Six Week Old Kitten With Worms.

[Hogglesworth]

I've never had a kitten before, and I have young children, so I'm kinda freaking out.

We just got this kitten yesterday. Apparently she was found abandoned on the side of the road. I noticed the moment she was handed to me that while she was tiny, her belly seemed unusually big, so I started googling. I arranged a first vet visit before I picked her up, but they couldn't fit us in till Thursday. We went first thing this morning to drop off a stool sample, and yup, lots of eggs in there. They gave her liquid pyrantol at the office, and sent us home with Albon pills to give the next ten days.

So we've got the treatment set up, but what do I need to do in the meantime to ensure my children aren't going to get worms as well, and that she continues to improve? She pooped on the carpet twice(I've since moved the litter box to that place, she has used it in the other location but only when I saw her heading back to that same carpeted spot, picked her up, and put her in the litter box). I cleaned the floor with vinegar and almost boiling water, then carpet cleaner and vacuumed). I'm trying to ensure the kids wash their hands after each time I see them touch her. I don't want to remove her poop from the box right away, as she still seems to be learning that the box is the bathroom, but I did scoop first thing this morning, and figured that's what I'll do each day. The vet advised cleaning it with bleach after the ten days of medicine, is there anything more I need to do in the meantime?

I don't currently have any bleach in the house, but it's on our shopping list for this afternoon, as well as disinfectant wipes. I figure I'll mop and wipe down everything after my spouse gets home tonight.

Re: the vacuum - it's bagless. I figure I can soak the collection part in bleach, but what do I do about the filter? Do I need to go crazy washing every linen in the house like with fleas? If so, do I do those thing now, or do I wait until she's finished the Albon treatment? And we've kept her on the main floor - do I need to worry about cleaning the basement and upstairs as well?

Sorry for asking so many questions! I've never had to deal with worms before, much less with a two and five year old in constant proximity, and I tend to fall into catastrophic thinking. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[cheesycats]

Any worm a cat has is only transferable with the consumption of the eggs. I would just scrub the floor where the cat pooped with hot soapy water and keep the kids away from it for a couple days while it dries. And of course make sure they don’t have easy access to the litter box so they don’t try putting her poop in thier mouths. That’s the biggest thing really. Which I don’t think is too hard to do lol. Treat the cat and keep the box extra clean for the next week or two and you should be just fine.

 

[Hogglesworth]

Thank you! I tend to jump to worst case scenario, and even though I know I do this, I worry that the time I *don't* is going to be the time I should have. Heh.

This is the little fluffer, btw. We've named her Skia(Greek for "shadow"). She is incredibly sweet and playful! I'm a little amazed at how fast she fit into our family.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Oh my goodness! She is cute!!

Did a rescue take her in before you got her? Do you know how old she is?

 

[cheesycats]

She is really cute.

 

[Q2U]

...she pooped on the carpet...

Hope this doesn’t stray too far from the OP (and this may not be practical for you)...but you should get rid of your carpets which are a hotbed of bacteria, pollen, dead skin and dust. A simple Google query will enlighten you as to everything which lurks within carpets. Your family will be healthier if you rid yourself of them.

 

[Hogglesworth]

Oh my goodness! She is cute!!

Did a rescue take her in before you got her? Do you know how old she is?

Aww, thank you! She really is. And no, it was just a random person on Craigslist. We decided to add a cat to the family over a year and a half ago, after our elderly jack Russell passed, but we only recently started actively looking(the only real criteria was a black cat - my spouse has always wanted to have a black cat). We had an application with a shelter to adopt an older cat, but he ended up finding his new home before it was processed. This little one and her brother showed up right after, and it just seemed like kismet, especially once we got her home(I offered to take both, as they said they seemed very bonded, but someone else had already decided to take in the male).

The people who brought her in from outside said she's about 6 weeks old, so that's what I'm going with unless the vet tells us differently at our appointment Thursday. She is tiny - easily held in one hand - but she's running climbing, and playing well, so I think she would have to be at least 5 weeks.

 

[Hogglesworth]

Hope this doesn’t stray too far from the OP (and this may not be practical for you)...but you should get rid of your carpets which are a hotbed of bacteria, pollen, dead skin and dust. A simple Google query will enlighten you as to everything which lurks within carpets. Your family will be healthier if you rid yourself of them.

Oh, I'm completely on the same page, I HATE carpet. I've been trying to convince my spouse for years to let me rip out this carpet and refinish the wood floors underneath. Unfortunately, when he and his ex removed the carpet upstairs, they found the original floors were in horrible shape, with some sections having been replaced with plywood(it's a one hundred year old house). I'm in the process of setting aside enough money to be able to completely replace the floor should we find the main floor/stairs in similar situations. THEN I can be rid of this dumb carpeting.