My husband and I adopted a kitten last Wednesday. The shelter neutered him the following day. When we brought him home we discovered he was covered with fleas. Initially because he is only about 8 weeks old, we bathed him in dish detergent and water, in an effort to drown the fleas. There were still a few left so we saw a vet on Saturday who gave us Feline Advantage. He seemed lethargic after the Advantage, and also seemed to have trouble making it to the litter box. He was really eating, but he was drinking. This morning we brought him to the vet, and she said he was jaundiced. That he either had a blood disease or a liver problem. The prognosis was unclear. She wants to do blood tests. This evening when I got home, the kitty seemed fine. He’s eating, playing, etc., but he’s still yellow. Could it have been a bad reaction to the Advantage? I don’t know what to do. Any help would be appreciated.
Have the blood tests. I’m assuming you’re not just describing the color of his fur as yellow.
DOn’t know if this’ll help but…
I’ve been using Advantage on my cats for years and never had a problem. From what I understand from my aunt who’s a vet, it’s extremely safe. It works by keeping the fleas’ exoskeleton from hardening properly and is not an insecticide or poison.
Did have a cat who got severely jaundiced and had a major liver problem but that was before I started using Advatage and the problem was related to my cat’s weight. (it’s very dangerous for obese cats to suddenly stop eating as mine did. They develop something called “fatty liver syndrome”) I think the most you can do is monitor the kitten’s symptoms and see if he becomes less yellow. I think the eating and playing is a good sign.
Good luck…
Agree with Tremorviolet–Advantage is extremely safe.
Just a shot in the dark, but are you sure the kitten didn’t react to the dish detergent? Tiny animals can’t take a lot of harsh chemicals and over the counter cleaning products can be the harshest. Did you comment to the vet that the kitty was bathed in detergent?
Another thought–are you certain the animal shelter didn’t already treat for fleas, and then was re-treated at your vet? If this occurred, the kitty could have OD’ed.
Hi,
Jaundice is not good- if the vet has recommended blood tests- you need to do them ASAP. It probably has little to do with the Advantage unless perhaps the advantage complicated a pre-existing condition. Shelters can carry quite a few viral diseases, and unfortunately kittens seem to be the most vulnerable. I would highly recommend having the kitten felv/fiv tested along with a complete blood panel. At the very least, if its just a reaction from the Advantage (which isn’t normal and probably because there is something else going on), he needs fluid therapy to help his liver & kidneys get rid of the toxins.
Even if he’s feeling better, as long as his skin tone remains yellow there is something serious going on.
Jaime
Not a vet- works for one.
Fleas on small kittens are bad news, they can cause aneamia if the infestation is bad enough.
Ordinary detergent is not advisable, it may be safe enough but unless you are a cat specialist you might not know.
Certain detergents are very harmful, specifically to cats of all types including the big ones.
Far better to use one of the mild shampoos especially made for young animals such as pups and kittens. These will clear the fleas though they may not be strong enough to take out any eggs.
Thanks everyone. As far as the dish detergent goes, the vet suggest using either joy,palmolive or other mild dish soap, and he seemed fine for several days after that. Also, we know the shelter didn’t treat him for fleas because he was terribly infested after he came home. Advantage and other treatments like that seem to work very quickly. He was checked for feline leukemia and aids, so those are out. Today his ears still seems a bit yellow, but his eyes and gums seem to be much pinker. Is there something that would have caused short term jaundice in the kitten?
Some friends recently had the same problem of a young kitten (6-8 weeks) with fleas. They used Ivory dish soap at the advice of a vet and had great results. Apparently they saw fleas going down the drain and found my dead fleas on the kitten’s belly after the bath. The vet followed it up with a product called Frontline.
:smack:
That should be some dead fleas. Why do my typing skills fail me at times like this?!