A SIX-LEGGED FRIEND, A SIX-LEGGED FRIEND, HE’LL MAKE YOUR KITTY ITCH

Younger contributors to Medium may not be familiar with the singing cowboy, Roy Rogers. He was famous in my childhood. Even in England we’d hear his songs on the radio. The one I remember best was him singing about his horse, Trigger that

“A four-legged friend, a four-legged friend,

He’ll never let you down…..”

My mind sometimes works tangentially and I found myself thinking

“A six-legged friend, a six-legged friend

He’ll make your kitty itch”….

Fleas are no respecters of felines and some of the cats I’ve had over the years have been troubled thus at times. A couple of years ago when I took Tilly for her monthly check-up I mentioned that I’d seen her scratch. The vet had a look and noticed some flea dirt so prescribed some medication. Fortunately he pronounced her clean next time he saw her so I take it the medication had the desired effect.

The modern flea treatment seemed to work more swiftly and efficaciously than the old-fashioned flea powder. I’m not saying the flea powder didn’t work but it involved a more protracted timeline from my recollection.

Of course a six-legged parasite isn’t a “friend”, it’s a nuisance. If one’s pet should be unfortunate enough to be bothered thus, there would be a number of the pests of both genders present, not just a solitary “he”.

Naturally, cats (like humans) can feel itchy occasionally. If one’s cat has a scratch it doesn’t perforce mean he/she has fleas. However if the cat or cats of the house are observed to be scratching very frequently it might be wise to check them — or get them checked. We don’t want our cats to be uncomfortable, do we?

PS As far as I know my cat is OK in that department at the moment. The lady who runs the cattery has sent me a picture of her — she seems to be tucking into her food with alacrity.