We took in one of our neighborhood strays that has been hanging about our apartments after we realized she was preggers.
What can we do for the fleas at this point?
I’ve searched and came up with very conflicting answers.
Anyone out there have to deal with this or have knowledgeable advice on ridding a very pregnant cat of the buggers?
Thanks!
I used to work at a grooming shop. Our preferred flea shampoo was plain ol’ Dawn dish soap - the blue kind. It seems to smother the little buggers. Be sure to follow up with a milder kitty soap.
Oh - and no, I don’t know how best to restrain a cat to bathe it. We only groomed the “good” ones!
When I’ve had to restrain a flea-ridden cat for bathing, here’s what I did.
If possible, pick a warm day; kitty will be damp afterwards and you don’t want her to catch a chill.
Pick a room that can be completely closed off and, if possible, has a counter next to the sink. I used my kitchen since I have the sprayer to do the rinsing.
Have several towels on hand, near the washing area, obvioiusly.
Remove any loose objects from the immediate area of the sink.
First fill the sink, basin, tub, or whatever with warm water and whatever soap you’re using.
Put on strong, thick gloves like gardening gloves. Wear old clothes; you are going to get very wet.
Then catch the cat, take her into the room, close all the doors and take her to the soapy water.
Here’s the trick: Hold the cat firmly from the nape of the neck with all the pointy parts – teeth and claws – pointing away from you. Cat will raise holy hell as you gently place her into the warm water. With your free hand, soap her up thoroughly. Holy hell will continue. Maintain firm grip on the back of the cat, keeping pointy parts faced away from you.
Leave the soapiness for as long as possible; you will probably see drowned and dying fleas coming to the surface as you scrub with the free hand.
Be sure the water from the sprayer or faucet is warm but not hot.
Rinse.
Wrap thoroughly in a large thick towel and absorb as much of the water as you can before releasing kitty, who will run and hide and will HATE you for the rest of the day.
I don’t know if I want to stress her out that much as she’s already started nesting some. 
I was thinking along the lines of an old Heloise cure or something. I thought I remembered something like rubbing the coat with orange peels, or cedar or something to naturally repel them. 
I don’t know. I figured we could find a way to repel them off Momma cat, who stays mostly quarantined in one room, and dosing the other 2 cats with regular flea meds.
That way when we let the cats mingle (when we are home) the fleas will be attracted to the medicated ones, jump on them, and die.
Hell, I don’t know…what I do know is when I was real young we lost a whole litter to fleas and I don’t want it happening again. 
That’s a tough call if she’s that far along. I don’t think fleas can be lured away to the medicated cats in sufficient numbers to make a difference. The nasty things are also going to be infesting whatever room she is in. And AFAIK, the new kittens can’t be flea-treated for a while. I could be wrong, though. Have you asked your vet? You said you’d received conflicting advice, so presumably at least some of that is from a trusted veterinarian.
FWIW, we once adopted an abandoned kitten who was still so tiny he needed to be bottle-fed for a few days. He was badly infested with fleas, as well as a number of other things. It took us many dollars and many weeks to get him healthy enough to deal with being de-flea-ed. That was when I learned to wash cats, since all in one day I had to wash both the newcomer and the two big cats already in residence AND disinfect the whole house. My point being that this kitten survived being flea-bitten on top of a respiratory infection, worms, and an infected eye. (He lived to be a big middle-aged cat until he succumbed to cancer.)
I don’t know of any flea-repellent substance, and I would definitely suggest continuing to keep mama-to-be separated from the other cats at all times until she’s free of the fleas, if possible. As I said previously, the nasty buggers have probably already laid eggs in the room where she is, and you’ll be fortunate if they don’t migrate to other parts of the house as well.
Sorry not to be able to offer more helpful advice.
What’s wrong with using a flea collar?
Flea collars contain insecticide. This actually gets into the cat’s system (which is why you can’t use them on kittens). Presumably the concern is that they’d in some way harm the unborn kittens. Or that they’d ingest the insecticide from mama cat’s fur after birth.
Catnip essential oil is good at repelling all sorts of multi-legged critters, including cockroaches and mosquitos. I’m not sure how it would work with fleas, but your kitty would really, really like you to try it! 
Try getting a flea comb, and killing the little buggers by hand. Have a bowl of hot water with detergent in it to drown the fleas in as you find them.
I agree with the flea comb idea - and you will probably have to do the kittens until they are old enough to bathe. Fleas can bleed newborn kittens to death if you’re not careful.
God help me for recommending something I got at a County fair, but damned if this hasn’t worked wonders, both on our indoor cat and the one who’s too wild and lives outside:
Flea Treats, with Brewer’s yeast, liver, and vitamin B
No one was more skeptical than me when my wife talked me into trying these. the cats go apeshit for them, and the fleas are in fact gone. Their coats look better, too. The vet says there doesn’t seem to be anything in the pills to be concerned about.
