistamine tablet before you go to bed!

This is indirectly about cats: it is about the mental state of the cat caregiver. The better he/she feels the more likely it will be that their caregiving will be of  high standard. Miserable caregivers because of poor health might struggle to be a good companion to their cat.

I suffer from sinusitis. It is not bad but I do have a sinus problem. I use various tricks to deal with it. I'd like to pass them on as they work for me. I am 'paying it forward' as they say although no one told me about these methods. It was a case of trial and error over many years.

The key is prevention. If the sinuses become full of fluid they create a good medium for bacteria to grow. You can develop a bacterial infection in your sinuses particularly after a viral infection due to a cold. I believe I needs to minimise the amount of liquid in one's sinuses. It is about DRYING UP the sinuses.

You can achieve this by taking an antihistamine tablet at night, every night. You wake up with a clear nose and the benefit carries through during the day. Taking the pill at night is useful because if it causes drowsiness it means you sleep better. Taking antihistamine pills in the daytime can sometimes make people a little drowsy which impairs function.

In addition, I use NeilMed which is a solution to flush out your nose. This helps to keep it clear which reduces the possibility of irritants being in your nasal passages which in turn might stimulate the production of sinus fluids. The objective once again is to minimise the amount of liquid inside your sinuses.

I also use a pressure equalizer. This is a device which opens up the eustachian tube from the ear to the mouth. I'm not sure how much this helps but I do it anyway.

Please feel free to ask a question in the comments section.

Note: I am not a doctor. I'm just passing on my personal experiences. Antihistamine tablets are bought over-the-counter and therefore you don't need a prescription for them. The advice I'm giving cannot cause harm but if you have some concerns then please see your doctor. The basic advice I am delivering is based on common sense but it took me a long time to work it out! :)

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

First cat to sail in the Sydney Hobart yacht race

In this week's event, Oli became the first cat to sail in the Sydney Hobart yacht race in its 78-year history. He is a 10-year-old moggy, a grey tabby-and-white. 

Image: MikeB. The smaller image is from Getty Images.

He acted as second mate on board Sylph VI. He competed in the two-handed division of the 630-mile race which was won in 1969 by Ted Heath the leader of the Conservative party at the time.

Sadly, the race as such didn't work out that well for Oli because he is still on the sea running a distant last and due to make land next Wednesday. I wonder if his human caregiver, Bob Williams, has enough stocks of cat milk and cat food to ensure that Oli remains contented. I am sure he has.

"One of the great things about the Rolex Sydney Hobart is all the wonderful characters in the race and the diversity of boats," Commodore Arthur Lane said.

Eighteen competitors had finished by yesterday as reported by The Time today, Saturday, December 30.

The newspaper tells us that pigeons have taken part in the race but only as working animals because they were used to get a message to shore.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Each of Taylor Swift's cats worth £80 million each? True or false?

The Mirror newspaper tell us that Taylor Swift's cats which comprise one Ragdoll and two Scottish Fold cats are each worth £80 million in terms of their ability to earn revenue. The valuation comes from a website AllAboutCat.com. It's pure speculation actually. 

The valuations must be based upon their individual social media accounts and how much revenue they earn. They will certainly be good earners because they are associated with Taylor Swift who is the top social media star on the planet as far as I know.

A lot of cats don't like cameras and in Meredith's case it won't help her earnings potential! Image: Instagram (believed).

Taylor Swift is approaching a personal valuation of US$1 billion. It's no surprise that her cats have a good value as well in terms of their ability to earn money but it's simply a spin off from her. Her Ragdoll cat Benjamin Button would just be another Ragdoll cat in another home with no value other than their purchase price but for the fact that Taylor Swift looks after him, lives with him and promotes him on her social media webpages.

The conclusion is that we don't know for sure how much Swift's three cats are worth individually or jointly.

Anybody valuing them would do so subjectively because it's too difficult to quantify objectively. In case you aren't aware, Taylor Swift's three cats are Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey and as mentioned Benjamin button.

RELATED: Do cats hate cameras? Taylor Swift’s cat Meredith does!

My research indicates that it's unlikely that they generate a huge amount of income on their own to justify these valuations. Their value, as mentioned, mainly lies in the fact that they are cat companions to Taylor Swift.

Their earnings probably come from merchandise promotions using their image or appearances in media projects.

