Our area has had a terrible flea problem for the last few months. Our 9 yr old cat is allergic to them; we’ve worked very hard to clear her and our home of them and she was perking up for a while.

Now she has come down with mange again. She had it last year and Ted’s mange cure seemed to cure it then. I don’t know which one, but its definitely the burrowing kind- the little pimples that she licks, bites and scratches til they bleed and the hair is gone. I’ve got it this time - around my waist and lap. We’ve used Ted’s mange cure on her (and me) again several times, and it has really helped the itching, but I’m so worried now because she’s becoming listless, her gums are pale and she seems to be in pain this time.

She blew out her right rear “knee” last year (rare in cats) and with a loan from a dear friend she was able to have the replacement surgery. I think that she has some Arthritis developing in it, so I know that is a factor too. She seems happiest when laying on a clean towel with the heating pad turned on low. I just don’t know what’s safe enough to give her for pain??

We have changed her food to a grain-free one w/ probiotics in it (Pure Vita dry) and that’s helped a bit too. We’ve tried her on so many different wet foods- she’ll barely touch them.

We haven’t actually seen any yet, but feel certain she has worms, courtesy of the fleas. Her tummy seems rather solid, she doesn’t like it touched, and she seems “wider through the hips” somehow. She still uses the litter box; her kidneys are working, though she only goes poo like every other day- but the stools are formed and not terribly hard.

I’m terrified of giving her the vet’s kind of fast poison de-wormer- her system seems so weak already- but I’ve read that the die-off left by slow killing of worms can be more dangerous to her liver than the poison itself. Is Unyworm an option? How to use it?

She won’t touch ACV in her water-so I’ve been giving it to her well-diluted in a 1.0ml syringe by mouth followed w/ 2 syringes full of pure water. How much, How often should I do this? Is BiCarb with it a good idea for a cat?

Yesterday I even gave her a syringe of my ACV/Molasses rinsed down with lots of water thinking that the extra goodies in the molasses might help. But I wonder if instead I just gave the worms a treat?

The only thing left I can think of is wheatgrass juice- I’m starting a batch today.

I’m so afraid that between worms, and the misery of mange my cat may be dying.

A vet, and their mostly useless tests, is out of the question right now and I’m at my wit’s end.

We can’t bear the thought of losing her.

Please, any thoughts or suggestions- we’ll welcome them all.

Thank you in advance.

S & D