Cat's resistance to flea bath hospitalizes owner

SHEPTON MALLET, England, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A British woman said she was hospitalized for six days following a disastrous attempt to give her Persian cat a flea bath.

Lesley Pleasant of Shepton Mallet, England, said she decided to bathe Oscar, her daughter's 10-month-old Persian cat, when she spotted evidence of a flea infestation in his fur.

"He flew up my arm, and my daughter had to ease his claws out of my skin," Pleasant told the Shepton Mallet Journal. "I was covered in scratches, but one, on the inside of my elbow was really deep. It hurt like anything, but it didn't bleed, so I just got on with my day."

Pleasant said she did not think her injuries were serious until she woke up feeling ill.

"I had this terrible headache, and I couldn't move my arm. I had a really high temperature, and all I could think of was that I wouldn't be able to work in the garden in the morning if I couldn't move my arm," she said.

Pleasant said her arm was swollen "and looked like one of those long, sausage balloons you get."

Pleasant was hospitalized and treated for septicemia, or blood poisoning. Doctors said her condition initially worsened, but after three days in the hospital they determined she had a penicillin allergy and her condition improved when the treatment was adjusted.

She was released from the hospital after six days. Pleasant said she has no lingering resentment toward Oscar, who she said is "completely unaware of the chaos he caused.

"And from now on, my cats are having their flea treatments by injection -- it's so much easier," she said.