New Mommy and babies have fleas!!

Long story short....my oldest daughter has a very soft spot for animals...nothing wrong with that.

A couple weeks ago she started feeding this stray cat that showed up outside our home looking pretty ragged. Of course, the kitty came back.

After a week or so I noticed that the kitty, AKA Grace, was looking very chunky. I watched for another week and I was pretty sure she was pregnant. Since she left for days on end I assumed she had a home...and belonged to someone.

Well...she decided yesterday that she was having her kittens here. After she made enough noise to raise the dead...I let her in and secluded her in my bathroom...back of the house away from my other cat.

She had all four babies with no complications and they all seem to be doing well today. The thing is...theyre all covered in fleas. Does anyone know anything safe for one day old kittens and nursings mothers? I dont want to wait until there's a problem from the fleas to try to address it.

Thanks in advance!

Lanna, the 5 flea bags, and Patch!

Awww! I think it's very sweet of you to take her and her babies in.

As far as what to do for the fleas I'm no help. I'm sure someone will come along with an answer for you.

TY. I'm posting flyers to make suure no one is missing thier cat but I'm pretty sure she was a stray. They're rampant here. If no one claims her we're going to keep her, spay her, and try to find homes for the kittens.

It can be very dangerous for newborns to have fleas. If there are enough fleas on them, it can make the babies anemic.
I would call your vet and ask what treatments are safe for new moms and babies.
You're probably also going to need a flea comb as I don't think there is any topical treatment that's safe for newborns.
Good luck!

~Julia

With such young kittens... I would call a vet for advice. Fleas on such small kittens can cause anemia, and that can be problematic so early in life when a kitten's main goal is to grow quickly. But then again, anti-flea stuff has to be toxic to fleas; so naturally it will be at least somewhat toxic to cats...

Will they stay still for you to go over her with a really fine comb? Maybe you can get rid of some of the fleas that way?

[EDIT]Oh, lovely simultaneous posting! Heh. Great minds think alike.[/EDIT]

I replied earlier and said I was no help and then realized that I've been through a slightly similiar situiation. When we rescued Juby at 4 weeks old he was covered (and I mean COVERED) in fleas and had a belly full of worms. The fleas were so bad you could see them crawling on his face. His momma was a feral cat living in an abandoned barn. Anyway, the vet said he was too little for anything and to use a flea comb to pick off the fleas. I did this and it helped get the majority of the fleas off but of course not all of them. With mom being a stray and a new mom I'm not sure how much she's going to let you handle her babies right now. Especially to run a flea comb through them.

I guess my point is to give a little bit of hope here. Juby obviously had major fleas from birth being that he was a feral and he survived it. He was very tiny when we rescued him and ended up with a belly full of worms from the fleas but we eventually got it resolved and he's healthy now.

I hope it works out so well for these kittens.

Thanks for the replies!!

I called my normal vet who cares for Patch, my cat. and Baby, my dog, and they told me to use Advantage or Frontline. She said it's not really approved for nursing cats but shouldnt hurt the babies...and will help with the fleas on the babies too. Grace will let me hold her..we've spoiled her in the last few weeks that she's been visiting. I can probably brush her...I havent tried it, but she's pretty laid back. Thanks again!!

Lanna, Patch, and........

Lanna...as far as the other strays go...you may want to contact one of the groups in the link below to see if they can assist you in trapping and fixing them:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#la

Also...Alley Cat Allies is trying to arrange a huge TNR sesson in New Orleans:

New Orleans Feline Frenzy!
May 8 - 21, 2006
New Orleans, LA

The Feline Frenzy
A spay/neuter extravaganza for the stray/feral cats of the Greater New Orleans area!

Local volunteers needed to help reach the goal of 1000!
Volunteer roles include:

Trapping team leaders (organize groups of trappers with assigned schedules)
Trappers (trap cats, deliver to clinic, and return to original location – must have vehicle)
Trap depot coordinators (oversee trap depot where traps and supplies will be signed-out to trappers)
Volunteer leaders for clinic facilities (oversee volunteers at clinic, following clinic process)
Assistants at clinic facilities (provide hands-on or admin assistance to clinic staff)
To sign up, volunteers from the New Orleans area may contact us at [email protected] or 601-749-5084. (Please provide us your name, email address, phone number, area of interest, availability dates).

