New kitten issues: FLEA and diarrhea

Hi everyone,

so we just got our new 10-week-old kitten today and he's super cute and we already love him. <3

But I was petting him on my lap just a little bit ago and I noticed a flea on my leg! We have no other animals - I DO work at a groomer, but I've never brought a flea home before and none of the dogs that came in today had fleas anyway (and I had already showered). The upside is the flea was dying and I haven't seen others. Should I run out and get a flea comb? Is it okay to give him a flea bath at the groom shop tomorrow- we use an all natural flea shampoo that is supposed to be very gentle, but if that's too harsh maybe I could use a very gentle hypoallergenic shampoo and lemon juice or something?

I'm wary of giving him any anti-flea medicine for it just now since we just adopted him today and I'm not certain when they last put flea control on him (kind of annoyed that my boyfriend didn't find out when he went to get the kitty...) We gave the rescue a call to find out but we had to leave a message for them.

On an unrelated note, right after I set him down to dispose of the flea I'd found, he had a tiny bit of diarrhea. Should I be concerned or should I just keep an eye on his feces for the next couple days? We kept him on the same food he'd been eating before, so he didn't have a diet change - could it just be the stress of being adopted today?

Thanks in advance for any help! I don't want to have fleas in my apartment and I really don't want the kitten to be sick D=

You can bath him using Dawn original dish soap. It won't kill the fleas but it will stun them enough for you to kill any you find while combing through his fur. If you have a cup of hot water with dawn soap in it, put any fleas you find on the kitty into that hot water. They will drown. Towel dry him really well so he doesn't get cold.

For the diarrhea, add a little bit of canned pumpkin (a teaspoon) to his food (better if it's wet food of course). Do NOT use the pumpkin pie filler stuff. The pure canned pumpkin should be in the grocery aisle with canned vegetables.

If the flea was dying he must have been treated with something---there's no other reason for the flea to have been dying like that. I probably wouldn't bathe him yet, I'd just get a flea comb and use it once or twice a day (I boil a mug of water in the microwave and knock the fleas into that). I would reserve a bath for if you find out he has lots of fleas. For one or two it's just not worth it.

Yosemite - Dawn? But isn't Dawn super harsh and full of chemicals? I know at the groomer we only use it if the dog is super super dirty, and then only on their feet because we consider it too strong and irritating for their skin. I'm thinking an all natural flea shampoo would actually be more gentle than Dawn...anyways I don't have any Dawn on hand. Hmm...

I'll keep the pumpkin in mind, thanks!

Willowy - That's what I was thinking. I've actually found about 5 more fleas on him since my earlier post so I'm a little concerned, but they were all moving very sluggishly and weren't able to hop away from me. I'm thinking he is on flea control, but he picked up some hitchhikers at the adoption clinic which are now being killed by the flea medicine.

I'm going to get a flea comb tomorrow and see if I can find any more - if I find a couple of lively ones I think I'm going to do that flea bath just to be safe and try to nip this in the bud. With any luck I'll just find dead ones and we'll be alright

Hope the rescue gets back to us soon so I know if he needs some frontline or not! Thanks for your replies!

Originally Posted by Yosemite

For the diarrhea, add a little bit of canned pumpkin (a teaspoon) to his food (better if it's wet food of course). Do NOT use the pumpkin pie filler stuff. The pure canned pumpkin should be in the grocery aisle with canned vegetables.

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I did not know about pumpkin for diarrhea. It's good to know.

Dawn is safer than a flea shampoo. Flea shampoos can be dangerous for grown cats so I would not ever recommend them for a kitten. Please reconsider using one on your kitten.

Rescue organizations use Dawn for cleaning birds and animals from oil spills. It does not contain harmful chemicals.

Also, as you probably already know, NEVER put a flea collar on your pet. Many pets have died from flea collars. Hartz flea collars and products are particularly harmful and we here at TCS cannot understand why they are still being sold.

Yes, pumpkin is good for diarrhea and also for constipation. Fibre!

Originally Posted by azurarverja

Yosemite - Dawn? But isn't Dawn super harsh and full of chemicals? I know at the groomer we only use it if the dog is super super dirty, and then only on their feet because we consider it too strong and irritating for their skin. I'm thinking an all natural flea shampoo would actually be more gentle than Dawn...anyways I don't have any Dawn on hand. Hmm...

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Dawn is the soap they use to help clean all of the wildlife that have been doused by oil, etc. on the coasts. Apparently it helps keep the fleas at bay and is a very good detergent for cleaning these animals. I'm sure it is gentle enough for the kitten. I would not use any flea medication on him until he is older. Best to ask your vet about that. The pumpkin is a good idea. I don't know what you're feeding him but you might want to look at his diet and see if you might be able to make some changes that might help his other problem. The pumpkin suggestions are good as well.

Good news! I got the flea comb and I couldn't find any more fleas. Whew! I'm guessing they must have put flea control on him right before we picked him up, and the hitchhikers he picked up from the adoption clinic have all died and fallen off since yesterday. So, no bath needed for now Although he is still a little stinky haha.

