FLEA help!

My recently adopted cat had kittens yesterday so they are only a little over 24 hours old. I just noticed today that there was a flea on the bedding in their box. I am trying to treat the home and other pets as nessecary but what do I do that is safe to treat these brand new babies? Please help! I know how dangerous they can be for kittens! Any advice is very welcome!

There are drop-ons it's safe to treat the mother with, and along with changing the bedding and either discarding the soiled or washing it hot (60C) that will hopefully stop your house getting infested.  The FAB as always has lots of excellent information.  As well as brand names, it gives the generic names of the active ingredients so is useful outside the UK.

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html

You also need to worm both mother and babies soon.  Fleas are part of the tapeworm life cycle.  If Milbemax is available it's safe for pregnant and lactating queens, though in the UK we have to go to the vet for it.  If you can get it, treating mum now would be good, and the babies need treating once big enough - the usual product in the UK is Panacur, as it can be used when they are much smaller than Milbemax.

Selemectin (Revolution, Stronghold) is supposed to be safe with nursing cats.  For the kittens, you could maybe do a warm bath with a bit of blue dawn soap.  Of course, change the bedding frequently and wash in hot water.  You could steam clean the carpet in their room just to be sure too. 

Keep an eye out for flea dirt (poop) - little black specks that turn dark red if they get wet - that will let you know how many fleas are about.  Look for it on the kittens and in the bedding.  While you're checking the kittens, have a small (5" or less) pair of narrow-nosed pliers handy - if you have any fine manual dexterity at all, you can use the pliers to crush any fleas you find on the kittens.  But be careful to avoid pinching their skin!  If you happen to catch a flea between your fingers, hold tight and release it underwater (keep a glass handy) - they're incredibly hard to crush with your fingers.  There are no chemicals I know of that are safe to use directly on the kittens - but treating your home, changing their bedding (don't treat the bedding, just change every 24 hours and wash in hot water), picking off individual fleas, and treating mom with a nursing-safe dose of something should keep the fleas under control enough that the kittens will be safe, if you don't eradicate them entirely.

If you do give the kittens a bath with just a bit of soap, keep their heads above water and dry them gently but thoroughly afterwards - otherwise evaporative cooling will chill them too much.  I wouldn't bathe them any more often than once a week, and even then only if you're finding flea dirt on the kittens - the bath may drown fleas and dislodge eggs.  Make sure the water is above room temp but not any hotter than lukewarm, and keep it short.