no flea relief!!!!!

I had asked about flea removal for my 2 and a half week old kittens. I tried the dawn and the lice comb, but to no avail. I tried picking them off, that was useless. I changed the bedding, and the room is spotless. I am so freaked out that i can't seem to help these poor little babies. If anyone has another suggestion, i would really appreciate it.

neesse, Olive,and babies

wont ur vet's give u anything for them our's used front line we had to put some on to a cottonwool ball and wipe it over them this is what the vet had said to do , good luck

Originally Posted by neessee

I had asked about flea removal for my 2 and a half week old kittens. I tried the dawn and the lice comb, but to no avail. I tried picking them off, that was useless. I changed the bedding, and the room is spotless. I am so freaked out that i can't seem to help these poor little babies. If anyone has another suggestion, i would really appreciate it.

neesse, Olive,and babies

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Neesse.....Did you take mom in to be treated?? Is she seperate from the kittens as was recommended until all the fleas have been removed from the kittens?? I would like to understand why the lice comb did not work for you as it worked perfectly well for my foster kittens.

Katie

Katie


the lice comb did not pull anything off at all. I tried for hours, and ended up with 5 fleas. My vet told me not to put anything on my mamma because she is nursing. They said i have to wait 2 more weeks, before i can put anything on her or the babies. they told me to try and pick them off.

soooooo frustrated

thank you for your advice, I appreciate that. I'll ask my vet again, because all he told me to do was pick them off, until they are 2 weeks older

thanks again
neessee and babies

I got some mean replies to last time that I posted what I am about to say but I will post it anyways:

When my kittens had fleas(4 days old) I took 2 large bowls, one with warm water and a couple dropos of dawn soap and another with clean, warm water. First I sepereated mama and babies. I then changed the bedding and bathed mama and pu her in the clean bed and let her dry a bit. I then bathed the kittens. I did one at a time. As I bathed one I wiped off most of the water and then gave it to the mama to dry. I waited for mama to completely dry the baby before bathing another one and so on...

I have not had any fleas since and the kittens are now 3 1/2 weeks old. I know some people say to use a comb, but I have found that the comb does not reach the fleas because they tend to be on the skin of the kittens and the comb can't catch them.

Anyways, I have used the bathing method numerous times before with no problems, only success and I know as soon as I post this that someone will come along and tell me how terrible I was for bathing my kittens....yada, yada, yada! However, I figured that I would post it anyway because it works for me and it will work for you!

Good luck with the kittens and I hope you get rid of the fleas no matter what method you use!

I know as soon as I post this that someone will come along and tell me how terrible I was for bathing my kittens....yada, yada, yada!

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Tortiebaby....Gayef who is the moderator of this forum has posted over and over again regarding the fact that kittens should not be bathed.

Katie

Please do not bathe your 2 week old kittens. I realize the comb method is difficult and yes, time consuming, but it is the ONLY way to SAFELY remove fleas from young kittens. Just keep working at it and it does work.

As for advice received in this, or for that matter, ANY Internet Forum, it needs to be said here that no online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill or if you are considering using unproven methods of home-treatment, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forums while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.

Originally Posted by TortieBaby

I got some mean replies to last time that I posted what I am about to say but I will post it anyways:

When my kittens had fleas(4 days old) I took 2 large bowls, one with warm water and a couple dropos of dawn soap and another with clean, warm water. First I sepereated mama and babies. I then changed the bedding and bathed mama and pu her in the clean bed and let her dry a bit. I then bathed the kittens. I did one at a time. As I bathed one I wiped off most of the water and then gave it to the mama to dry. I waited for mama to completely dry the baby before bathing another one and so on...

I have not had any fleas since and the kittens are now 3 1/2 weeks old. I know some people say to use a comb, but I have found that the comb does not reach the fleas because they tend to be on the skin of the kittens and the comb can't catch them.

Anyways, I have used the bathing method numerous times before with no problems, only success and I know as soon as I post this that someone will come along and tell me how terrible I was for bathing my kittens....yada, yada, yada! However, I figured that I would post it anyway because it works for me and it will work for you!

Good luck with the kittens and I hope you get rid of the fleas no matter what method you use!

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You are taking a risk, maybe it worked now but it won't necessarily always work or work for everyone. They can get chilled too quickley for one and kittens cannot regulate their body temperature until they are older. The flea comb will get a few but I pick them off too. It takes a looong time and it is a pain in the butt but it is the best way to get fleas off such young babies.

