New Kitten has Fleas...What to do?

Hello Friends!
Long-time lurker, very infrequent poster here...

We have just acquired a new kitten, who sort of moved in to our garage last week. My husband succeeded in luring him out and we've been keeping him separate from our other kids until we got him checked out. He is a very lovely little Siamese (I was concerned at first that he might belong to someone, but we checked the neighborhood for notices and the local shelters...no missing Siamese kittens). So we got him his shots and scheduled an appointment for sterilizing... I guess that means we're keeping him. My husband has fallen in love with him anyway, and named him Hiro... The vet says he is about 6 weeks old and pretty healthy (just a little malnourished), except for one thing:

Hiro is crawling with fleas. The vet suggested washing him with Dawn to kill the fleas, and we've done so twice now. I've washed all his bedding and everything and burned cedarwood in the room we're keeping him in, but there are still fleas! My husband let him get acquainted with my baby Tsuki yesterday and today they played for a couple of hours and now she's scratching!
I hate using commercial flea-killers and we've been flea-free with natural remedies for the last year, but the natural concoctions I use are mostly preventative (like mixing vinegar in the water). I really, really don't want to have to put chemicals on my cats again, especially since we can't treat the baby yet anyway. I know they are supposed to be non-toxic and safe if you put it on the back of their head, but they have gotten sick before, and besides, I myself am highly allergic to pyrethrins, which are a common ingredient even in natural flea treatments.
So... does anyone have any natural, truly non-toxic methods of dealing with fleas that will be effective and safe for my kitten?

~ Sangria

Use a flea comb on him every day. Dish soap and water will kill any fleas you pull off him; just get a glass of soapy water and drop the fleas in.

I did this with my two rescued cats, and by the time I could afford to go to a vet and get Frontline treatment, one cat was flea-free and the other had just two fleas left. Baby Girl had over 100 at first--so much that she was tired (probably anemic) when she first came to my house. (My vet actually had coupons for free Frontline, so I just paid for the other stuff.)

You won't get all the fleas with a single combing, but be persistent and you should make enough of a dent in the population so that he will be healthy. When you get him vet checked, try Frontline--it was developed for use in children and worked quite well to get the last of the fleas off my cats. Commercial (over the counter) flea medications do cause sickness and even seizures and death in cats--your instincts are right about that.

If the cat has fleas, it will probably have tapeworms too. If the infestation is bad, it will have a distended tummy and digestive problems and probably be underweight. Your vet can give you worming pills safe for kittens.

One last caution: Vacuum any areas the kitten has been in. You do NOT want fleas in your carpet!

I have had this problem.

Please remember that fleas don't live on cats, so your garage is probably riddled in them now. You need to treat your garage with flea treatment, I got a spray from my vet called Indorex that works on any surface and lasts for 12 months. It might be worth doing your home too because I assume that he has been in there too. The spray stops the cycle too, not just the fleas.

Put a flea collar in your vacuum as the gases it releases will be trapped in the bag and will kill any you suck up.

If you don't to use treatment on your 6 weeks old kitty them continue with the Dawn and a flea comb until you house is rid of them

Please give us a picture of Hiro, I love Siamese Kittens

If he was loaded with fleas and you have him inside the house, you will now have to treat the house to get rid of all of them.

Continue washing him 1-2 x a week with the Dawn and flea comb him several times a day. IMO he's too young for any direct flea treatment.

If you choose to use a flea product when he's older DO NOT use a collar - they are toxic (use the collar in the vacuum cleaner). Get Frontline Plus or Advantage - something that your vet would recommend.

Post pics of your little one - I love Siamese