flea treating nursing mom & kittens

This is a question from someone I know, please excuse the caps I know they are hard to read but I copied and pasted from an email she sent.

DUE TO PREGNANCY EVEN THO I REALIZED IMMEDIATELY THAT SHE HAD EARMITES AND MAY HAVE A FEW FLEAS I DID NOTHING WITH HER. SHE SHAKES HER HEAD ANY TIME YOU PET HER THERE AND SHE OCCASSIONALLY SCRATCHES HER BODY AND SOMETIMES YOU SEE A FLEA. WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING THE KITTENS CLOSELY TOO AND THEY TURNED 3 WEEKS TUES AND WE HAVE BEEN FINDING FLEAS ON THEM BUT THEY ARE TOO YOUNG TO MEDICATE. WELL, LAST NIGHT THINGS GOT WAY WORSE AND THEIR TUMMIES ARE MOTTLED WITH FLEA BITES SO WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO THEM AND MOM BUT MOM NURSES THEM AND THEY ARE SO YOUNG. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I KNOW BIRDS DUST BATHE TO GET RID OF LICE-THE DUST SMOTHERS THEM. SHOULD I TRY TO DUST OR SAND BURY THE KITS TO THE NECK FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES OR BAKING SODA OR SOMETHING ELSE AND WHAT ABOUT MOM ? SINCE SHE IS NURSING I AM AFRAID TO PUT ANYTHING ON HER EITHER.

I told her I would post it and send her the responses, but my advice to her was take them to the vet ( I don't know if they have ever been) There are 10 kittens in the litter, the mother is a siamese rescued after being dumped (was pregnant when dumped). she has 3 other spayed/neutered indoor cats.
I have never had fleas so I appreciate any responses so I can try and help theses poor kitties

FLeas can be dangerous and make kittens anaemic. But tell your friend not to use anything bought OTC as that could make the kittens sick. The vet will probably treat the mom, and as for hte kittens, unless the vet says otherwise, I would just comb them every day to remove as many fleas as possible, using a flea comb and a bowl of hot water to dump the fleas in. Do this until they are old enough to be deflead by the vet. Keep their bedding washed and changed as often as possible too.

Is great stuff and can be used on lactating queens. You get it from a vet's office. I get the 6-packs. Each dose is little a liquid vial that you squirt between the cat's shoulder blades once a month; and works like a charm. The directions say for kittens over 8 weeks but fine for queens (obv. you could ask the vet about the young kittens).

I would not use anything topical on the momcat unless your vet okays it. You can bathe the momcat in warm water using a bit of Dawn liquid soap and then comb her with a flea comb. You can flea comb the kittens, and you can bathe them the same way if you do it carefully taking care they do not become chilled. Fleas will kill the kittens if not stopped quickly.

Originally Posted by hissy

I would not use anything topical on the momcat unless your vet okays it. You can bathe the momcat in warm water using a bit of Dawn liquid soap and then comb her with a flea comb. You can flea comb the kittens, and you can bathe them the same way if you do it carefully taking care they do not become chilled. Fleas will kill the kittens if not stopped quickly.

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My vet told me to flea comb, and pick the fleas off the kittens with tweezers, but be sure not to pinch them.

Thanks for the replies, I have forwarded them to my friend.

Here is an update I received from her that doesn't sound good to me.

The vet told her to put Micodex on a rag and wipe the kittens down The mother then of course bathed the kits and she started foaming at the mouth.
My friend then read the label and it says not to use on kittens under 12 weeks!!

She proceded to call the ER vet and they told her that the mother cat foamed at the mouth because it was a bad taste (never been in the situation so i'm not sure if that is true or not)

I have not heard back yet but I hope that all 10 kittens will be okay after that.

And I hope after ten kittens your friend will spay the mother cat!

I hope all is okay!

10 KITTENS!

I have not heard back yet but I hope that all 10 kittens will be okay after that.

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Missymotus....if your friend needs a low cost clinic for the mom...let me know.

Katie

Go to the vet! You can get a prescription for Advantage for them. The label on Advantage says that it is safe for lactating mothers and can use on kittens 3 weeks old and older. Advantage works great. All of the fleas will be gone in 24 hours. There are NO over the counter flea treatments for kittens younger than 12 weeks. Do not use them they WILL kill the kittens. My mom found a kitten about 25 years ago that was infested with fleas and she bathed it with over the counter flea medication and it killed him.
I believe that Advantage also takes care of ear mites.

Originally Posted by megmar6853

Go to the vet! You can get a prescription for Advantage for them. The label on Advantage says that it is safe for lactating mothers and can use on kittens 3 weeks old and older. Advantage works great. All of the fleas will be gone in 24 hours. There are NO over the counter flea treatments for kittens younger than 12 weeks. Do not use them they WILL kill the kittens. My mom found a kitten about 25 years ago that was infested with fleas and she bathed it with over the counter flea medication and it killed him.
I believe that Advantage also takes care of ear mites.

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What label are you reading? A certain type of Advantage? Every single Advantage I've ever read (and asked about at the vets) is for cats and kittens EIGHT weeks and older.

Advantage can't take care of ear mites, either.

