Hi. I took in a stray pregnant cat a few days ago. Early this morning she gave birth to 9 kittens after 4 hours of labor. I just noticed fleas on them. What can i do for them? I am also a bit overwhelmed with having ten cats in a small apartment. My husband is not very happy. What can i do to make it easier on the mama and everyone else 4 that matter.
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Newborn kittens with fleas
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To make it easier for the momma and babies, get a cage or a dog crate. Throw a blanket over three sides of it so they can feel secluded a little. Allow the momma to go in and out of the crate if she wishes. A bathroom will work too to contain the family. i totally understand how overwhelming it gets with so many cats in a small space. I have 7 of my own and about 12 rescues, they are all caged though, the rescues I mean.
oh for the fleas, you can use a flea comb and dawn dish soap over them. that usually does the trick. Find a flea medication from the vet that you can use on the mother cat.
Wow! Nine kittens!! That is a rather large litter! To address the flea situation, here is what I normally advise:
To remove the fleas:
Separate the kitten from it's Mother and isolate Mom until she can be treated as well. Make sure all bedding or other nesting materials are put into a securely sealed plastic bag or plastic storage tote and taken completely out of the house. Do not reuse the bedding, the plastic bag or the plastic tote if used. Get a bowl of hot water and add a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing liquid detergent. Swish it around to make a very thin layer of suds on the top of the water. Get plenty of papertowels and a fine tooth comb -- a lice nit comb is perfect on small kittens. With a DRY comb, run the teeth over the kittens and physically remove the fleas, quickly dip the comb in the soapy water, completely submersing it. Swish it around to dislodge all of the insects. Thoroughly DRY the comb with a clean paper towel each time (seal used paper towels into a plastic zip-lock type bag until you are ready to dispose of them away from the house) and repeat until there is no sign of fleas at all on the baby.
Repeat this process with the Mother cat and do not place the kitten back in with her until both have been treated, the bedding completely replaced and surrounding areas thoroughly vacuumed or mopped and dry.
Additionally, you will want to make certain that your Momma cat is eating a high-quality kitten food in both canned and dry varieties and make certain she has as much as she wants right now - she will need the extra calories to assist her with milk production for so many babies. You might also need to supplement a few of those kittens since 9 exceeds the number of "faucets" Momma has available ... my suggestion to you is to allow the kittens to nurse in shifts, 4 or 5 at a time, then let the other group nurse. If you haven't already, go to the store and get several little bottles (the kind specifically made for supplementing kittens) and a supply of goat's milk. There is a great resource on the Web for supplementing kittens here:
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/bottle_feeding_kitten.html
My dear, as much as I hate to bring up a very sad topic, I feel compelled to say that I think you might want to emotionally prepare yourself to lose one or two of these babies. It happens all too frequently in large litters and while you may have much, much better luck than others, I just think you should try to prepare yourself in the event you don't. I sincerely hope that it doesn't happen to you, but I wanted to make certain you knew that it can happen.
Continued best of luck,
~gf~
To remove the fleas:
Separate the kitten from it's Mother and isolate Mom until she can be treated as well. Make sure all bedding or other nesting materials are put into a securely sealed plastic bag or plastic storage tote and taken completely out of the house. Do not reuse the bedding, the plastic bag or the plastic tote if used. Get a bowl of hot water and add a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing liquid detergent. Swish it around to make a very thin layer of suds on the top of the water. Get plenty of papertowels and a fine tooth comb -- a lice nit comb is perfect on small kittens. With a DRY comb, run the teeth over the kittens and physically remove the fleas, quickly dip the comb in the soapy water, completely submersing it. Swish it around to dislodge all of the insects. Thoroughly DRY the comb with a clean paper towel each time (seal used paper towels into a plastic zip-lock type bag until you are ready to dispose of them away from the house) and repeat until there is no sign of fleas at all on the baby.
Repeat this process with the Mother cat and do not place the kitten back in with her until both have been treated, the bedding completely replaced and surrounding areas thoroughly vacuumed or mopped and dry.
Additionally, you will want to make certain that your Momma cat is eating a high-quality kitten food in both canned and dry varieties and make certain she has as much as she wants right now - she will need the extra calories to assist her with milk production for so many babies. You might also need to supplement a few of those kittens since 9 exceeds the number of "faucets" Momma has available ... my suggestion to you is to allow the kittens to nurse in shifts, 4 or 5 at a time, then let the other group nurse. If you haven't already, go to the store and get several little bottles (the kind specifically made for supplementing kittens) and a supply of goat's milk. There is a great resource on the Web for supplementing kittens here:
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/bottle_feeding_kitten.html
My dear, as much as I hate to bring up a very sad topic, I feel compelled to say that I think you might want to emotionally prepare yourself to lose one or two of these babies. It happens all too frequently in large litters and while you may have much, much better luck than others, I just think you should try to prepare yourself in the event you don't. I sincerely hope that it doesn't happen to you, but I wanted to make certain you knew that it can happen.
Continued best of luck,
~gf~
I just wanted to wish you the best of luck with mom and all the teeny babies.
and good wishes sent your way!
NINE kittens!! Wow, best of luck and hope hubby is okay with it soon...
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Thanks everyone. I will get to doing that to all ten acts to get she of the fleas. Thanks 4 all the good luck wishes. Whe seen to be doing fine now. There is no way i could let her stay out there and have all those babies so i begged my husband to let her stay. He has never had a cat. She is a very good mother.
