bathing a stray kitten

So a few days ago DH and I rescued a sray/feral kitten. You can read about her here
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=179268

What I need to know is we are getting ready to bath her finally. She is dirty and we just found a flea on her. I don't think she is infested because she does not scratch at all. So I don't think she will need more than a bath. We will treat Monkey with advantage but because we don't know the age of the little one(Roxy) or her weight I don't feel comfy treating her with out the vet helping.

What I am wondering is can I wash her head? I know not to get any water in her ears but her little face is dirty and I don't know how to go about it. Do I use soap or not on her face. I plan on using Dawn for her body. Is it safe to use near her eyes and things? Also since I don't plan on treating her with Advantage should I use a flea shampoo or should the dawn be fine?

No do not wash her head. You can use a washcloth that is wet (not dripping) and wipe off her face, top of head, and ears - but make sure its rung out well. Do not use soap as you can't really rinse the face/head.

I just rescued a stray myself about a week ago, and today was the first day I tried to give him a bath. I don't have any cat shampoo yet, so I used my son's baby wash diluted in some warm water.

I washed his face with an old baby washcloth leftover from when my son was an infant. I didn't use any soap, just water - and wiped his face off. I also used to do this with my dog before she passed away. I never used soap on her face.

Good luck with your kitty!

Do not bath a young kitten except in an emergency (to get off toxic substances or something like that). I have just deflead a 10 week old feral that I got last week. I couldn't do it until he trusted me enough to sit still on my lap and not freak out, so I got him used slowly to being stroked and brushed, a few minutes several times a day. Pre-brushing helps to remove general dust and flea dirt. Then take a flea comb and a bowl of warm water with dish detergent in it. Use the comb to catch the fleas and drown them in the water. Change and wash all bedding daily until you are sure there are no more fleas. This also encourages young orphan kttens to learn to wash themselves.