How to rid 6 week old kittens of fleas!?! PLEASE HELP!!!?

Question

I have my first two kittens, and I'm noticing that they have fleas bite marks, and on one of them lost of flea bite marks, and a few fleas. Everything I've read in the pet store/walmart/ etc... is for kittens above 12 weeks. I've tried given them a dish soap bath, and the damn fleas still cling for life! Can anybody give me better soap bath ideas on how to rid the fleas, or any other important measures I need to take..(house cleaning? animals food/water dish? etc) I will be sooo thanknful for the information, I love my kittens and hate seeing them being so irritated!

P.S- I know this sounds really bad, but I'm a college student, and can not really afford vet visits just yet (I just got the kittens over the weekend) I'm planning on taking them when I can save money, probably in the next few weeks, or upcoming month.

Update: I dont let me kittens outside, we live in an apartment and the owners think its because I come and go and bring the fleas from inside.

I know I look pretty irresponsible with the whole vet-money situation but lets face it, I know it will be a pretty penny. And the people who had the kittens assured me that the kitten were flea free, so I wasnt expecting fleas...and remember this is my first time having kittens, or really understanding fleas.

Thanks for the all the responses so far! I will wait a little while to recieve as much informatuon as possible and then head to walmart to get products.

Answer 1

They are so really young for flea treatments, but try giving them a bath with dishwashing liquid for the soap. You'll have to let it stay on their tender skin for a minute or two until the fleas die, but it should kill them. For your home, get some flea powder for carpet or furniture and sprinkle and let it sit over nite before you vacuum it up. Try keeping the little guys in a box with clean towel or baby blanket on one side, and a shoebox litter pan (lined with plastic or tin foil) on the other.

Answer 2

ok, first of all if the kitten was recieved from somewhere else, it may have had them since you got the kitten. Give it a gentle flea bath (there are flea baths specifcally for baby kittens). Second of all, call your vet and ask about flea programs such as advantage-this will kill current fleas and ticks as well as prevent future occurences, but with it being so young you'd have to ask what is a safe age to start it. Also, fleas live in carpet-make sure your carpets are thoroughly cleaned as once fleas enter a home, carpets make a nice nesting ground until they can hitch a ride on another host (in this case, your kittens).

Answer 3

I did this once and the vet told me to do it to Oscar, who was like 8 weeks old and flea ridden, It will sound harsh mind you but it did work.
Take some rubbing alcohol and wet the kitten's hair with it, once the whole kitten's hair is damp, not dripping wet ok?(watch it with the face, no alcohol should get into eyes or nose) you wrap the kitten in a towel like a bundle(covering everything but the head so that he can breathe) and keep him wrapped for a few minutes so that the fleas absorb the alcohol, then you take the towel off and move your hands through kitten's hair, dont let kitty lick himself, then you repeat the procedure with the other kitty.
Hope it works for your kittens, Oscar hated the whole experience, kept hissing and meowing bad words at me but in the end the fleas died and he was happy.
Good luck.

Answer 4

FLEA COMB about a dollar. You need to vaccum well and toss the bags out each time for a bout a month. You can also use eucapltyus oil 2 tblspoons in a spray bottle of hot water and spray the carpet, furniture, ect but not the kitten.

Do not use any Hartz flea products they are dangerous

Answer 5

My grandmother found a cat outside & it had fleas all over poor little thing. I took him to the vet & they gave him Capstar he only weighed a pound very tiny so she gave me one pill & told me to cut it in half for 2 days worth if I needed more to come back.

Most vets will understand & only give you what you need at a good price you can get six pills for around $12.00 & you can just call and ask for the medicine but tell the vet each ones weight. You will be amazed it kills all the fleas & flea eggs.

Then when they get a little older you can give them a flea bath but they are so little I would recommend CapStar (pill) its at the vets office but they will usually work with you on the price its all about the animals.

CAPSTAR

Answer 6

I'm sorry, but you should have waited to get the kittens AFTER you saved enough money, and not the other way around.
Anyhow, CALL the vet anyway, and just ask them if they can suggest anything, you don't actually have to bring them in. They might be able to give you a product.
I'd reccomend looking at the Revolution website (http://www.revolution4dogs.com/content.asp?country=US&lang=EN&drug=RV&species=CN&sec=000) . even though it says "for dogs," my vet has reccomended it for my rabbit, and I know others who use it for cats, too (and it works). I also think that it can be given to kittens, because the dosage is by pound. Call your vet to ask, though.
Even so, once you get the fleas off, they can stay for months in carpet or fabric, just waiting to jump back onto the kittens, so you should look in stores for cleaning products that will kill the other fleas, otherwise, even if you've gotton rid of the fleas on the kittens, some will remain, and just jump right back on.

Answer 7

We've had puppies and when they were too young for the stuff that you talked about from Wal-Mart our vet told us how we could still use it. You just have to be careful to not get it close to their mouth so they don't breathe it. Either spray some onto your hand away from the kittens and then rub it on their fur of spray some in a plastic bag and wrap the bag around their body only. Don't know for sure if this would work for cats but call your local vet and ask them. Most times they will be glad to tell you any information they can on the phone--plus it's free!

Answer 8

When i got my kittens i called the vet they said dawn soap and don't bathe them in cat flea shampoo until they are 12 weeks old.

Answer 9

Hi there...consider using a damp washcloth with Pert Plus (not plain Pert)...The human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas but has little or no residual effect. In general, if a product contains pyrethrins and the label states that it is safe for cats and kittens. http://greyhound.marinar.com/html/faq.shtml (See section Special Medical Issues - 3rd paragraph).

http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/greyhounds.html#smp (fourth paragraph)
Products containing Pyrethrins are generally safe to use... Additionally, the human shampoo Pert Plus kills fleas on the dogs, although it has little or no residual effect. Lather, wait a few minutes, and then rinse.

Be sure to thoroughly rinse all shampoo residues so that the kittens do not ingest as it may still be upsetting for their sensitive systems.

For around the apartment use Borax...kills fleas both by causing dehydration and by acting as a stomach poison. In laboratory tests boric acid damaged sperm and caused miscarriages. Just sprinkle and vacuum up and repeat two weeks later. http://www.pesticide.org/fleas.html (See section Less Toxic Chemical Controls)

Answer 10

There is hope out there you can use a flea bath just use a minor amount don't over do it also you need to clean their bed area or get all new stuff for them to sleep on.