My week old kittens have fleas. How can I get rid of them on babies and mommy?

Question

I know that fleas are very dangerous for the babies. I didn't find out until Patches was already pg that she had fleas, so I couldn't use anything on her or it would have gotten to the babies. Now the kittens, mommy, and their bed are full of fleas. The babies are a week old. How can I get rid of them without harming any of them? I don't want to lose them because of flea infestation. Please help! I only have about $10 until this weekend, so I can't get very much. And I don't have a flea comb. Can I get a flea comb, comb the babies, and dip the comb in a bowl of water with soap to kill the fleas? What can I use on Patches so it won't harm the babies when they crawl all over her? I can wash the bed in hot water, but not until they are all treated. I am very concerned and plan to call the vet tomorrow, but was wondering if anyone can help me. I also have another adult cat with fleas that doesn't go around the babies and I do plan to get her treated right away.

I do plan to get the cats spayed (both adults) once the babies are weaned. The vet won't spay the one that is nursing. We won't keep any of the kittens (two are already spoken for to excellent homes). I am just worried aabout the kittens being soooooo badly flea infested.

I called a vet this morning. They said to get a flea comb and get the fleas off that way, then kill them in water. They also said to get Advantage for under 9 pounds and put only one drop on each baby. I am having a vet tech call me today with any other ideas and told them I will take them in if I have to as this will be a huge task for only one person to do. And how am I supposed to keep the fleas from getting back on them? If I change them to another bed, it will get in that bed too while I wash this one. And I have to do all this while in the process of haiving my sister come to stay with us this week and our getting ready to move!! But I will do it as I don't want the babies to die from flea anemia.

Answer 1

NO FLEA MEDICINE ON OR NEAR THE BABIES WHEN THEY ARE THAT YOUNG...UNFORTUNATLY A BATH IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO INCLUDING MOTHER CAT i work with animals and it can make still nursing babies very sick if mother is treated in any way...a bath will be fine and a got frequent wiped down with wet clothe for babies also a visit to the vet may be neccesary

Answer 2

The kittens will be fine until you can get to a vet tomorrow. The best thing that you can do is when you get to the vet, ask for a spray by frontline for kittens. What you do is spray it on a washclothe and then rub it on them. For the Mother, I recommend Advantage. Also make sure that you get your other cats treated, otherwise it's all pretty pointless. Your cats may not be near each other, but the fleas will still be around. Good luck!

Answer 3

when a cat has kittens ,, fleas are attracted to young blood this is the reason they have fleas at only 1 week old but to get rid of the fleas since the kittens are too young to be applyed with any flea product dirrectly to their fur you will need to deflea the mother cat as the kittens are near mother cat the product will work on kittens without harming them water and soap will not work ,, you need to go to your nearest super market and purchase flea product for cats if you say all the fleas are in the bedding wash bedding and blankets and I suggest you purchase a flea powder to sprinkle slightly over bedding once washed all the instructions will be on the back of the product ...
you mentioned your other cat had fleas too you need to deflea that cat also and any other animals you may have in the house otherwise the fleas will continue to spread

Answer 4

I know this will sound weird, I at one time had six cats and terrible flees so bad the cats wouldn't walk on the floor they would jump from furniture to furniture. My vet told me to sprinkle 20 Mule Team Borax on the carpet, furniture and around their bed, even mix a little in their kitty litter box (also had brand new kittens). I left the 20 Mule Team Borax on the carpets and such and just vacuumed it up the next day. Did this the next week and never had a flea problem again and known of the cats or kittens got ill. Good Luck

Answer 5

I would suggest seperating the two larger cats from the baby cats and feeding them all from a bottle, because even if you do get the mother debugged, they're going to want to suck on her, and the residual medicine might not be safe for the babies. To debug the babies, I would use warm water and dishwashing soap or regular hand soap, but obviously you're going to have to remove all the flease manually.....this won't be a hard task since the babies are so tiny. You do need to get the kittens debugged though, babies having fleas can lead to serious health problems and even death. If you're going to remove the bugs with hand soap or dishwashing soap, be gentle when plucking/removing the bugs.

Answer 6

You really need to get Advantage from the vet. That will be your best bet. Since they're so young, I'd take the cat and the kittens in and have him apply it to them. You can put an application of advantage on mom for her bodyweight, but the vet can put a very teeny tiny bit on the babies (only allow your vet to do this, or as him/her to show you how). That would be the safest method for the cat and her babies.

Answer 7

Yep. Only the vet can help you on this... the babies are too young to get topical treatment by you. The vet will be able to determine the dosage for the kittens. Good luck. Die fleas, die!! I hate those little critters. I have to spend $100's of dollars for my three cats to be flea free. Die fleas!!!

Answer 8

I know you want to help them.

Please check with a vet for information or the internet. Some flea products really can make a cat sick......especially kittens. Best wishes. Cats are special:)

Remember everyone Spay and Neuter...it's so important. Too many pets and not enough good homes.

Answer 9

this is going to sound strange but in this circumstance i think it would be worth a try my grandma always swore by salt!! plain table salt just sprinkle it on everything!! and let it set if you dont like the grit you can vacum it up after a while. but its perfectly safe for the babys and wont really hurt anything to stay where you put it. I always remember my grannys house as spotless clean but heavly sprinkled with salt. made sleeping on the sofa a bid um uncomfortable. But she never had fleas!!

Answer 10

Vet. And when the kittens all go to good homes, Vet again for a spay.