HELP! Kitten has fleas! Update pg 2

[PoohnPglet]

Okay - I have this wonderful friend. My son happened to casually mention the other day that he wanted to have a cat. Apparently, I did not say no strongly enough because my friend showed up last night with a tiny kitten that she found in her yard.
After this new kitty has been all over my son, all over his room and just about all over everything, my friend lets me know that the kitty has fleas and is too young (looks to be about 6 weeks old) to be treated.
Ok - so now what do I do? Anyone have any experience with this?
Help!

(BTW - Please do not make this about my friend being inconsiderate. She just recently lost her mother and just has not been herself since.)

 

[mickeyboat]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=906154&referrerid=&highlight=flea+dip

Be very careful what you use to treat your kitten. Check with your vet.

Denae

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Are you planning on keeping the kitten? If so go to the vet and get some help there.

 

[TurboKitty]

I think they need to be older than 6 weeks for an effective flea control like, Frontline.

All I can suggest now is get spray for you house, not the cat, vacuum like crazy and don't let those little bloodsuckers get a stronghold.

When we first adopted Minerva, she had fleas. We tried a flea collar, but removed that when she almost killed herself on it. I vacuumed and did the "monkey" thing to her and killed as many as I could that way until the vet said she was old enough. Our house is free of fleas.

 

[tinkerrn]

Please call your vet about this, there are many brands that are toxic to animals. Hertz is one of them. I am not sure what you can use, but your vet will be able to help you.

 

[themarquis]

yeah, that baby needs to go to the vet ASAP. I think vets can dispense flea sprays safe for tiny kittens. Also, kittens can get anemic and have all sorts of problems from fleas, so be careful. Congratulations on getting a kitty (or uh ... being given one)-- It sounds like you're a bit ambivalent about the whole thing, but I'm sure you'll soon fall in love with the little one. (that is if you plan on keeping him/her).

One final thought -- if you're worried about your son being bitten by fleas, you could confine the kitten to a single room (like the bathroom) and spray the house for fleas. You'd have to keep the kitten in the bathroom for a while. Check with the vet first, though, to make sure that would be safe.

 

[PoohnPglet]

Yes - I have an appointment this evening with a vet. We will be keeping Tiger, so I want to make sure I can get this fixed for the long term.
This may sound stupid - but will my son and I now have fleas on us? I do not see any, but I have never had this problem before.

 

[CheshireVal]

Yes - I have an appointment this evening with a vet. We will be keeping Tiger, so I want to make sure I can get this fixed for the long term.
This may sound stupid - but will my son and I now have fleas on us? I do not see any, but I have never had this problem before.

I'm glad you're keeping the kitty!

I don't think fleas crawl around on people. They can bite your ankles, though.

 

[PoohnPglet]

Thank you all for your quick responses!
I have not been on here in a while but I knew I could turn to the DIS for answers. Especially when my official "knower-of-all-things" knew nothing about this!

Thanks guys!

 

[poohandwendy]

I definitely agree with the kitten seeing a vet, but in the mean time...you can do someting to get rid of the fleas:

You are going to have to comb the fleas out with a flea comb. It takes alot of time to do it, but it really does work.

Get a bowl of hot water with a few drops of Dawn dish liquid in it, swish it around a lttle to get a thin layer of suds. Basically, you are going to comb the kitten and then dunk the comb in the water to drown the fleas. But, it's important to dry the comb off on paper towels before using it on the kitten again. (you do not want the kitten wet or it will get chilled, very bad for young kittens)

It will take some time, like I said. But this method is the most safe way to remove fleas from kittens. And it does work.

Just do not use any over the counter flea products on the kitten or in the house. (even if they say 'safe') Those products can be toxic and have caused deaths.

Good luck and bless you for taking this little furbaby in!

 

[pfishgirl]

yup.. fleas love humans as much as pets... watch carefully on white or light colored clothing.. especially socks since most people walk around in them..
oh and be careful of the flea eggs... once hatched, you have another whole flea family to worry about...
there may be some powders you can use instead of a dip since the kitty is only 6 weeks or younger... but def.. ask vet first..

best wishes
and congrats on the new addition..

oh and where are the pics of this kitty.. hmmm????

 

[TurboKitty]

The fleas will be much more attracted to animals than to people, for crawling around on. You may get a few bites, and you may even see them jump around. They are roughly the size of sesame seed and black or black and red.

If you have any other pets, ask your vet about Advantage or Frontline for them. That should help a great deal as well.

 

[PoohnPglet]

Introducing...Tiger!

 

[RickinNYC]

Thank you all for your quick responses!
I have not been on here in a while but I knew I could turn to the DIS for answers. Especially when my official "knower-of-all-things" knew nothing about this!
Thanks guys!

Hush, I'm trying to look pretty.

 

[PoohnPglet]

Hush, I'm trying to look pretty.

Yes darlin'. And you are oh so pretty, too!

 

[RickinNYC]

Yes darlin'. And you are oh so pretty, too!

Sarcasm is not becoming missy.

 

[themarquis]

Speaking as someone who grew up in a pet-filled, flea-infested household (seems gross to me now, but I think "back in the day" -- early 80s, fleas weren't considered such a big deal as they are now!), I will tell you that a) you have nothing to worry about but b) yes, fleas could jump around on you.

Basically, unless someone in your household is allergic to them, you will either never notice the fleas are biting you/jumping around on you, or you will notice small, harmless bites around your feet/ankles. They are not dangerous uless a person is allergic. Disturbing, yes... gross, yes .... lol.

In a couple of weeks, your kitten will be old enough to be able to tolerate Advantage (a flea medicine your vet can give you). Advantage is so effective that it will probably kill all the fleas on the kitten and (given a little bit of time) all the rest of the fleas in your house. So eventually, you will get rid of the problem.

For now, damage control: confine the kitten to one space in your house. Do the comb-out technique that poohandwendy suggests. Vacuum the house and change all bedding. I'm pretty sure if you do some damange control, the fleas wont have time to really gain a handhold in your house. There may be a few around, but you're not going to have an infestation. It would take a while for them to start breeding, which is the only thing to really worry about. A few fleas in the carpet will probably go unnoticed...

 

[PoohnPglet]

Just brought the poor baby home from the vet. He only weighs 2.3 lbs!
He has fleas, a tick, ear mites, an ear infection in both ears, and ringworm. I have plenty of meds and we will get this guy feeling better soon.
Thanks for all of your input!
Now, does anyone know how to teach a kitten to use the litterbox?

 

[almacdonald]

Litterbox is easy!

Pick up your kitty every 30 minutes or so and carry him to the litterbox. Put him in there and make him dig in it with his paws. A day or 2 and he should get the hang of it. If you find he's having accidents around the house, put out small bowls of kitty kibble. Their mothers teach them not to go potty near their food. Good luck!

 

[Virgo10]

Just brought the poor baby home from the vet. He only weighs 2.3 lbs!
He has fleas, a tick, ear mites, an ear infection in both ears, and ringworm. I have plenty of meds and we will get this guy feeling better soon.
Thanks for all of your input!
Now, does anyone know how to teach a kitten to use the litterbox?

Poor baby! Six weeks is really too young to separate a kitten from its mother. However, with the right size litter box and some gentle reminders from you, he should get in the swing of things in no time.

I used an disposable aluminum baking dish with 1 inch sides when we had all our stray cat kittens. They are so small at 6 weeks it's hard for them to negotiate a regular size pan.

Expect a few accidents until he's a bit older. Sometimes they get playing and it's just too much of an effort to go find the litter.

Best of luck with your new baby. He's beautiful!