This vet is having a laugh...

[chemenger]

Little ginger boy has a problem with his paws and we have to dip them in an antiseptic solution every night for 10 days, leave it for 10 minutes, then wash off. He is the most biddable cat ever but he is not keen on having his paws dipped - any advice? So far we have dipped two paws and dh is bleeding quite heavily.

Yes, we are in the UK. Harvest mites are also called berry bugs, they are tiny orange insects that bite. And they are the devil's work. Google them. I had never heard of them until the cats were attacked, you can see them like orange dust in their ears and between their toes. Then they attacked me too. The worst thing is that they seem to bite people most where there is elastic, so basically around underwear. Given that the bites are incredibly itchy it gets embarrassing. No other human in the family is bothered by them, just me. They are around for about a month, around harvest time, hence the name. Some years are worse than others.

I've googled them. And now I'm itching. Poor you and poor cat! The mites sound evil.
Odd that I've never heard of them . Thank you for educating me!

We had a cat with a claw problem and had to bathe a paw (but only one paw) once a day. We put the liquid in a plastic bag - a ziplock or sandwich bag sort of thing - and got a good grip on the poor beast before putting his paw into the bag, down into one corner. You could 'wrap' the bag round the paw and swoosh the liquid around the wound, but you still needed a good hold of the cat.

I'd have hated the prospect of having to do all 4 paws, but we were quite pleased with the contraption. He hated the wet paw though. A deep and bitter loathing, poor old thing.

It would be very easy to hate you Tamzin
Oh dear - in that case perhaps I'd better not mention how she's also amazingly good when it comes to having eye drops put in, and taking her medicine