URGENT HELP!! Flea Infestation on 1 week old kittens (serious)

Get some blue Dawn dishwashing soap and do a 50-50 solution of Dawn and water. Go to the pet store and buy a flea comb. Dip the comb in the dawn & water solution and comb the cats. This will pick up any fleas and drown any left on the kitty. Keep the kitty nice and warm after you've done the flea water treatment using a rice sock. Just put some dry rice in an old sock, tie it off and nuke in the microwave for a minute or so. Place it next to kitty to keep warm.

First, do the flea comb thing. Then, move them to an area that's flea free. Wash all their bedding in hot water. In their old room, sprinkle Borax (from the grocery store) on the floors, under furniture, and if you have carpet, brush it into the carpet using a broom. Leave it overnight, then vacuum it up the next morning. Put a flea collar in your vacuum bag. Do this for each room. You will need to repeat it often until the fleas are eradicated.

**Borax can be toxic, so be sure to clean it up before allowing the kitties back into the room.

Do not use over the counter flea products on kittens this young - they are toxic even to adults and you can seriously harm the kittens.

The suggestion for Dawn dish soap, a flea comb, washing the bedding and vacuuming are the quickest, least expensive options for you right now. If you want to use something to treat the environment, flea sprays can be dangerous to kittens, so look into FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth (google it). You can't buy it in very many stores and may need to buy it online. Use it as described for the Borax. Make sure you get food grade.

Hi there,

I hope this isn't a duplicated response. I wrote a large post with tips but IE timed out on me and I think I lost it.

I don't envy you here. I recall (years ago) when I was a teenager our cats (and the house) caught fleas and it was pretty unpleasent. My mum went nuts trying to get rid of them.

The kittens are too young for any topical flea treatment. I think Frontline (or similar spot on treatment) can be used on kittens 8 weeks and over. I would talk to the vet about a pill form for the kittens. Mum cat could be treated with Frontline - again a vet should confirm this is safe for the nursing kits.

If you really can't get to the vet then there are low cost flea shampoos for cats that would go a long way for less money - more work though. The kittens would be easy to treat, you need to keep the lather on them a little while for effectiveness and you should comb them through with a flea comb to remove the fleas and eggs. Rinse/ wash the comb regularly to wash away the fleas/ eggs. The main thing is to keep the kittens warm when you're done washing them and while they're drying. Rinse the bath well afterwards.

Flea sprays can cause the fleas to flee to the animal's head so I would recommend bathing/ combing mum too instead- if she will let you.

Cleaning the house is important to prevent reinfestation of the kits. I recall my mum using baking soda and salt (back in the day). Use it dry on carpets and leave over night then vacuum it off. I just googled it and found a reference to it dehydrating and killing the fleas, use judgement depending on the type of carpet you have - it could leave a residue. Vacuum regularly after that (like twice a day) until you're free of them. I like the suggestion about putting a flea collar in the vacuum bag (probably cheaper that disposing of the bag after each time you've vacuumed - which needs doing if you don't opt for the flea collar).

Vacuuming will collect about one third of the larvae and about two thirds of the eggs. By vacuuming you also remove the flea dirt (droppings) which is what the larvae eat, which in turn helps to kill the larvae - if you get my meaning.

At nightime you can set up a nightlight with a shallow tub of soapy water to catch the fleas. They are attracted to the light and drown. Here is a web reference to other 'flea traps'
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Flea-Trap . You won't catch all the fleas this way but it will be an indication of if there are any left.