He must have gotten it from my older cat, who we didn’t notice had fleas because she has darker fur. The new little guy has a white belly and while I was playing with him today, noticed that there were black spotty things moving on his neck. Upon closer inspection, they’re on the sides of his face and on his thighs too. YUCK! I feel so bad that we didn’t notice it on the older cat and thus she passed it onto him. We can treat the older cat with regular flea stuff or a flea collar, but apparently that stuff is not suitable for kittens! We had someone recommend a diluted flea bath, but I want to make sure it’s really okay for the kitten to be in contact with this stuff before subjecting him to it.
Does anyone have advice on what to do about this? He struggled a bit when I inspected him and his fleas, but wasn’t capable of putting up too much of a fight, so I think I can manage to hold him and do whatever is needed to make him flea-free!
You could comb out the fleas, for the time being. I’ve done that, and then drowned the little fuckers. But I suggest you take them to the vet. We had a cat who had a litter of kittens some time back, and and infestation of fleas…it was really bad. And they were VERY young. To the point it was dangerous for them. We took them to the vet and she gave them something tiny kitten approriate, and they were fine. I couldn’t tell you what it was but I think you have to get it from a vet anyway.
And in the meantime like I said comb him…would at least make him feel better.
Worth repeating: use a product like Frontline (I use Revolution.)
Then treat any cloth furniture and carpets woth 20 Mule Team Borax. Just sprinkle it on the carpet/fabric then rub it in a bit. Leave it for a day or so then vacuum and reapply. Use it once every week to every other week for the summer. I haven’t seen a flea in years.
DO NOT USE ANY OVER THE COUNTER TOPICAL FLEA PRODUCTS! Especially any of that crap from the company that rhymes with Fartz. No permethrin products! If you have a dog in the house with cats do not even use this stuff on the dog.
Your best bet is Advantage (made by Bayer) or Frontline (made by Merial) which you can get from your vet. Only buy those brands, do not buy something from a pet store if they tell you “it’s just like Advantage/Frontline” because it’s not. Although it’s not labeled for kittens under 7 weeks we often use Advantage off label on kittens as young as a couple weeks old. Fleas can kill little kittens, they don’t have a lot of blood to spare to those bloodsuckers. I have had people say that one or the other product does not work, however I have always seen great results and I think any problems people may have are due to not applying the product correctly.
Do your cats go outside? If so you need to treat the house and yard as well. Read your product labels careful for safety around your pets. If your cats do go outside you should probably go with Frontline because it also works on ticks. If your cats don’t go outside you should still treat the house and reapply the Advantage or Frontline monthly for at least a few months. I have several indoor cats and one dog that goes in and out, one treatment on all animals tends to last me a few months but if I start seeing fleas I treat more often. Flea collars only do a good job of repelling fleas from the animals neck.
I do not work for Bayer or Merial, I am just sick and tired of seeing animals die or suffer from a crappy product that rhymes with Fartz or flea anemia that is easily preventable these days.
I agree. See this website for examples of animals which had horrible reactions to Hartz products. But it’s not only products made by Hartz that can be dangerous. Here’s a list of dangerous ingredients to watch for:
I wash all of my pets with baby shampoo. It’s gentle, smells good, and you don’t have to worry about stinging their eyes with it. Once you apply Frontline or Advantage, you wouldn’t need a flea-repelling shampoo anyway. Furthermore:
When I moved into a new house (rental) I tied my dog outside for the first time and went to work. When I got home that evening I went to untie her and bring her in the house for the rest of the day. To my shock when I walked up to her she was COVERED with fleas. Laying there shivering in misery. I immediately picked her up and took her to the tub and bathed her…With Head & Sholders shampoo! The fleas die instantly on contact with this stuff, and it dosen’t harm the animal at all. After all, I use it on my head with no harm. And also used it on other pets with great results and no residual harm to the animal.
Just a tip.
When we had flea issues, we took the kids (kats) to the vet and dropped the big one in the house. Everything was back to normal within days and we haven’t had a bout in years and years.
Thanks for all the responses… reading about fleas makes me itchy… I probably have them on me right now as the kitten is very affectionate and likes rubbing himself over everything
I didn’t get a chance to get any flea material for the kitten… what I’m mostly worried about is washing him with something that might be toxic to him because he’s still just a baby. Just because it’s okay for an adult cat to put up with head and sholders doesn’t mean it will be safe for the kitten, right? I just don’t want him expose to any toxic stuff because he’s still quite young… he’s about nine or ten weeks right now.
I strongly recommend baby shampoo for the reasons I mentioned before. You also don’t have to worry about any harmful residue being licked from his fur. Any soap will wash away the fleas that are on him.
Since you’re starting him with baths young, you might want to do a couple of things to make bathtime a positive experience. (It’ll save you a lot of scratched arms later.) Smear some canned catfood on the edge of the sink and let him lick it off while you’re bathing him. Sing to him or baby-talk in a high pitched voice to comfort him and make sure you keep him warm after you’re finished.