Stopped hitting them with Advantage two years ago, and the only time we’ve seen a flea or even any inordinate scratching was when we ran out last year for few weeks.
Everyone at the company has been very friendly and helpful during all contacts, and we have had no strange trouble with any orders.
Because there are fleas in more places than just the neck, for one thing. Then there’s the risk of giving the queen or kittens pyrethrin toxicity, which can cause all sorts of unpleasant things like seizures and acute death. (As opposed to chronic death, I know, yuk yuk.) A flea collar also wouldn’t do anything to protect the kittens from infestation, and they’re the ones you really need to worry about. There’s very, very little blood in a very young kitten, and fleas can drain them to a dangerous level very quickly.
Call your vet and Merial in the morning and ask about Frontline. I don’t know if it’s been testing on pregnant and nursing queens, but if it’s safe to put that on her, that will take care of any eggs or larvae she’s brought in. If it’s not safe, get a flea comb and go over her as much as she’ll let you every day. Wash Mama if it’s at all possible. Go over the kittens top to toe every day. Wash their bedding in very hot water every day or two if at all possible. Once the kittens are up and about, you can start bathing them if needed.
PLEASE, PLEASE! For the sake for humane animal treatment, take your cat to the vet and have them decide what can be done, I’m sure there’s something avail or all owners of preg cats would be going nutz with flea infestation.
Second the suggestion about your next stop being a vet. Beyond that, I can vouch for the technique described by MLS. Better a stressed out mommy than a flea-infested litter, you know? And if you’re anything like me, bathing will probably be a worse experience for you than it will be for the cat. 
I would love to take her in, but I don’t have an extra cash laying around, you know?
She’s very docile, so maybe she’ll handle a bath ok.
:eek:
Ask your vet about Capstar No fleas in nothing flat. Well, a couple hours at most.
Advantage works really well against fleas; however, a look at Bayer’s Advantage website says to consult your vet if the cat is pregnant.
Lawdy, she’s in labor already.
Wish us luck… :eek:
I’ll post pics as soon as they’re not nasty!
I seriously recommend calling a 24 clinic and asking advice. They’re almost always happy to give it. Your nearest major city is bound to have one.
Barring that, here’s the culmination of 2 years spent in a cat-only clinic. Still not a vet, but better than nothing.
Here’s what I would do if similarly strapped for cash:
As soon as mom has finished and the babies have nursed and are napping, wash mom. Wash her with Dawn dishsoap in warm water. Rinse her well, but you don’t need to follow with any other soap. Dawn is oddly one of the gentlest things on the market. Follow all the previous advice about holding her scruff with one hand and rinsing with the other. This works much better if one person holds and another scrubs. Dry well.
(it would be ideal to use Capstar on mom since it is less stressful, but I don’t think vets can sell it over the counter, and most afterhours clinics are on a skeletal crew and can’t do standard sales now anyway)
Try to put mom in a different room or in a carrier while you quickly and gently wash the babies. Be very careful about their navels and faces They will likely cry and upset mom, so try to be as fast as you can while still getting all the soap off. Just a few drops of soap per kitten will be plenty.
Put the clean kittens in with mom.
Immediately wash the birth bedding. It will be disgusting anyway. Mom may like her nesting spot, so go ahead and put her back if she seems anxious. Some cats care, some don’t.
After all this fuss, keep a close eye on mom. Make sure she looks comfy and calm and is reacting to the kittens normally. Frantically picking up one kitten after another and carrying them around is not good. If she’s being too nervous, call the emergency vet.
If everything goes okay, go out tomorrow and buy enough Advantage to treat your other cats. Many vet clinics will sell it by the dose. This is very important in cutting down the available meals for any new hatched fleas. Frequent vacuming of the carpet also helps. With any luck, you’ll cut down the number of fleas to the level where mom can groom them off.
However, eating fleas is how cats and dogs get tapeworm. The babies were probably born with roundworms too. So, you will have to take the whole troop to the vet eventually to get dewormer.
For the love of all mighty 'Og, do not use any sort of catnip oil, cedar oil, or orange peels. I’ve seen healthy adult cats seizure after their owners used such “holistic” treatments, and we’re dealing with a pack of new kittens here. If you don’t like my advice, then please please please talk to a vet before you do anything.
Best Wishes.
Ok, I went to my vet today to pick up Advantage doses for my own two little bad asses and I told the nurse my situation with Momma and her 5 brand new healthy kittens.
I’m a grand-meowma, as Dogzilla would say.
Anywho, they recommended Advantage. I only asked about 3 times if they were absolutely sure a nursing cat could safely have it and it not harm the kittens. They said they were sure, pointed out a memo from Bayer stating it, and I looked it up on-line; it appears to be true. So, vet consulted, advice taken.
I had to dig so deep I rabbit-eared my pockets, but everyone’s getting dosed tonight!
Thanks for all the info!