Kitten with fleas

My four (gack!) week old has fleas and I am combing them out (no other way at this age)... does anyone know how many to expect? I have removed four fleas, saw a fifth but couldn't catch it. Will try again in another hour (giving the poor girl a break.)

Also, how long on average do they last?

Until you can use an egg inhibitor, and some good flea medication, they will keep mutltiplying. Fleas reproduce faster than I have seen anything else! Especially now that spring is here. Just make sure and use the comb every day and then when the time is right, treat the house and him.

Thank you very much for your help! I think I have about 2-3 weeks until she will be ok for treatment. I just hope I can find a suitable/safe carpet treatment for her - she will be 7 weeks old by then.

I have heard about mousse and a spray that is alright for such young kittens although I am surprised the vet didn't mention these. She said there wasn't anything for such a young kitten, although apparently there is (somewhere)... is this maybe because I am in Canada?

Usually minimum is 8 weeks for kittens. I know they say these things are safe, but not for very fragile kittens. If you can find it..you can use a spray called knockout for the house. It is safe to use around kittens because you spray the house and then let it dry for an hour before letting the kitten roam again. Then if you can get it in canada, Pfizer makes revolution for kittens and it is a topical for worms,ear mites, fleas and ticks. I think it can be used on kittens 6-8 weeks old.

you can use Rid(tm) LICE shampoo by this method:
mix 1 tablespoon Rid and 1 cup warm water. Dip lice comb in solution comb through kittens fur. wrap (WET- actually damp) kitten in towel. wait 20 mins. Wet a washcloth with warm water and wipe kitty off good. Dry with towel you warmed in dryer (make sure its not too hot) and give back to mommy. The kitten will not be licking it off and this is a HUMAN product so it is not going to hurt it or mommy when she grooms the kitten. I had infested kitties (had a sand pit near my old house) and fleas were a persistent problem This method worked on all of my kitties. good luck

I know this post is pretty old, but I thought I'd put out a suggestion that may help others. There's a flea pill called Capstar that you can get from your vet. This pill is safe for kittens 4 weeks and older and also pregnant and nursing mothers. The pill kills adult fleas within 30 minutes of taking the pill and within 6 hours all fleas are dead. You give this pill once a day until you no longer see adult fleas. It's pretty cheap too, about $15 for 6 pills. Works great.

Dawn

I hate to say this, but that would be $60.00 a month if you had a flea problem. You can get advantage or frontline for 25.00 and thats for 3 months worth. The capstar only kills the adult fleas for the one day. As we all know, fleas reproduce very quickly. Once fleas are in the house, the house needs to be treated for one, but then the eggs and adults need to be killed until all the life cycles have been taken care of. Bayer came up with the capstar because their regular product only killed the larvae. They did this to use in conjuntion instead of people having to buy both program and advantage.

Hi I got a kitten at 6 weeks and was holding him and noticed fleas walking everywhere. Gave him a bath and killed at least 50 fleas and still they were everwhere so I went to the vet he told me just to use the advantage. The next day couldn't find a one Thank goodness. Go to the vet.

The Capstar was only recommended for kittens too young for Advantage coming into a home with no fleas. It was not meant to control a flea infestation. When I got Max, he was too young for conventional treatment but he was covered with fleas. Within 3 days, his fleas were gone, and because I daily washed all the bedding and linens he touched in the meantime, they didn't get a hold of my house. This is why I was recommending this product for a 4 week old kitten.

Dawn

Cedar repels fleas, maybe try buying some cedar balls or cedar blocks and place them under blankets in your cat's bed.