3 wk old kitten what to feed, generic way to get rid of fleas, was dropped on doorstep, infection in eyes help

Question

a tiny kitten was dropped at my doorstep. Its eyes and nose are dripping infection, it is flea infested. I don't have the money to take to a vet, and the local shelter wont take cats. I can't leave it to die in the cold, could use any and all helpful generic ways to clear the eyes of infection and get rid of the fleas. I figure it can't be more than 3 weeks old. Besides milk or cream, do you need to supplement a kitten with protein??

Answer 1

I don't know if I would even risk a bath for a kitten that young. At any rate you do not need a special "flea" shampoo. The chemicals in those products could kill the kitten. Dawn dish soap will work just as well as the fleas drown in the water anyway. And if you bathe the kitten the fleas will flee to the orfices of the kitten's body, eyes, ears, anus, nostrils so you won't get them all and will need to use a flea comb many times a day to get them under control.

If the kitten is only three weeks old it will need to be bottle or dropper fed with kitten replacement milk which you can get a a pet store. It will need to be fed every two hours and through the night if it is to survive. In another two weeks you can then introduce some canned kitten food, like Max kitten by feeding from your finger till the baby gets the hang of it.

Answer 2

I rescued a kitten out of the dumpster at my apartments. When i found it it was 5 weeks old and very malnourished. We took it to the Humane Society. They put her on a high fat cat food and we nursed her back to health. She wasnt as young as your cat but heres what i would do /have done

Go the pet store or Walmart. They have powerded formula kind of like baby formula for kittens. I am not sure of the price. While your there pick up a flea comb.

You can buy a syringe with a nipple on it to feed it but if you dont want to spend the money just use an eye dropper or medicine dropper/syringe
You will probably need to feed the kitten very frequently. Maybe every 2-3 hours.

For the fleas:
The kitten is too young to use any flea treatments.
The best way to get rid of most of the fleas is to bathe the kitten.
Fill up the tub or sink 1/2 way with warm water. Fill the tub before you bring the cat in the room
Put a small chair or bucket upside down (something for the cat to sit on) in the tub.
Get the kitten wet with a washcloth and use a very gentle shampoo, like baby shampoo (you can get it form the dollar store)
Wash the kitten the best you can. The shampoo will help wash the fleas away.

After the bath wrap the kitten in a towel. Fill a glass with soapy water and get out the flea comb. Comb the kitten. After each pass with the comb dip the comb in the glass of soapy water. The fleas will be left in the cup.

Get the fleas under control. You don't want them to infest your house. You can also sprinkle your carpets (where most of the fleas live) withBorax (found in the laundry asile) and vaccum alot. Keep your vaccum outside or dump it often because the fleas can come right back out of it.

DO NOT use any kind of flea dip or medicines. The kitten is way to young and you might kill it.

For the eye infection your best bet would be to go to the vet. They can give you an ointment to put in the cats eye. It is very common for kittens to have eye infections.

Best of luck to you and your kitten.

Email me if you have anymore questions :)

Answer 3

your local pet store should have kitten formula for her...she should be fed every 4-6 hours for the next 2 weeks...that includes during the night. You also need to stimulate it to go to hte bathroom, which includes wiping his butt with a warm towel or gauze pad. Eventually he will go to the bathroom. It will be diarrhea which is normal. If your not up to it, then i would suggest getting the kitten put to sleep or try to locate a feral cat rescue in your area. The infection needs to be cleared up by your vet. its probably an URI...upper respiratory infection which can be deadly to the kitten if left untreated. Also, the fleas can kill her so call your vet and ask bout putting on a small dose of Frontline for her. The fleas take out blood every time they bite and the cat can't replace the blood quick enough so it goes anemic. We had 3 kittens the other day that died of exactly the same things. Keep her warm also, put a lamp about 2-3 feet over her to keep her warm. You can also put her in some blankets in a small box. To clean the eyes try warm water on a cotton ball and, in one direction, wipe the eyes free of the "gunk." Any other questions feel free to email me. Goodluck!


look at his gums....are they really light pink or even white...if they are you need to put him to sleep...he won't make it probably another 24 hours.

