Dr. B.'s Blogs!

Another lesson from my cat and the fleas.

Posted: July 20, 2013
By: Dr Susan Burger

                                                       

                                                           Photo courtsey of Hisashiv via Flickr

 

Another lesson from my cat, and the fleas.

I adopted my cat Crystal about 9 years ago. They guessed she was around 2 years old. Crystal is a very sweet cat and yet would not let me hold her.  When I picked her up she would be agitated and try to get down. I wondered what her first 2 years had been like.

My kids would pet her and it took a few years but they got her to a point that she would relax and even roll over and let them pet her soft belly!   A little more trust.  She still wasn’t comfortable being picked up.

Recently, even though she is an indoor cat, fleas showed up. ick! She was miserable as we began to fight the fight against these spunky little insects!  

I took it upon myself to handle this without bombing the place...not sure I’ll be successful.   But so far we seem to be making progress.

She has tolerated the flea comb, me spraying stuff on her, adding things to her food, and the vacuum running much more often than usual.  The fleas are starting to leave her alone.

Crystal, in 9 years, would never sit on my lap either.  A few days ago I was sitting on the couch and she was lying next to me. She got up, looked at me, and placed her front paws on my lap...  There she stayed for a minute or two, and then with a little hesitation, slowly pulled her back legs up and lay on my lap.  She snuggled in, and laid her head down.

You could say that my lap was a good place where she knew there would be no fleas (hopefully!) but this was different.  This journey together with the fleas somehow brought another degree of trust between us.

For me the lesson is that when we are caring, loving, and consistent, trust can be regained.  But it must be earned.  All of us have fears that we have acquired, and need the love, acceptance and caring of others to reassure us that we are OK - that there are safe people and safe places, and fears don’t have to live within us forever. It may take time, but that’s OK. 

Now I can barely get her off my lap!