5 Week old Kitten with fleas: help!

Well, we just got back from the vet with Osiris. Although we had not seen any fleas on him, the vet says he saw at least one. This was not our usual vet, as he is on vacation. We just needed a vet to check out the little guy and make sure he was healthy, and to run tests to make sure we were ok with introducing him to the other cats, when that time comes. I was not impressed with this vet at all and will not be using him again. Vet took 4 sticks to draw barely enough blood for an FIV/FeLk test,we will have results on Saturday. I also overheard them recommending declaw to another cat owner. :shudder:

Anyway, the vet recommended, since Osiris is such a little guy (1.06 lbs!) that we use flea powder on him. I went to the pet store, and the flea powder says it is not for use on pets under 12 weeks of age. No way I am using that! The salesperson recommended a flea shampoo, I have never heard of this brand and was wondering if anyone else had.

Brand is Natural Chemistry, and the product is called De Flea Shampoo. It claims to be safe enough to use on nursing puppies and kittens.
Active Ingredients:
Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate 2.1%
Undecylenic Acid 0.5%
Other INgredients 97.4%

I also picked up a flea comb and will be using that on him.

I remember on a thread that Hissy recomented to bath your kitten with a few trops of dawn .

Nope I didn't! Not that young anyway. And please don't use storebought flea treatments on kittens, they are worthless and sometimes toxic.

What you need is a fine toothed flea comb a jar of hot water with a few drops of Dawn Liquid soap in it. Dip the comb in the hot water mixture and comb out the kitten, dipping the comb often into the water mixture. The detergent and hot water will kill the fleas, and the little bit of detergent on the kitten and the hot water will take the fleas out of the kitten's coat.

MA, I think you misread that post...she was saying that you recommended using Dawn Dishsoap -not flea shampoo.

I am sorry MA , yes now I rememer again the flea comp dip .

right Dawn for bathing older kittens but water and soap combing for the younger ones. The flea shampoos are toxic to the babies. The hot water will stun the fleas the soap will kill them. Sorry Hedi I did misread it

Thanks MA . I still was wrong , I did mean bathing and that would not be good for the baby . I do have to say I learn a lot in here , especialy from you MA . Thank you for all you do in here and for the ferals You are a great Lady .

Thank you! Have flea comb, have dawn liquid, will commence combing!


Thank you again!

Well, surprise, surprise. Not a flea on him, like we had thought all along. There was some flea dirt, but no live or dead fleas. He seemed not to mind the attention and was actually purring up a storm by the time I was done. He is a little purrbaby!

If there was flea dirt there were fleas. Make sure to get a fecal sample to the vet to make sure not to pass along any worms.

He was dewormed before we got him with Strongid. He also was flea dipped by the woman we got him from. I know he is too young for that, I was worried when she said she had done that, but he seems to be fine. Thank goodness.