I Am The Friend With The Cat And Kits With Fleas. All Of The Kits Are Making It And Mom Too And I Will Do My Best To Keep It That Way. Petco Was Out Of Flea Combs And The Buggies Persist. I Just Read About The Advantage And We Will Be Going Out In The Morning Then To Get It. The Next Day The Kittens Will Be 4 Weeks Old. Tho We Put Out Water For Mom And Growth Formula For The Kittens, And Try To Monitor Who Gets To Eat, Not All Do. 3 Are 1/3 The Size Of The Others And Mom Is Beginning To Let The Big Ones Have All--remember There Are 10 Kits And Not 10 Nipples So We Have Been Hand Feeding All Of Them. The Runts So They Get Nutrition And The Fat Giants So They Are Not Hungry All The Time So Runts Can Get A Few Licks In. Since The Flea Spray Applied To Them On A Rag Did Not Seem To Affect Them Beyond Making Them Really Groggy For 24 Hours I Will Consult The Vet Before Putting Anything Else On But You Folks Have Been More Help Than The Vet! Now Moms Nipples Have Scabs And Tho We Have Water, Growth Formula, Kitten Food And Canned Out For Her I Believe She Is Drying Up. Any Advice? And Can I Vaseline Her Nipples Or Do Anything Else To Help Her? I Type In Caps Because I Am Almost Legally Blind Sorry, Its Just Then I Can Catch Most Of My Mistakes. Bev

Advantage Multi does earmites too.

We Just Got Fizzy As I Call Her About 7 Weeks Ago And She Did Not Even Look Pregnant But Someone Dumped Her Out Of A Car. When It Soon Became Obvious She Was Carrying We Thought 1-3 Kits And The Next Day She Delivered 10. Almost 1 Mo Old Now. I Have 3 Neutered Males And All Of My Cats Are Strict Indoor Cats But Oh Heck Yeah-one Never Knows On A Dark Night In A Dark Doorway If One Will Run Out--espec In Heat. She Will Definitely Be Spayed--count On That!!! The Vet Said She Is About 6 Mo Old So I Am Presuming This Litter Of 10 Is Her First And All My Vet Can Keep Saying Is "10 Kittens" And Shaking His Head And Oh Yes, Fizzy Foamed Terrrible From The Mouth And Nose After The Mycodex She Licked From The Kits And I Was Scared To Death For All Of Them!!! Anyway So Far-all Good Only 3 Too Small And We Have Not Killed The Fleas. I Think The 3 Are Getting Anemic As They Are Losing Some Hair. I Got Alot Of Good Advice Tonight And If There Is More Out There Please Keep It Coming. I Am On Disability=home All Day And Night And If There Is A Way I Will Do What It Takes So They All Come Through This. And Thank You To All Of You, Bev

I use Advantage on mother cats and kittens who are heavily flea-infested. But never put the whole dose on a little kitten - take a syringe instead and draw out just a drop from the tube. The label doesn't say this is okay because tests to prove its safety haven't been conducted yet but I have never had a problem with it. If kittens are flea infested then they are probably anemic and bathing them is dangerous because it can cause their body temperatures to drop. Advantage is a very safe product and I've used it on many kittens with zero problems.

Ear mites, I wouldn't worry about until the kittens are older. You can ask the vet what s/he recommends but it's a less urgent problem since kittens can't die from problems caused by ear mites (but they can die from flea anemia). If the vet isn't comfortable giving them medicine for ear mites, you can just clean their ears to keep them under control till the kittens are big enough to be treated.

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Advantage Multi does earmites too.

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I've never heard of Advantage Multi... hmm.... maybe they don't sell it around here? That's interesting that they have one to kill ear mites.

Originally Posted by TNR1

Missymotus....if your friend needs a low cost clinic for the mom...let me know.

Katie

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Thank You Katie, she lives in Kenosha Wisonsin

Thank You Katie, she lives in Kenosha Wisonsin

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Ok..this is what I've found:

WISCONSIN
Humane Animal Welfare Society
Waukesha WI
262-542-8851

Countryside Humane Society
Racine WI
262-554-6699
Low cost s/n services offered once a week for pets of Racine County residents.

9Lives Animal Adoption & Rescue
Milwaukee WI
414-299-9002

City Animal Hospital
Glendale WI
414-332-5555

Wisconsin Humane Society
SNAP Program
Milwaukee WI
414-431-6205

Wisconsin Friends of Animals
Milwaukee WI
414-342-5842

Animal Protective League
Wauwatosa WI
414-453-7177

Alliance for Animals
112 State Street #605
Madison, WI 53703
608-257-6333
For people who can't afford it, AFA helps pay for spay/neuter of pets and rescued strays.

Washburn County Area Humane Society
Spooner, WI
Helps pay for spay/neuter for pets of people of fixed income or low income.

Just a little disclaimer: As far as I know Advantage is NOT labelled for use in nursing queens and only in kittens 8 weeks and older. Revolution IS labelled as safe in nursing queens and kittens 6 weeks and older. While I agree that in certain circumstances using these products off label is better than letting kittens die of flea anemia, I would recommend using them only under a vets direction.