Fleas & Worms & Tight Budgets

callista

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I have a foster kitten. He's maybe 5 months old--not full grown, but not a baby anymore.

Yesterday I flea combed him and found five fleas. I also suspect he has worms.

I have a vet appointment for August 7, with the place that's helping him find a home. I can't pay any more than the $20 they're asking for, but I'll scrape it together if he needs to see a vet sooner... Is Aug. 7 soon enough, or will these parasites cause health problems before then?

Will flea-combing him regularly help?
 

jen

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He should be fine, but I wouldn't let him share a litterbox with other cats if you can help it. tapeworms come from ingesting fleas so anyother cat would have to swallow a flea from the litterbox which is pretty unlikely, but if he is in contact with other cats there is a good chance they all have fleas and therefore tapeworms as well. I assume you do mean you suspect he has tapes?
 
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callista

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Yes; he's a stray, and since he had fleas, I'm thinking it's prety likely he's got worms too.

I have no other cats.
 

jen

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Yeah with tapeworms you should get dewormer from a vet. Very rarely can you find the right OTC dewormer for Tapes. If you do great, they are pretty expensive either way, from the vet or not. I am looking into ordering a whole bottle which is about $150 for 5 stinkin pills!

He should be alright, but if there are a lot of them that you can see, then I might call the vet sooner.
 
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callista

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Adult fleas, yeah. Soapy water will clog their spiracles and eventually kill them. I use that to kill the fleas I get with the flea comb.
 

nekochan

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I've used this product, 'Natural Chemistry De Flea Pet Spray' on kittens, cats and also a dog with fleas and it worked great...
A friend of mine borrowed it for a litter of kittens and their mother (a rescued stray) who were infested with fleas and for her own cats one of whom had a nasty flea allergy; I also used it on an older rescued stray kitten and on my own dog when she brought fleas home...

It is non-harmful to the animals, but it causes the fleas to soften and die. We tested it out by flea combing a few fleas from one of the kittens and spraying it directly on the fleas, the fleas died almost immediately.
I bought this at a Pet Supplies Plus store I believe but I've also seen it at a few other pet stores since then so I think it should not be too hard to find.

Oh yeah I also wanted to add, according to the maker's website the spray can be used even if you use topical flea preventives and it does not interfere with those.
 

roxie225

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Originally Posted by Nekochan

I've used this product, 'Natural Chemistry De Flea Pet Spray' on kittens, cats and also a dog with fleas and it worked great...
A friend of mine borrowed it for a litter of kittens and their mother (a rescued stray) who were infested with fleas and for her own cats one of whom had a nasty flea allergy; I also used it on an older rescued stray kitten and on my own dog when she brought fleas home...

It is non-harmful to the animals, but it causes the fleas to soften and die. We tested it out by flea combing a few fleas from one of the kittens and spraying it directly on the fleas, the fleas died almost immediately.
I bought this at a Pet Supplies Plus store I believe but I've also seen it at a few other pet stores since then so I think it should not be too hard to find.

Oh yeah I also wanted to add, according to the maker's website the spray can be used even if you use topical flea preventives and it does not interfere with those.
I have used the Natural Chemistry DeFlea Pet shampoo and that too worked great. As Nekochan said it is non-harmful to the animals since it is made with all natural ingredients. It will kill any live fleas instantly.
 

danimarie

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Originally Posted by Nekochan

I've used this product, 'Natural Chemistry De Flea Pet Spray' on kittens, cats and also a dog with fleas and it worked great...
A friend of mine borrowed it for a litter of kittens and their mother (a rescued stray) who were infested with fleas and for her own cats one of whom had a nasty flea allergy; I also used it on an older rescued stray kitten and on my own dog when she brought fleas home...

It is non-harmful to the animals, but it causes the fleas to soften and die. We tested it out by flea combing a few fleas from one of the kittens and spraying it directly on the fleas, the fleas died almost immediately.
I bought this at a Pet Supplies Plus store I believe but I've also seen it at a few other pet stores since then so I think it should not be too hard to find.

Oh yeah I also wanted to add, according to the maker's website the spray can be used even if you use topical flea preventives and it does not interfere with those.
That is excellent to know!!! I'm scared to death of fleas.
 
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callista

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Hmm... I think for now I will stick with flea-combing. He has even started to enjoy it now! Amazing--he was very annoyed the first time I tried it. But then, that was when his coat was still full of fleas, flea dirt, scabs, and whatnot, rather than clean, smooth and silky as it is now. I haven't seen a flea in days... but I'll be cautious, just in case they're hatching somewhere.

Is a bath of any sort absolutely necessary at this point? Because he would probably hate me... he is just starting to trust me enough to let me pick him up for a few seconds without struggling, and I don't want to do anything to betray his confidence in me.
 

nekochan

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Well, a regular bath won't kill the fleas, unless you used some type of shampoo that kills them.
 
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callista

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OK, that settles it--no bath.

(Tiny breathes a sigh of relief!)
 
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callista

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Hmm... he's been scratching his ears a lot. Ear mites? If so, is there a way to get them out of his ears before his vet appointment?
 
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