Answer 4

You can purchase formula to feed the kitten from a vet. You may be able to purchase it at a pet supply store. You really don't want to feed it cow's milk. It can give it diarrhea and cause dehydration. Pick the fleas off by hand and drown them in a container filled with alcohol. As far as the eye infection, you will probably need to get something from a vet. If the infection is very bad and doesn't get treated, it could cause blindness

Answer 5

Dont give the kitten diary! It makes them sick. They have affordable "mother milk" alternatives at Wal Mart. Try washing the kitty with dish soap, but be sure the kitty never gets cold during the process. Scrubbing with dish soap works pretty well, even if you have to do it a few times. Theres not much else you can do for fleas in a baby kitty, if you read the flea shampoos labels you will see that a tiny kitty would get sick if you use it on them. Good luck.

Answer 6

Hi, 1.Give it kitten chow moitsened w/alittle milk. 2. dripping goo sounds like an upper respritory infection. Is it "green" and it's little eyes icky? if so I've always just put a little "neosporin" ointment in their eyes and it clears up just keep nose/eyes wiped clean.3.The fleas you can bathe it with reg baby shampoo, Most flea soaps are not safe for a kitten this young.Good luck, sounds like you have a new freind.

Answer 7

Ok, for the eyes that are matting and with goo in them.. use your eye drops just the regular kind.. it will clear up the eye infection..
As for the fleas.. They say that you can wash them in the dawn dish soap.. make sure the water is warm and pretty deep wash him in your kitchen sink.. if you can keep it in the water for 2 minutes or more it should take care of most of them.. might have to do the bath a few times to get rid of all the fleas.. and keep bedding washed where you are keeping him . dry him really well so he don't get chilled. make sure you clean its ears too.. get a dropper and warm some oil baby oil or regular kitchen oil put a drop or two in it's ears and clean it out carefully with a Q-tip..
As for feeding.. cream warmed will work pretty good. just stick his face in it and it will learn to drink.. If not at the begining.. get a tiny baby spoon and make him eat it.. also get a couple cans of the soft food for it to eat.. you may have to spoon feed it to him for a while to til it learns how to eat on its own.. get the kitten food that has the milk in it.. and pour milk on it so that it is soft..
if you feed him 3 to 4 times a day he will soon learn to eat on his own and start to gain some weight.. That is what i have done with all my babys because the mother didn't have enough milk for them to eat.. good luck and you will be happy with your new baby..

Answer 8

don't give it milk! pet stores and vets sell special kitten formula and bottles as he is to young to be weaned. I don't know about the eyes except to cleanse the outter eye with a wet warm cloth. Call a vet sometimes they will give advice over the phone. also try calling a cat rescue agency in your area. There may be a foster family willing to take the kitten in. A flea comb will help with the fleas as I feel it is to young and sick to tolerate flea spray or powder. No matter what you do keep it warm and dry and don't feel to bad if it dies. You don't know what hardships it suffered before coming into your hands. Bless you for trying to care for it. Your local shelter may help you find a cat rescue in your area.

Answer 9

I don't know of an herb, but when our cats had fleas really bad, we used Avon Skin So Soft. You mix 1 part skin so soft with 4 parts water, put it on the cat and the fleas will leave. It's a little oily and the fleas don't like the oil or scent. It's not harmful to the cat if they lick it off either. We had to remove the carpets and "bomb" the house 2 times before we got rid of all the fleas.

Answer 10

the pet stores sell milk for kittens though I am not sure of the cost. Avon's skin so soft will help with fleas. Not too sure about infections though. Try calling around to shelters and see if someone can help get you in contact with someone to help with care and treatment for cheap.