what can I get to treat a 6 week old kitten for fleas?

Answer 1

PLEASE DO NOT PUT ANY FLEA POWDER OR FLEA PREVETATIVE ON THE KITTEN IT WILL POISEN HER!
tHE BEST SOLUTION IS THE OLD FASHION WAY OF BATHING THE KITTEN WITH PALMOLIVE OR DAWN. THEN GOING OVER HER WITH A FLEA COMB AND TAKE IN UNDER A BRIGHT LIGHT AND CRACK ALL THE FLEAS YOU CAN FIND INBETWEEN YOUR FINGER NAILS. AND THE LITTLE BLACK SPOTS ALSO, THESE COULD EITHER BE FLEA POOP OR FLEA EGGS. Depending on the kittens wieght usinf any medications even over the counter can kill her even tho on the package it says okay. Dont leave them on her she will die from the blood suckers.
Please contact me with any questions

Answer 2

I'm going through this right now with some 3 week old foster kittens!

You can actually treat them with Frontline, just not directly. Put some Frontline on a washcloth and wipe them with it. After that, go over each one throughly with a flea comb. If the comb catches live adult fleas, have a bowl of soapy water handy to dip it into. Fleas can swin, but not in soapy water!

Depending on how much flea dirt (dried blood) they have in their fur, you may have to give them baths with regular kitten shampoo once you've gotten rid of the fleas.

Keep a VERY close eye on them. If they've had the fleas for a while, they may be suffering from anemea due to the loss of blood.

Answer 3

I have found that the most effective and SAFEST thing to use for kittens that age is a product called Capstar, at a dosage of 1/2 of a 'blue' tablet (it's really white, but called blue b/c of the packaging...the other size is 'green') every 2-3 days until the kitten is old enough to use the more long-term products. (And when you do get the longer-acting products, DO NOT use the OTC one from the company that starts with an H and ends with a Z....or any of the other OTC's for that matter....unless you want your kitten to have seizures and die. We are baffled as to why those products are even still on the market.) Capstar is available from your veterinarian...just give them a call.

Some sprays are labelled for use for kittens over 6-8 weeks of age, but have to be applied every few days, too. Trust me...the Capstar is a much better option. There are many little tricks, but cats/kittens HATE the sprays, and will often drool for hours after application.

Don't bother bathing the kitten, except to remove flea 'dirt' (flea poop)....if you do that, don't panic if the water turns reddish, as flea excrement is nothing more than your kitten's blood that has been sucked out by the fleas and passed through their digestive system. Even the 'best' flea shampoo available through DVMs will only kill the fleas on the pet while wet with the shampoo....that's why I don't even sell 'flea shampoo' any more. It's a waste of time, effort, and money. Once dry, new fleas will get right back on if you are not treating your house concurrently (which takes time.) Same thing for Dawn/Joy dishwashing detergent....they kill the fleas GREAT (just DON'T get it in their eyes, and don't use it more than once, b/c it strips out the oil glands in their skin).....but once dry, there is no residual effect. If you do decide to bathe the kitten for some reason, make sure the gums and tongue are nice and pink. If they are pale (or white!), a bath (even with just plain water) can kill the kitten.

Your only other option is to make like a little monkey and sit there manually picking them all off one at a time.

Please call your DVM about the Capstar. It doesn't take many fleas to suck out enough blood to kill a little kitten like that. (Plus, they cause tapeworms.) The blue Capstar is labelled for kittens of any age, 2# of body weight or more. Your kitten is probably not quite that big yet, but I have treated hundreds of kittens less than a pound with the 1/2 dosage (saving many of their lives in the process.) It is INCREDIBLY SAFE. If you put the kitten in a box or carrier with a white towel after treatment, you will see it covered with dead/dying fleas within 30 minutes to an hour or so. I was a skeptic at first, but have been amazed at its safety and effectiveness. (We automatically give it to all my surgery patients the minute they walk in the door...because 1. we don't want them bringing fleas into the clinic to get on other pets, and 2. it's not exactly sterile to have a flea jump into the open abdomen incision in the middle of surgery.) It supposedly 'lasts' only 24 hours by label, but I have found that it really does a pretty good job for up to 2-3 days. It's safe enough to give every single day if you have to, however. I have also found that the 1/2 pill is quite effective for up to 5-8 pounds of body weight, even though anything over 2# is 'supposed' to get a whole pill. Just make sure to put the other 1/2 back into the little foil 'bubble' and tape it closed with cellophane tape until ready to use it. The longer it's exposed to air, etc. after being opened and cut in half, the less effective it will be.

(No, I don't work for the company that makes Capstar, lol. I just know for a fact that it's a great product. I only wish they'd come up with a slow-release version of it that would last for weeks or a month. I've never had a single case of toxicity....nor seen a single side effect.)

Answer 4

you have to be very careful treating kittens for fleas! i gave a kitten to a friend that I thought was semi intelligent, then they called me a few days later telling me the kitten was acting weird...they had given her an adult dose flea pill! she died the most horrible death in my arms at the vets office....I'll never forget it. my other horror story is from 15+ years ago when my cat had a litter of kittens...the fleas were terrible that year..the kittens were in the house, never went outside, the mother got out once, and boom the house and the cats were invested!!! i took them to the vet and they gave me a very gently shampoo to use....i had to bath them every day but it gave them lots of relief....we also had to have the house treated by a bug company to help combat the eggs.

take them to the vet or call and get what you need....it is the only answer for kitten this young.

Answer 5

you do no longer % to bathe w dish cleansing soap. Dish cleansing soap is a grease remover which will get rid of all the oils from the floor and reason epidermis issues. there's a flea tablet thst you grants a kitten at 6 weeks. Its observed as capstar. you may get it at a vet (with out rx) or a puppy shop. Its approximately $4-5 a tablet even though it kills all fleas in 30mins. it works! desire this helps!

Answer 6

that is a little young to be treating fleas but you should take your kitten to the vet and they will take care of it appropriately. do not try to use any thing from the stores as it may result in killing your kitten.

Answer 7

Take the kitten to the vet. The vet should spray him with Frontline. The fleas should die off in a couple of days.

Answer 8

You can wash it in Dawn dish detergent and it will kill the fleas. You aren't really suppose to put any kind of meds on them. You can also sprinkle garlic on their food and that will keep fleas away until they are old enough to use Frontline.

Answer 9

i think either a clove of garlic or a lemon cut in half in her basket might help. fleas don't like the smell of either - don't know where i heard this but it stands out in my head! because she is so young the garlic or lemon won't harm her. hope this helps!