Newborn kittens and fleas?!

[rautumn89]

our adopted stay cat had kittens today! 5 healthy grey kitttens.. they all seem to be doing great besides the scare she gave me in between the first and the second kitten (over an hour).. the fleas though.. we’ve tried advantage, frontline gold..& even an off brand ( NoT HARTZ.. never use HARTZ on your animals!) but nothing is working and now hundreds of dollars later she(and our other 2 cats) still have them.. I know the kittens probably already do to.. so I am wondering what is safe for a nursing cat and her very young kittens? Even the all natural spray I have says 12 weeks and up.. plus it doesn’t work very well at all. Are they too young for dawn? Is it safe to give her more flea medication before the month is up(since it clearly didn’t work)? Also if anyone has some cute kitten names please let me know!

I just wanted to add that our vet (2 different ones actually) recommended these flea medications to us!

 

[StefanZ]

Advocate 2 is suppose safe and good. If desperate enough you can prob try with dawn, but be sure they dont get chilled out! Extra warmth afterwards too...

DE. Diacetomeus earth, human / food grade good to keep them at bay around...

When you deworm kittens with time be sure you deworm against tapeworm too. Fex using Milbomax.

 

[Sarthur2]

I really do not recommend bathing newborns the first 3 weeks, plus if the fleas are on mom and your other cats, they will immediately return to the kittens.

Many popular flea meds do not work well anymore as fleas have become immune to them. Gently flea comb the kittens daily and drop the fleas into a bowl or glass of warm water with Dawn in it. They will drown.

Use the diatomaceous earth (food grade) on your adult cats and on your floors. I would not spray anything toxic around the house right now due to the kittens. Leave it a few hours then vacuum.

Your adult cats can be given a Capstar pill each which will kill the fleas on their bodies. I would not give it to mom though as it causes itching when the fleas begin dying and jumping off.

Wash all bedding in hot water and vacuum regularly to get up flea eggs and larvae.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you are infested and this takes work and time to cure.

Once the kittens are 5 weeks old you can put tiny drops of Advantage II for Kittens on the back of their necks.

Do flea comb the kittens daily as flea anemia can kill kittens.

Edited to add: I saw your posts on another thread about sprays and Revolution. Do NOT use anything on the day old kittens other than a flea comb. You can put Revolution on your other cats, but I would wait to use it on mom right now. It’s strong and may be toxic to the kittens at present.

rautumn89

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I agree with the above recommendations. Do not put anything on the kittens and do not put anything on the mother cat. A flea comb will be your new best friend when it comes to the kittens.. it is going to take time patience and persistence.

 

[emocatowner]

Great suggestions so far!

I'd add to use a steam cleaner on the floor and environment, if you have one.