Kitty Cat Straight Jacket

Because sometimes you need to use one

My cat Scooter has ear mites. I’ve been using natural home remedies to try to get them under control and to clean out his ears as much as I can. He has a vet appointment coming up soon, at which time I’ll see about getting him some Ivermectin.

Normally, my twin sister, who lives next door, would come over to help. Today I’m on my own. We both have COVID-19, but her symptoms are much worse than mine. She doesn’t need to wrestle a cat today. Fortunately, my symptoms are very, very mild. I feel perfectly capable of wrestling with cats.

I didn’t use just any towel to immobilize Scooter. I used my “inheritance” towel. It’s an old towel that my mom was going to throw out one day. When I say old, I mean old. Decades old. It’s a towel from my childhood. She handed it to me and told me it was my inheritance. (She was only kind of joking — I also get a ceramic cat that she’s had since I was a child. The bulk of the inheritance, which consists of a trailer on lakefront property and a little bit of money in the bank, goes to my oldest sister — a decision my other siblings and I made together and communicated to our parents. My older sister is a widow who teaches in a small, Christian school. The rest of us have good retirement plans — we’ll be okay. We want to make sure our oldest sister is taken care of because family is far more important than money).

Scooter was not impressed with the towel.

But the towel worked. I sat on the bathroom floor with Scooter wrapped tightly in the towel. I held him on my lap, using my legs to help hold him still. I worked as quickly as possible, putting oil in his ears and rubbing it in. It’s supposed to be soothing (in addition to smothering the mites). He didn’t act like it was soothing.

I have some cat ear cleanser that I bought at Petco, but it’s vinegar-based, which sounds painful. Scooter’s ears are a little red — I don’t want to do anything that might irritate them further. Poor little guy.

But his ears are looking cleaner and seem to be bothering him less. This is the second time I’ve used the oil. I’ll wait a few days before doing it again. I’m hoping that will take care of it, but if not, I’m sure the vet will prescribe something. In the meantime, Scooter has olive oil all over his ears and face, and he is most displeased.

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