Well, there’s nothing toxic about the flea comb. It does work, although if you reinfest you have to keep doing it. The animal does get pretty wet, though, because you swipe with the comb and then dip it in soapy water to drown them.
PS - flea poo turns dark red when wet, because it’s mostly blood. If you don’t know this it can be a little alarming.
Call the vet. I spent six weeks battling fleas on Buddy the Beagle before I called the vet. Within two days of receiving the prescription medicine, he was flea-free.
Revolution is newer than either Advantage or Frontline. The vet clinic, where my three go treat only cats. They have 8 vets and over the years we’ve seen all of them they used to recomend Advantage, but they now tell me Revolution is safer and more effective. It kills both the adults and the eggs as well as the tape worms the kitties inevitably get from eating the fleas.
The veterinarians I work with recommend Frontline or a similar product (Revolution). You CAN get frontline plus at a petco/petsmart, and it is hands down your most effective method for terminating fleas on cats. However once you have a flea infestation you must treat every aspect, which includes not only the animal(s) involved but your home, clothes, and yard depending on where your animal(s) have access. Because of a flea’s lifecycle my Vets recommend doing at LEAST 3 months of a monthly treatment (and Hartz products are not included in that list). You are working within the lifecycle of the parasite, and therefore must keep in mind that any stubborn eggs the frontline fails to foil this month may become adults to reinfest your cats later. Therefore a 3 month treatment will ensure efficacy.
Call your vet though for recommendations for cats if your kitten is under 8 weeks, the youngest age at which you can use frontline.
I gave the kitten a flea bath… well, more like a flea shower as we don’t have a bathtub. It was a very traumatic experience for both of us. He was yowling up a storm, it must have sounded like I was trying to kill him. It made me upset to hear my little baby cry like that. Lucky for me, he only has kitten claws, so it didn’t hurt as much when he clawed the hell out of me trying to get away. Poor guy really didn’t want water splattered over him. What is really interesting was that I was holding him by his belly (with both hands) and he was struggling and struggling and struggling, but as soon as I held him by the scruff of his neck, he totally went limp. It really does work on kittens to hold them like mama cats do! I didn’t wash my older cat because she has razor sharp claws, even when I trim them… THAT would have been a blood bath, not a flea bath.
Unfortunately, the fleas didn’t all die off from the flea bath. These are some super mutant suckers, but when the kitten was wet, I saw all the dead fleas from the bath, and yuuuuuuuuuck!! I wish there was a pukey smilie because it was so disgustng!!! The fleas were so disturbing that later, when a spider crawled right past my foot, I didn’t even react. I normally hate spiders, and squeal like a school girl, but when I saw it, I just shrugged and thought It’s just a spider, at least it’s not another freakin’ flea! The ones that are still living on my kitten are few and far in between, although they exist. We also put flea treatment on both cats to prevent the eggs from hatching, so the adult fleas should die off soon and there will be no replacement for them.
We also sprayed the whole place down with flea repellent, it should last up to half a year before we spray again. So… we’re going to give it some time, see if the infestation dies down in a couple weeks, and hope for the best. I still can’t shake my feeling of itchiness though. It feels like there are fleas crawling all over me! shudders
My puppy used to scream like I’d set her on* fire* when I gave her a bath. You’re right-- it’s an awful, awful sound that tears at your heart. (Worse are the pleading eyes: “Why are you doing this to me?”
Next time, use the kitchen sink instead of the shower. Should be more comfortable for both of you.
Oh, by the way-- here’s a good way to find out if a room is infested with fleas.
Put a lamp on the floor at night and put a shallow pan of water under the light beam. The fleas will jump at the light and fall into the water and drown. If you have fleas, you’ll see 'em floating in the water in the morning.
Just a few additional thoughts: I have worked for different vets on and off for many years. I was priviledged to hear one side of a conversation between an emergency clinic vet and a representative of the company that rhymes with Fartz. I cannot reproduce the conversation because this is not the Pit, but the rant was a thing of beauty. The vet had lost two cats the night before, bringing to 27 the one month death toll for the Fartz products.
I highly recommend Advantage, Frontline and Revolution. If your cats do not go outside, you can treat a little less often than recommended and the product will still be effective. I have 8 cats who never go out (they have their own suite) and I treat on a rotating 3-month cycle - at least 2 cats get a fresh dose each month, but they are not all treated each month. I have not had any trouble with fleas since we moved here.
If your cats have access to open windows (with screens) I recommend treating around the foundation of your house with Sevin dust. It is inexpensive and non-toxic to cats - just dust it around the foundation of the house and under any low-lying bushes in your yard. Sevin doesn’t kill fleas, but they don’t like it and will go elsewhere. If there are fleas in your yard they can get in through screens and can even hitch-hike in on you!
From a cat-lover - thank you for taking care of your baby. However, I feel compelled to point out you have broken a sacred law of the SDMB - you posted a cat thread without pictures! Your fate depends upon this. We await pictures. Especially of a shower-bathed kitten!
We took them to the vet and she gave them something tiny kitten approriate, and they were fine. I couldn’t tell you what it was but I think you have to get it from a vet anyway.