Stay tuned for more details!


Katie

Oh!!! Thanks Katie for that info. A lot of the neighbors have been comapling about all the cats...the males are spraying everywhere!! I bet I see at least three strays a day...not always the same ones. I knew that the small town we live in (Population 2000) didnt have the resources to deal with the strays. Maybe we can get some of the people from the organizations involved to come here and help. We're over three hours from New Orleans but maybe they'll still help.

I would send an email and ask if they would be willing to assist in your town as well....it can't hurt.

Katie

This is absolutely NOT recommended, however, I have seen whole litters lost due to fleas form various rescues etc....
Last rescue momma I had was loaded with fleas, and so were her babies as soon as she had them. I was scared to, but I did it anyway and hoped for the best. I put a half dose of Advantage flea drops on momma cat only, even though she was nursing kittens who were only a couple of days old.
I kept the mom away from the babies until it was totally dry, and was very careful to only put it on the back of her neck where she couldn't lick it.
Even so, it was a risk. I knew that, but leaving them full of fleas would kill them for sure so I felt the benefit outweighed the risk.
It worked, within 24 hours the momma and babies were flea free (I did pick off as many as I could off the babies several times a day until the advantage kicked in) The kittens were all fine, not a single problem, so I was lucky.

Again, it is NOT recommended for pregnant or nursing cats. However, faced with the alternative, it is certainly worth asking your vet.

I was told by my vet not to use either frontline or advantage on baby kittens. they can cause brain damage if used before the 8 weeks. I was told I could use frontline on nursing mama but not to use advantage. I was able to fina a kitten flea shampoo at petco that works on very young kittens. Just have to be careful. If there body temp. drops to much you will have sick kittens. if you could dry them off completly that would be good. I used a blow dryer that Has a warm temp. setting. good luck.

I didn't put any on the babies.....

I'm not sure why frontline would be safer, they are both different chemicals and neither are recommended for a nursing mom.

If a vet decides treatment is necessary for a nursing mom then a pyrethin based agent is usually preferred. Frontline is Arylheterocycles based and Advantage is Imidacloprid based.

Winterand Smokey....my vet also said not to use it on the kittens..so dont worry...it's just going on the momma cat.

She (the vet) also said that I can use either...Frontline or Advantage. She did tell me that it hadnt been approved for nursing cats but that she didnt think it would harm the kittens. She said she'd used it with other nursings mothers with no ill effects. So, that's what I'm going to do.

Thanks everyone for the advice!!

Lanna

I was told to use only frontline on the mama cat not advantage. that is what the vet told me. maybe only a little not a whole vile of it.

Just and update. I used the Advantage and it looks like it helped. I wasnt able to find any fleas on the babies today. (I picked them off everyday....the ones i could find anyway.)

I'm so glad it is working..... it's so dangerous forl ittle kittens to have fleas. Not only can it make them anemic but can infect them with other diseases and parasites.

so if you use it on mom it gets rid of the fleas in kittens?

Hi, this is interesting! I have 4 kits from feral Mom in my basement.
The Mom wont' let me near, so Frontline on Mom not an option.
babies have fleas (not seen fleas, seen scratching..) Babies also have
tapeworm (seen the dead ones shed) and probably roundworm (as Mom
has round worms...she threw some up when preggers).

Am doing thorough room cleaning today, first time since Momma went
there about 3 months ago. I will bomb room once Momma leaves
(due to spay her Friday YAYYY!). Babies are lovely.. 2 very friendly, once
friendly, and one aloof. All long haired making flea spotting difficult.

I think are 6 wks now, and am waiting till 8 wks for the Frontline. BUT,
what can I use to shampoo them? Will do that once Momma leaves us
next week.

Any input? Thanks all!

i do not remember the name of it but at petco they have a shampoo that works really well it is for kittens of any age. the bottle is blue and white. I used it last time and it worked really well as we had 7 kittens 2 cats and 1 dog. my cats and dog had fre rome of the house which was really bad as they started to infest the house. I used this shampoo on the kittens and frontline on all the others and it worked really good. i believe I only paid 7.00 for this shampoo. I am going to petco today. I will see what the name of it is. you will also need a flea comb for after there bath. hope this helps.