I forgot I wanted to add: I think it might make a difference since you have the mother cat to tend to them and keep them warm. I still don't recommend bathing such young ones, but if the mother tends to them, that is better then if they were orphaned kittens and you yourself had to keep them warm with blankets.

i still can't understand y ur vet's cannot give u anything for them , i phoned when my kitten's was only 3 day's old and they told me i could treat them with frontline ( spray bottle) just spray some on a cotton wool ball and wipe it over the kitten's i took them down to the vet's with me and he showed me how to with 1 of them then i did the other 2 and mamma aswell , and they were fine i also tried the comb thing when they was 2 day's old but i didn't get one as soon as i saw one it jumped out of site good luck

I have always been told that kittens under 8 weeks old shouldn't be treated with anything for fleas, other than a comb! Also, if you shouldn't be treating kittens under 8 weeks I'd be leary of treating a nursing mom too.

We are going through the same thing you are, although our flea problem is very minor (knock on wood!) and my babies have no momma other than me. I have been keeping ours in the bathroom to try and contain the fleas and to *try* and keep them separate from Maui. I took all the fabric stuff they can get to out of the bathroom. Every night I have been combing them and rinsing the comb off in a bowl of water with Dawn dish soap. I haven't found any fleas in a few days but I am noticing less and less flea dirt. I think you just have to keep on it as frustrating as it may be. I read somewhere that it can take up to 6 weeks (and I'm sure longer depending on the situation) to fully eradicate a flea infestation. I've also read that you can sprinkle Borox onto the carpet- leave it for a day or so- then vacuum it up to help kill fleas/eggs. Someone on here always tells people to cut up a flea collar & put it in the vacuum bag (or canister) to help kill the fleas you do vacuum, which I thought was an excellent idea. If you have fleas really bad you might want to change the vacuum bag each time to prevent them from crawling back out- put it outside rather than just in your kitchen garbage.

Sorry if this is all stuff you've already tried or knew about. It's what has been working for me so I thought I'd share! Good luck!

Food grade diatomaceous earth is very safe for cats and kittens ..... heres a link in describing it .......http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Hey, I got this flea spray and it says it is safe for nursing kittens. It is not harmful to the pets at all, just the fleas. The label does not have any type of "warning" labels on it. I used it on my dog and it worked even when Frontline Plus did not work (I think some of the Frontline dripped off her when it was still wet...) I used it on my foster kitten as well.
The only thing is, the stuff has to touch the fleas to kill them so you need to carefully spray and comb to get it all over. They also recommend rinsing it off when you use it on cats because of how much they lick themselves (it tastes bad.) When I used it on the kitten I just gave her a bath afterwards since she needed one anyway...
You can also use it on surfaces, I sprayed it all over the place in case there were any flea eggs around.
The stuff is called "DeFlea Pet & Area Spray" made by 'Natural Chemistry.'

http://www.kittencare.com/askKC_Litt...leas_just_born
go on to the bit where it say's about flee's it will give u some info and yes there is a spray safe to use on kitten's even though it dons't state what it is called

Originally Posted by XxtashaxX

i still can't understand y ur vet's cannot give u anything for them , i phoned when my kitten's was only 3 day's old and they told me i could treat them with frontline ( spray bottle) just spray some on a cotton wool ball and wipe it over the kitten's i took them down to the vet's with me and he showed me how to with 1 of them then i did the other 2 and mamma aswell , and they were fine i also tried the comb thing when they was 2 day's old but i didn't get one as soon as i saw one it jumped out of site good luck

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I think it is too much of a risk. some kittens may be able to handle it but that is an awful lot of poison going onto such a little one. too much could be really bad and if the kitten perhaps already has a compromised system it may be too much to handle. I have never met a vet who said it is okay to flea treat such young babies. That is odd to me that your does and perhaps slightly irresponsible of him. Unless of course he say the kittens and it was a huge amount of fleas on the kittens. I don't know, I just wouldn't chance it.

we only had a slight problem and i spoke to many vet's b4 this , including rspca ,celia halmton( can't spell it sorry) and a priviate vet i did ask the pdsa but they wouldn't advise me as they do not treat for flee's there i am in london i am not sure where about's u are but i knmow many people who have treated young kitten's on advise from the vet's and have never heard any different

My current mom and babies were loaded with fleas when they came to me at 4 days old. I talked to a vet who recommended treating mother with revolution and capstar. All the fleas were gone within 24 hours- on mother and babies, even though I did not treat the babies. They have been flea free and healthy since living inside with me for the last 6 weeks.

thanx again for your advice, i found a really great shampoo that is all natural and totlally safe for the babies!!!!

neesees olive and the babies

The shampoo may be safe for kittens that are 2 1/2 weeks old, but bathing them is not! Kittens should not be bathed until they are AT LEAST about 8 weeks old and, even then, it should only be done when absolutely necessary!