Pests!!
Mingle
Veteran
I'm gonna have to break one of the precepts soon. My cat has got fleas, and I sure aint gonna live with em. I've had them before,they stressed me out so much and now they are making a bloody comeback. My god I remember those bastards made my life hell. Suddenly hoovering became a very therapeutic task just knowing I was sucking up and killing those horrible parasites.
They keep desturbing my meditation and biting me all the time. What's most annoying is that its only me they bite.
I love my cat but my god I wish she didn't bring these horrible things into my house. I do try reframing from killing but sometimes things have gotta die and you have gotta kill em. Like if that thing is robbing you of your quality of life or its simply a you or them situation.
I wonder how a monk would deal with this.
Comments
They'd kill the fleas. And then perhaps treat the cat or don't allow her outside. When there is a pest invasion, it's not healthy to just live with it. But you should do your best to prevent it from happening again.
If you let your cat outside often, you may want to consider using Frontline as a prevention against fleas and ticks. I wouldn't worry about breaking any precepts here, this is a matter of your cat's health.
What is a "Pest"....is relative...We humans can be considered pests where other sentient beings are concerned..We destroy their habitat, compete with some for food, etc etc..In fact we are the most destructive pests going...
Fleas are just doing their 'sentient being' thing, ie, surviving .....
It's hard to say what a Buddhist monk or nun would do, I guess it would depend on how far along the path they are at, and how prepared they are to stick to the precepts taken...
A few years ago there was a case here in NZ where a "Buddhist" layperson kept a lot of stray cats, many were in need of veterinary care, they were in ill health, fleas ridden, mange, you name it the cats had it ...The neighbours complained to the council who in turn got the environmental health officer to visit the Buddhist cat owner...The Buddhist ended up being taken to court by the RSPCA, because he refused to have some of the cats 'humanly' put down, he said it was against his Buddhist precepts to take a sentient beings life, even if the sentient being was 'dying in agony' he said that wasn't up to him to have them put out of their misery...Anyhow I think he ended up getting fined and the cats were humanly put down...
On a personal level I work on doing the least harm possible, in other words I weigh up the odds, ie, a cat's life cycle is a lot longer than a flea's...for example, a flea can lay dormant for up to 18 months to two years in the pupa stage of its life cycle, but the adult fleas (in ideal conditions) can live up to around 3 months and in not so ideal conditions( no food source available) a few days tops...
Compare this to the domestic cat which can live for around 15 years....
Your poor moggie on average will have around 2000 fleas eggs laid in it fur, and every time your cat scratches it's flicking off hundreds of flea eggs on the surface of the chair, carpet, mat etc etc, these hatch out into tiny larvae which feed on organic waste matter like dead skin and once fully fed they pupate... (Umm it make me want to scratch just thinking about it
) ...
You might like to check this link out "Natural Non Toxic Flea Control"
And this is why I do not have cats. Period.
Simple, problem solved.
(Well, that one, at least....!)
If a wild animal were attacking me, I probably wouldn't feel bad about killing it. If I had an infection I would not feel bad about taking antibiotics to kill the bacteria. If fleas were biting me I would not feel bad about killing the fleas. And I'd do just the same for my cat. Sorry fleas. Hope you lived a virtuous life and come back as seahorses.
Flea collars? One for you and one for the cat?
Take care when perpetuating the framework for your own experience - a framework of stress, annoyance, disturbance or anger may turn even the humble flea into a despicable nemesis.
It is a fact and a responsibility that to perpetuate life and incidental to it, lives end.
Instead of worrying about killing fleas, think about how the poor cat is being tortured by the little parasites. Also understand that flea baths and applications of anti-flea products will have to be a constant thing because in a week or so you're going to have new fleas that have hitched a ride. If you really must twist your life into an unnatural desire to never kill any living thing, period, including bugs, then at least understand that even monks don't go that far.
However, you might think about how letting a cat wander outside means you're responsible for the deaths of a lot of birds, mice, and baby squirrels, etc. You might consider turning your tabby into an indoor cat.
flea collars such as Seresto are great repellant devices, as well as ridding you of the problem you already have. When my pup got icky nasties last year I scrubbed him down with essential oil bug-repellant soap mixed with baby shampoo, sprinkled my carpets and upholstery with BORAX powder (let it sit overnight then hoover it up), and then put the new collar or Advantage drops or whatever on his neck (but in small dogs and also in cats many of the drop style treatments are very dangerous, so do your research). I also supplement with cedarwood and lemongrass oil spray. Borax is amazing for bug repelling. I feel kinder and safer with natural products.
A friend of mine keeps chickens. They eat em up.
It's an option! haha
I have no idea how a monk would handle that. They're just people, so I suppose each one would handle it in their own way. Don't let your cat suffer, off the fleas! Watch out for carpets, that is where the eggs like to reside. I finally had to tear the carpet out of our old home and use a flea comb on our cat whenever she went outside to get a handle on this problem. Strangely, what I discovered after the carpet was out was perfectly good tile under there! Much easier to clean than that ratty carpet, so it was one of those win, win things.
Laminate flooring is great for pets with this kind of problem... get a pale floor, wear indoor slipper/socks (The kind of warm thick fluffy ones with rubber little pads on the soles to prevent slipping) so you don't leave shoe-marks everywhere, and everything is visible.
This is the kind of floor we have in our apartment now. Outdoor shoes left at the porch. Slippers on. Result? Cleaner floors, less sweeping, and hours of entertainment provided by running pets with no traction....
Good point. I was thinking about getting another cat, this was the main thing that put me off the idea ( and a new sofa ).
Indeed. In fact, when I read the title of the thread, and began to read @Mingle's post, I actually thought for a moment he was referring to cats as pests. Which in my view, is honestly not far wrong.
Good idea.
Get rid of cat, fleas cease to be a problem.
Or children?
Well, kids...I mean... that's a given, right? I mean, don't even go there....!