One day, I saw that Mimpi was scratching often and persistently, so I thought it was time for a spot check.
And here is what I found:
(I know, I am being over dramatic)
Since I found him on the street, it was not very surprising that he had so many parasites. I asked a veterinarian, and he recommended that I wait until my kitten is at least six months old to start any treatment. But honestly, I couldn’t leave him infested with parasites for five months!
So, as per usual when I have a burning question, I checked on the internet. I googled “Natural treatments for cat’s parasites”.
Here is the recipe I found:
Peppermint, Spearmint, Lavender, Cloves, Citronella Spray (for cats and dogs)
Honestly, it seemed a bit too complicated for me. First, where was I supposed to find all these things? How much would it cost to produce it? If I had 20 cats, maybe it would be worth it to buy this amount of herbs and essential oils. However, just for a tiny kitten? Also, I just couldn’t imagine my Mimpi being happy with all these smells…
Since I live in Bali, I’ve found some seeds called “soap nuts”. I use them for absolutely everything: as hand soap, body soap, shampoo, detergent… It is natural, cheap and really versatile. I checked if I could use it for my cat, and yes, it actually removes fleas! This is how it works: you put the soap nuts into a little bag, add warm water and it will make some bubbles.
How to bathe a kitten? It was not easy to convince my kitten to get into the sink that I had filled with warm water and soap nuts.
But when he got there, he seemed to be relaxed and almost enjoying it.
After I got him dry, he was completely clean! There were no more fleas or other parasites. Even though he had a hard time being cleaned, Mimpi wasn’t resentful at all towards me. He jumped into my arms and fell asleep, purring like a motorbike engine.
Thank you for reading… to be continueeeeeeeeeed!Story and illustration by Sophie Kukukita
