I found a Flea on my 5 month old kitten, Not sure where to go from here.. PLEASE HELP!!!

[strongd2121]

Last night when petting my kitten I had found a flea on him. I went to the store and bought Hartz Flea prevention medicine that you put on its neck to kill the fleas. I also bought flea shampoo but I don't want to over dose him so I haven't used it. I only seen one flea so I know hes not infested but i'm sure if there's one there a couple Im not seeing. Im not sure how long it takes but today when petting him there's still an alive flea on him. (He wont let me get it off him) What other precautions should I take to prevent the issue from getting worse? Does the medicine im using work? Anything else I should try?

 

[GoldyCat]

PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY OVER-THE-COUNTER FLEA MEDICATION ON YOUR KITTEN!!!!!! They have ingredients in them that are toxic to cats. The same goes for flea collars. The only safe products are ones that you get from your vet, by prescription.

For now I would give your kitten a bath using Dawn dish detergent. It won't completely get rid of the fleas and eggs, but it will drown some of them and it will remove the stuff you've already put on him. It should be only the original Dawn formula, not concentrated, not antimicrobial or any of the other fancy formulas. And be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse again after you bathe him.

A very fine-toothed flea comb will also help get some of the fleas off him.

Have you already established a relationship with a vet for your kitten's shots, etc.? If not, this would be a good time to do that. If your vet has already seen the kitten s/he might be willing to give you a prescription without having to take him back in.

 

[sugarsandz]

You can also just call a vet and tell them you want to get flea treatment, sometimes they will let you pick it up without being seen if you don't have the money.

Also and this is as important as treating the cat itself, vacuum your house daily for a while as there are going to be fleas in the carpet and not just on the kitty. A lot of vets can also recommend a treatment for your house and or yard to help with the issue. The one we've always used is Virbac Knockout and it works in the house for like 3 or 4 months and comes a spray can. You'd have to get the cat out of the area for a few hours during treatment, a can lasted us a while as we had a small living space but it works wonders. Using the flea comb daily will help as well, the biggest problem with fleas is that many people only treat their pets but fleas can stay in the carpet and the like for some time.

In some areas even people without pets get fleas because they track them in unknowingly. You also might vacuum your car just in case. Fleas suck and I've dealt with them to many times but they are not hard to get rid of if you stay on top of it and treat the house/apartment and the pets. Good luck with it, make sure to change out your vacuum bags!

Also a good way to see if they are still around is to put a flashlight or something similar over a dish of water, dish soap or something they will drown in and leave it there over night, check in the morning for fleas in the dish as they will be attracted to the light at night when it's otherwise dark.

 

[strongd2121]

Yeah shortly after i wrote that I was doing some research on flea control and read how harmful that that medication is and I immediatly gave my cat a bath to wash it off. I furthered my research and found out about capstar with the use of program for flea prevention. Although Im going to call my vet in the morning, I have read that  both do not have a toxicity to cats so i believe thats what I am going to try as long as the vet okays it. I have never dealt with fleas before and assumed that something sold in the stores would be okay to give my cat, I guess ill be looking closer before I waste my money next time. And as far as using Dawn soap on him, Im afraid to because i know its gonna be hard to wash off and its impossible to give him a normal bath, He has to be sponge bathed in order to bathe him. I used his normal soap just to was it off. Its still a little greasy but I washed it twice i just cat seem to get it all off. (im assuming its still on somewhat since his hairs greasy)