Fleas

My cats have fleas. They’re scratching like mad. All day and all night. I don’t want to put chemicals on their lovely soft fur, but apart from giving them garlic for dinner (a recommendation from my Swedish acupuncturist – gratefully received, but not entirely practical – do Swedish cats have a penchant for Mediterranean cuisine – are they perhaps bored of fish?) I don’t know of any other natural remedies.

I’ve got a few bites on my ankles, so the situation although not life-threatening needs addressing pretty damn quickly. In fact, I’m in the mood to address the little biting bastards in no uncertain fashion tout de suite.

So any suggestions for flea annihilation gratefully received.

Just mentioning garlic has inspired me to share a recipe with you, courtesy of Joanne Harris and Fran Warde:

Chilli Garlic Bread
Prep: 10 mins
Cooking: 10 mins

Serves 6

1 medium hot chilli
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, peeled and chopped
a sprig of thyme
1 tsp coarse sea salt
175g butter, soft
1 baguette

Heat the oven to 180 degrees/gas 4.
Cut the chilli lengthways, remove the seeds and dice the flesh. If you like things hot, hot, hot you can keep the seeds in.

Put the chilli, garlic, thyme leaves (stripped from the stalks) and salt in a pestle and mortar and pound until it forms a paste. Put the butter in a bowl and add the paste and mix well.

Almost-slice the bread to the bottom every 3cm and then divide the butter mixture among each incision, spreading it over the inner surfaces. Put the bread on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Eat tout de suite.