Is it ok to bathe your cat or kitten in Dawn dishwashing liquid?

Question

I heard that Dawn kills fleas on contact. Has anyone tried this and if so does it work?

Answer 1

Yes, I bath all my animals in Dawn, we'll except my fish..lol. Dawn works great and is safe for almost all animals. Make sure you rinse them well. They use dawn to clean birds that are in oil spills.

Answer 2

Dawn is good if there's grease involved,but if not I wouldn't use it. Cats have a different Ph than we do and need soap that is formulated for their skin. Earth Bath is a good choice or something that is hypoallergenic, Shampooing for fleas is not very effective. Really all you do is drown the adult fleas and there are no residual affects. If the kitten is too young / small (2 pounds or under) for a product like Frontline or Advantage consider a Capstar tablet. It will kill 99% of the fleas within an hour and is safe for all but very sick animals. It's an over the counter product at vets. Again no residual affect against eggs that haven't hatched yet but a good place to start. Also consider treating your environment. Baking soda on the carpet works well, but you must change and discard the vacuum bag each time or the fleas will hatch in the bag and reinfest your house. (The heat and vibration from the vacuum hatch the eggs) On a kitten I wouldn't use any flea products with out checking with your vet. There are some that contain ingredients that, while very affective on fleas, can get to the cats nervous system and you'll spend a lot more at the vet's getting the cat healthy again than if you go with a more expensive SAFE product to begin with.

Answer 3

It does weaken and does kill some fleas making it easy to remove them with a flea comb while bathing or just after. It is not dangerous to a cat or kitten for that purpose. It will not kill all the fleas and some will revive if not removed. Also, if there are fleas in your home or where the kitten lives they will replace the ones you got rid of. The danger in bathing a cat or kitten is that some people aren't careful to keep water out of the nose and that can be dangerous and even lethal. If you know how to give a bath without putting the animal in danger, and you are just wanting to get the fleas now on the cat off, then dawn with or followed by flea combing works well. I had to do this with an EIGHT DAY OLD KITTEN that was loaded with fleas, injured and likely dropped by a feral mother at a store entrance by busy streets and left there. If the fleas didn't come off, they could have killed the kitten via anemia from all the blood they were sucking. Kittens that little are too small to put on any flea prevention. That kitten is now a healthy two month old and in it's own home now after fostering by me and then later by the current owner. IF you are not sure how to bathe the kitten safely, get a Vet tech to do it. Flea prevention medications are good for cats but check with a Vet for the best kind and WHEN to start it. Some long haired or persian like cats are very sensitive to some anti-flea products.

Answer 4

It works but not on contact. You have to soap the kitty up REALLY well, and put it in a crate for 15 minutes or so before it will kill the fleas. It does work, but it also dries out their skin so don't do it more often than about once every 5-6 weeks. Dawn is NOT toxic to cats. Better though...is Lemon Joy. Citrus kills fleas.

* * *Just a side note...never EVER use a dog flea treatment on a cat.

The BEST thing to do is skip the baths (Unless there is a lot of flea dirt) and use Advantage once a month. Frontline is okay, but last year it seemed that the fleas became resistant.

Answer 5

Dawn works great on pets and fleas - it is better than any store bought shampoo (in my experience).

For a kitten I would just be very careful around her ears/ eyes and make sure you do a good job rinsing her and drying her.

She isn't going to like you or the process much but she should feel better.

Also you will want to check her age before using any flea sprays or medications on her. How old is your kitten?

Answer 6

yeah dawn works great on killing fleas, it won't last very long but it will kill everything on them. Make sure the cat is at least 3 months old though. Don't use it on young kittens.

Adams brand spray is about the only thing that is safe for young kittens

Answer 7

NO NO NO--Dawn is specifically made
to remove all grease and oils from
dishes. What do you suppose will
happen to your cat's fur and skin???
Dawn is heavily perfumed. Your cat
has an extremely powerful sense of
smell. That perfume will drive your cat
nuts.
Please just get the anti-flea collar
or get that med that's put on the back
of their neck and lasts a long time.

Answer 8

no i havent tried but good question. i just got a kitten from a friend . and the kitten was covered in fleas. and we didnt have time to go to the store that day. so i used dove soap.Wrong!it did not get one flea off.so maybe that Dish washing liquid idea may work. im just scared the kitten would have a reaction to it.

Answer 9

On dogs but i don't know about cats? Cats hate baths and normaly don't need a bath cause they bathe themselve!! get some flea treatment for the cat like frontline spray or drops ! i never bathe my cats and don't think you should cause they hate it so much i think it's cruel !! but thats me and how i feel about it!!

Answer 10

People do, but I'm not sure about using it on a kitten. You want a gentle soap for a baby. See what the pet store has. All the best;^)