Please Answer! Will the rescued kittens' fleas infect me? How can I get rid of them?!?

Question

We just rescued three stray kitten babies yesterday and noticed today they had a few fleas. We bathed them and picked out the fleas (5 total) even though I'm guessing they are more. We have a dog (who is on Frontline) so I'm not too worried about him. We threw out the blankets that we had given to the kittens, gave them a new box and new pillow...all that.

How likely is it that any of the fleas are on me and/or my boyfriend? I have long hair (but always tie it up) so I'm kinda freaking out here. Just the thought of fleas makes me itchy so I can't go by that theory...lol....We're just freaking out a bit.

Also, any suggestions how long will it take to get rid of all the fleas? Do you think we got rid of them all (I know this is probably wishful thinking)!

Please help! We're dog people, but we just had to take them in to protect and care for them.

Answer 1

As long as you have pets fleas will prefer to go after them. Fleas don't live in your dog or cat they feed from them (or us), if your dog goes out and you are not careful with the use of frontline it probably means you have hundreds of eggs inside your home and you need to break the cycle. I suggest to go Heavy metal on fleas if you want to get rid of them. First I suggest to put the kittens on frontline I heard it is safe for kittens too. ( Frontline for CATS, do not use your dog's frontline on them). Second clean your house very well, wash all of your clothing (bed clothing, washable carpets, etc) and dry everything on the highest heat possible, then put borax for 1 hour on every carpet and hidden place you suspect fleas could live and then use your vacuum cleaner (best weapon against them), then dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag sealing it very well so the stupid fleas and flea eggs die. If your kitties or dog go out treat your yard too. There are cheap chemical treatments that you can use. And voilá! problem solved, after that Frontline and your vacuum cleaner are pretty much all you'll need.

No, fleas won't live in your hair, you shower everyday, right?, so possibilities are close to none. The worse that could happen is getting bitten. I got a few good bites from my cat's fleas, but I am allergic so I got a skin reaction. But I did everything I explained to you and now we live in a flea free enviroment and my cat goes outdoors!.

Answer 2

Having fleas is not the end of the world. Not doing something about it could be.

You have taken good first steps. Keep checking the kittens daily for fleas and comb out any that you find, drop the flea comb in a coffee mug of microwaved very hot water. The fleas will die instantly.

You can check with a vet office. If you can estimate the age of the kittens there may be flea medications that can be put on them. Get it from your dog's vet.

Thank you for your efforts to protect and care for these orphaned babies.

Answer 3

Fleas, all live on a specific host and do not switch. DOg fleas stay on dogs, cat fleas on cats.... and yes there IS a type of human flea, but they do not live on cats! You may get bites if you are holding the kitten, or if the fleas spread to your environment. However you have taken a good first step, just keep the kittens in a seprate room and wash blankets daily in hot water and in the dryer on the hottest setting(this will kill all fleas and eggs on the blankets no need to throw them out just wash them every day) Make sure not to use any over the counter flea drops or shampoo as they are not very safe for kittens. The vet may help you out and give you free dose of Advantage etc. My vet treated the three kittens I found and gave me free flea meds, and only charged me for dewormer. In between the time before I got to take them to the vet I kept them seperate from my 4 cats and they did not get fleas. Just do like I said and keep them clean and wash blankets often, until you can take them to a vet to get flea meds. You can also go to a pet store and buy a flea comb which will help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea

PS you can also buy diatomaceous earth which kills insects but is not harmful to kittens or cats, and you can sprinkle it around the house or in the room with the kittens to prevent infestation of your house. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Answer 4

Kittens can be flea dipped/sprayed, but be careful of the dosage. If you use an adult cat dose on them, they can get very sick.

Unless you were letting the kittens rub on your hair, the chance of you getting the fleas is very minimal. Even if they had more fleas than they did, you should be fine. They do jump, but they're not olympic athletes.

It also may be a good idea to turn the kittens over to your local animal shelter. Depending on how old they are, they may still need the care of a mother cat. Sometimes, shelters will have other nursing cats who will adopt stray kittens as their own.

Answer 5

You didn't mention how old the kittens might be. That said, fleas are a lot like roaches in that if you see one, there are probably MANY more. What I would do is go to your local pet-friendly store (PETCO, PETSMART, whatever) and find a kitten-safe dip to use on them. You'll also need to check for ear mites (which are bits of black/brown/white found inside the kittens outer ear and can be treated with Tiny Tiger Ear Mite treatment), ticks and obvious wounds. Of course, you can't forget the other cat care items every 'parent' needs (litter box with litter, in which you should place each kitten individually so they'll know it's there; and the other basics). After that you might want to visit your vet and have them looked at (particularly for FeLV, which can be deadly).

Answer 6

Believe it or not fleas prefer the blood of animals to that of humans. So it is not likely you or your boyfriend will get fleas from the new kittens. In the morning call the vet and see if you can put Advantage on the kittens (if they are over 6 weeks you should be able) and then you won't have to worry.

Answer 7

Fleas do not live on people. They may bite you but that is about it. They do not like the taste of human blood. Treat the kittens with some top spot for kittens from the vet and that should be good enough for now.

Answer 8

Fleas can and will get on you if you do not rid the cats of them. Believe me I know. I had it happen to me and freaked out. I know for dogs you can use Capstar which is an excellent product. In a matter of one hour after giving it to the dog all fleas are killed. Do not know if it can be used on cats however. Ask a vet. I give one tab to my dog every third day even though I have him on Advantix. Used to use Frontline. Like Advantix alot better. Also bomb. Publix sells 3 bombs for 5.99 but get up all water, food bowls, food, shut off air, close windows and get you and the pets out for at least 2 hours.then air out before going in Good Luck.....

Answer 9

I'm glad you're checking the kittens for fleas. At the vets office I used to work at, we'd frequently get kittens coming in with 'flea anemia.' So many fleas that they were dying from loss of blood, and we could usually not save all the kittens in a litter when it happened. They have so little blood, it doesn't take much for them to be affected. Call a vet or go see the PetSmart vet if you have questions - they're usually happy to help. If they aren't, quit talking to that vet, they obviously suck. :-)

Answer 10

The fleas may bite you but they will not live in your hair or on your skin. They can get in your carpet and/or rugs, though and cause an infestation in your home. It's good your dog is protected from them. I would suggest you contact your vet and see if there is something you can put on them to kill the fleas before they have a chance to spread. I would also warn against buying any remedy from the regular store because I did once and my cat almost died from it. Good luck!