Mohawk Cat

I never realized just how destructive little fleas can be until Once Upon a Time Newt swallowed a flea.

It reminds me of the little ditty a little old lady swallowed a fly I don't know why she swallowed that fly.... I guess she'll die. And the rhyme goes on to explain step-by-step what happens next.

I didn't know that Newt had swallowed a flea.
I didn't even know that he had any fleas to speak of. Me and my son Ben were very busy, working many hours and coming home late and Newt begin licking himself constantly. He would lick and lick and lick when I would come home I would try to comfort him, I just thought he was lonely because he really likes company. So I would pet him, I would give him treats, I would talk to him and still he would lick. He licked all off all of the fur one side of his body and then off of the other side of his body. I just thought he was a nervous cat and needed to have some kind of anti-anxiety medication. He didn't lose weight and he didn't look poorly but something was wrong. Very wrong.

I took him to the vet one day and they took some tests on him and to my surprise and shock a stool sample revealed Newt had a tapeworm. The way that the vet found out was the little tiny white flecks in his stool (gross!). That was all the evidence that the veterinarian needed and he gave me treatment to rid him of those terrible parasites. The vet explain to me that animals get tapeworms by swallowing fleas. What bothered me most was learning that when cats lick it is because they are in pain. One flea is all it takes!

I treated him and he got better, but a short time later I noticed the evidence once again in his litter box of more tapeworm.

Another trip back to the vet more medication and finally he was tapeworm free. It is 2 years now and has hair has slowly grown back. For the longest time Newt has looked like a cat with a mohawk! His beautiful fur had been almost obliterated on his left and right sides.

It's almost flea season again, so we must go into the vet and get some of the high-powered flea medication to keep him flea free. He doesn't even go outside but the neighbors next door had a flea infestation in their house and one had made its way into my house. That was the first time he's ever been exposed to fleas. I hope he never gets them again because his beautiful fur has finally almost grown back.

This was my 5 minute freewrite hosted by @mariannewest fleas

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