Kittens and fleas?

A cat my mother and I recently took in was pregnant and gave birth to 3 baby kittens. They're nearly 3 weeks old. All was well and good until we realized she had gotten fleas (it seems our dogs also got fleas, from our neighbors dog) and they have gotten to the kittens. Is there anything I can do to treat them? I'm already administering Advantage to the adult cats in the house (well, I could only afford 3 of the little containers of it, working on getting enough to treat the rest of the cats but mama cat is one of them at top priority) but the kittens are too young for it. Someone recommended giving them a gentle bath in Dawn dish soap, saying it can kill the fleas without harming the kittens but I'm not really sure what to do.

Any help is appreciated!,
Farrah

Yes washing your kittens is the best way to go!

I use baby shampoo instead of dish soap, the point is to disrupt the surface tension so the fleas drown; however dawn dish soap is an excellent choice & was recommended to us by our vet.

It's a good idea to apply a flea treatment to all the adult cats in the house, that will help the kittens immensely. Check with your vet/the company to be sure it's ok to give to a nursing mother.

You need to treat ALL the cats (I know it's expensive!) or the fleas are just going to hop from cat to cat and you'll never get ride of them.

Vacuum every rug/fabric surface in the house thoroughly, you may want to use a natural flea-killer option (such as diotomaceous earth) or a commercial flea killer.

Make sure you are changing the kitten's bedding frequently and washing it immediately. Also wash any other bedding your pets sleep on.

It's better to save up & do a massive flea-kill weekend then spend money here and there and have no real progress. I'm speaking from experience on this one .

Make sure you deal with the kitten's fleas promptly as they are small and can become anemic quickly from the fleas.

Advantage or any flea treatment until the babies are 8 weeks old. That is what my vet told me to do because the chemicals will flow into the kittens from her milk. That would not be good. I had the same thing. I just had to wait it out. However, I took a flea comb and luckily, I did not turn up any fleas or eggs on her or the babies. But please do not advantage mom yet.

My vet told me the exact opposite and that there were some treatments you can give a nursing cat as long as they are administered after she has finished nursing (so the kittens are full).

In addition our vet was more concerned about the kittens having fleas then absorbing a very little chemical flea treatment through the milk.

You should talk to your vet.

I forgot to mention the flea-comb, it`s pretty essential in getting all the fleas out of your kitten`s coats. You can get them at most pet stores & they aren`t expensive.

I too would hesitate to give a nursing mother a chemical treatment. I highly recommend the diatomaceous earth - sprinkle it around on your furniture and rugs and brush it down into the fibres. It is like a fine talc to us but like shards of glass to insects. The DE must be human/food grade though - the industrial grade is toxic to mammals.

I just ordered and received a 1.5 kg container for $15.00 from a company called BioAG here in the Guelph/Wellington area. I'm not sure where you are located but you could call them to see if they will ship to you. Their number is 519-656-2460. I got their number from a lady at the Farmer's Market that uses it for pest control for her organic fruit and vegetables. I intend to share it with our daughter who lives in an apartment building to ensure she remains bug-free.

Combing your little ones and mom with the flea comb and then dipping it into a container of soapy water after each comb-through will also help to get rid of the ones on them. I would also sprinkle some of the DE in mom's cat bed where she is nursing. Just don't let the cat or you inhale it since it can irritate the lungs. If mom or the kittens ingest any of the DE, it will actually do them some good by ridding them of parasites.