big time fleas

i got home from work and thought that seaphur had gotten into something because he looked a little dirty. i wanted to give him a bath and clean him up,(he had some poop that neaded to be cleaned up too). when we wet him there was a bunch of fleas all over his back and i told m husband i waqs going to the store right away to get something to fix it. i got some flea shampoo and some flea collars,(couldn't do much better @ 11pm) and when we rewet him there were alot of fleas on his chest and face. the flea comb was pretty much useless and they stayed put. i've got collars on them both,(his brother snoop doesn't seem as bad but he's also quite black) and tomorrow i'm going to get some good spot treatment for them to get rid of the problem but i'm really freaked out because i've never seen this many fleas before and they looked fine before i went to work. i never saw quite this many fleas when i was working at an animal hospital and i'm wondering if anyone has any advice or tips or anything like that because i feel so bad for the little guy and want ot make sure it gets taken care of soon. i'm going to go to the vet if we have to. poor lil' guy is only 4 months old

Please keep a careful watch on your kitten. Many flea shampoos are toxic and flea collars are a definite no- especially for a kitten. I would urge you to take the flea collars off now- if you read the instructions that come with flea collars, it says do not put next to skin. But flea collars are a highly concentrated form of toxin that can really cause problems.

To get rid of the fleas, give the kitty a bath in warm water and a little bit of DAWN liquid detergent. Then use a flea comb and comb kitty out carefully and get him dry quickly as well. Plunge the fleas in a jar of hot water with more Dawn in that water. Make sure you switch out the bedding daily and keep that laundered as well. Take those flea collars and cut them up and put the pieces in your vacuum bag when you vacuum the floor and they will kill the fleas you suck up. You can even encourage ants to come in your house. Ants eat fleas, or sprinkle diatomaceous earth in your carpets and along your walls and also outside your home.

I hope your kitty doesn't come down ill based on the flea treatment it has been given so far- good luck!

do you know how soon after removing the collars i can use something like frontline?

Yes, you can use Frontline. It is non-toxic to cats and absorbs into the hair follicles, not the bloodstream, so it is very safe.

Throw out the collars and the flea shampoos because they are not effective and potentially very harmful. The vacuum and Frontline are your best weapons here.

thanks very much

Before you use anything, please contact your vet. I'm no expert, but using Frontline or anything so soon after the flea collar would scare me as we wouldn't know how much toxicity is already in his/her system from the collar and you sure don't want to overdo it and kill the cat.

Please take kitty to the vet, tell him what you have already done and get his/her advice before using over-the-counter products.

Frontline is safe because it only absorbs into the hair follicles and doesn't get in the bloodstream.