Their worth would be based on licensing agreement values, the amount they earn through endorsements and customer demand for products or media promotions featuring the cats.

Taylor Swift's enormous wealth is based on her talent as a musician and songwriter. Not on the presence or value of her cats. Although they probably polish up her image nicely. Did she adopt them for that purpose?

Separately, I don't think it's all a bed of roses for Taylor Swift and her cats. She tends to treat them as babies and I think that is incorrect - best to respect the cat. And she promotes the Scottish Fold which is a breed which should not be promoted because they are inherently unhealthy. In fact, it's a breed which should not exist if you are really concerned about animal welfare.

RELATED: Osteochondrodysplasia is seen in ALL Scottish Fold cats.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Diary of a female Palestinian in Gaza recording taking a cat to a veterinary clinic

The Guardian newspaper online is publishing extracts of a diary from a 35-year-old Palestinian man living in Gaza by the name of Ziad. The diary provides us with some insights into life in Gaza under this terrible Israeli onslaught. Note: I first believed the diary was written by a woman because I misinterpreted the name's gender! Hence the title to the article.

A dystopian scene of shattered and destroyed Gaza. Image: UNICEF/UNI453255/EL BABA

We all understand that Israel has a right to retaliate in response to the terrorist attack on October 7 which was horrendously brutal. But to many, Israel have gone too far and they seem to be bent on destroying Gaza. Although I won't get into a political debate on that.

But Ziad is writing his diary within this context; a shattered Gaza were the inhabitants are struggling to survive and remain alive. Within his diary is a little extract of a cat that she rescued and how he deals with her. The cat's name is Manara. The name is Arabic for "Light". I've taken the name to be female.

I hope The Guardian don't mind me republishing a short extract from Ziad's diary:

Saturday 4 November 9.30am: "We finally find a vet where we can take Manara to have the remaining injections. It is 45 minutes’ walk away....I go with Ahmad with Manara in the bag. She does not resist..We finally reach the vet, and he tells us there is no need to give the remaining shot to Manara. He says that her eye is ruined, and all we need to do for the other one is to use eye drops. 

He does not approve of giving her anti-flea medicine because she has scars all over her body...The vet has no food left or cat litter, but he directs us to another shop, which takes another 10 minutes of walking to reach. When we arrive, I feel shocked; there is a lot of destruction around the place. I am scared.

We go into the shop and buy the food and litter. I see a number of birds, fish and one hamster. The owner tells us he has lost many animals because of the bombing....Noon Since Manara has chosen to sleep in an old carton, I go to buy her a box. Finding a box is easy but finding a blanket to put in it is not. There are almost no blankets or covers left."

He goes on to recount that only one shop has the facility where she can withdraw cash with a Visa card but at a very high commission. He goes in search of a blanket for Manara. He walked for an hour visiting every shop on his walk looking for a blanket. One seller offers to provide him with a blanket from his own home. He refuses and thanks him. He eventually finds a bed cover that came with two pillowcases.

RELATED: No cat food in Gaza since the war began on Oct 7. This means cats will become ill through a lack of proper nutrition.

Comment: my comment on the above extract is that it is surprising to me that a veterinarian's clinic remains open but barely. How many are there? Very few I expect which means many companion animals will not be receiving treatment. 

It also tells us that Manara was badly injured and is blind in one eye. She has scars all over her body presumably from injuries suffered in the collapse of a building or a bomb blast. You wonder how Manara feels emotionally. You wonder whether she'll cope emotionally. She must be enormously anxious because of the disruption, noise, irregularity of human movement and activity. 

Domestic cats love calm and regularity, routines and predictability as it reassures them. This cat is suffering the exact opposite while carrying injuries. I don't have much hope for her in the immediate future bearing in mind that Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to bombing and shelling Gaza for months to come. 

And there will be Israeli troops on the ground trying to find and kill Hamas terrorists. That'll mean more destruction of infrastructure and homes and more destruction of children. It is said that around 8000 children have been known to be killed with a possible added 3000 under the rubble.

I don't take sides. But I see a wrong being carried out here which is an over-reaction by Israel. They are using dumb bombs half the time. These are not guided missiles but from simply dropped injected from warplanes. The bombs have not been programmed to hit a certain target.

I wish Manara and Ziad well. I wish them all of God's blessings and all the luck in the world to survive the next months.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.