For future incidents, I'm still not convinced that Dawn is gentler than this particular flea shampoo - I know rescue groups use it on oil covered birds because it cuts through oil, but if anything that just convinces me that it IS harsh if it can get through oil like that. In the interest of full disclosure:
flea shampoo ingredients: Coconut Oil, Jojoba, Aloe, D'limonene, Neem, Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Cedar Oil, Vitamins A and E - would it be the Tea Tree Oil that's too harsh maybe?
Dawn ingredients: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium pareth-23, sulfate C-12-14-16, dimethyl amine oxide, SD alcohol, undeceth-9, propylene glycol, cyclohexandiamine, polyacetate, protease, fragrance, FD&C blue, & apparently some other stuff that Dawn won't tell anyone

Yosemite - actually I didn't know that about flea collars, thanks for telling me! I wasn't planning to use one anyways, but it's good to know. This is why it's so important to research things before getting them for your pet, am I right?

NutroMike - he is currently being fed Purina chicken and rice for kitten; I'd like to switch him over to Innova cat and kitten food as after doing some research that seemed to be pretty high quality. He was being fed the Purina before, though, so we bought some so that we don't give him a sudden diet switch and I can phase the Innova food in.

Thanks for your replies everyone! I'll be picking up some canned pumpkin tonight when I do my shopping run and see if that clears up the diarrhea.

The diarrhea could be caused by intestinal parasites. It's pretty much a given that since he had fleas, he's got tapeworms, so take him to the vet and have him de-wormed and treated for tapeworm. Tapeworm won't be treated by regular de-wormers and needs a special medication, usually a tablet. Also, you'll probably need to have him de-wormed and treated for tapeworms again in a few weeks. That's just normal and common.

Originally Posted by azurarverja

Good news! I got the flea comb and I couldn't find any more fleas. Whew! I'm guessing they must have put flea control on him right before we picked him up, and the hitchhikers he picked up from the adoption clinic have all died and fallen off since yesterday. So, no bath needed for now

Although he is still a little stinky haha.

For future incidents, I'm still not convinced that Dawn is gentler than this particular flea shampoo - I know rescue groups use it on oil covered birds because it cuts through oil, but if anything that just convinces me that it IS harsh if it can get through oil like that. In the interest of full disclosure:
flea shampoo ingredients: Coconut Oil, Jojoba, Aloe, D'limonene, Neem, Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Cedar Oil, Vitamins A and E - would it be the Tea Tree Oil that's too harsh maybe?
Dawn ingredients: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium pareth-23, sulfate C-12-14-16, dimethyl amine oxide, SD alcohol, undeceth-9, propylene glycol, cyclohexandiamine, polyacetate, protease, fragrance, FD&C blue, & apparently some other stuff that Dawn won't tell anyone

Yosemite - actually I didn't know that about flea collars, thanks for telling me! I wasn't planning to use one anyways, but it's good to know. This is why it's so important to research things before getting them for your pet, am I right?

NutroMike - he is currently being fed Purina chicken and rice for kitten; I'd like to switch him over to Innova cat and kitten food as after doing some research that seemed to be pretty high quality. He was being fed the Purina before, though, so we bought some so that we don't give him a sudden diet switch and I can phase the Innova food in.

Thanks for your replies everyone! I'll be picking up some canned pumpkin tonight when I do my shopping run and see if that clears up the diarrhea.

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Tea tree oil is toxic to cats. We have many folks here with much experience with cats and kittens with fleas and believe me Dawn is the best product you can use. Flea shampoos are poisons to kill fleas and those poisons are absorbed into the skin. Naturally, you may do what you feel you must but I personally and many others here on this forum would not use a flea shampoo of any kind especially on such a small kitten.

Also, as another poster noted, if the kitten had any fleas at all, chances are he/she also has tape worm which they get from swallowing a flea. You will need to get Drontil or some other tapeworm medication from a vet.

Kittens are often born with worms which they can get from their moms so they need to be dewormed and vaccinated of course.

Tea tree oil is toxic to cats

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Okay, that's what I needed to know. Thanks! I was just a little concerned people were jumping on the "no flea shampoo" because it's assumed they contain chemical pesticides. This is why I asked Sorry if I seemed contrary, it's not that I don't believe you guys - it's just that I tend to need to know the "why" and "how" in addition to the "what."

Thanks for the deworming tip - the rescue is supposed to be sending us veterinary records (a little annoyed that they didn't give them to us at the adoption fair, actually, they knew we were going to pick him up...) but I think I will give the vet that had been seeing him a call tomorrow and see when/if he was last dewormed and when exactly I need to bring him for his next round of shots and neutering... we were told "2 to 3 more weeks" but that seems kind of vague.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by azurarverja

Okay, that's what I needed to know. Thanks!

I was just a little concerned people were jumping on the "no flea shampoo" because it's assumed they contain chemical pesticides. This is why I asked

Sorry if I seemed contrary, it's not that I don't believe you guys - it's just that I tend to need to know the "why" and "how" in addition to the "what."

Thanks for the deworming tip - the rescue is supposed to be sending us veterinary records (a little annoyed that they didn't give them to us at the adoption fair, actually, they knew we were going to pick him up...) but I think I will give the vet that had been seeing him a call tomorrow and see when/if he was last dewormed and when exactly I need to bring him for his next round of shots and neutering... we were told "2 to 3 more weeks" but that seems kind of vague.

Thank you!

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No worries.

I made up a file for Bijou and have a running list of his shots and the dates. I take the file to the vet when he goes for his checkups so everything is there at a glance. I've moved a few times in the last few years so this makes it easier for the new vet to know what Bijou's history has been.