Kitten has fleas, is my apartment infested now?

Question

I just got a kitten that is 10 weeks old. He's been at my apartment for 3 days now and I just found a flea on him. After further inspection it turns out he has a bunch.

I purchased flea shampoo and shampooed him twice.

After the first bath some were still alive, so I did it again, not sure if any are stil alive on him.

My question is, what is the best method of removing the fleas from my kitten, and more importantly, is my apartment now going to be infested?

He has been running around on the carpeting for the past two days, but I think he may have gotten the fleas just earlier today when i brought him to my girlfriends house (there is a dog and another cat there).

I forgot to mention that the kitten's primary home is not my apartment.

Should I worry at all about the fleas being in my apartment, or will they die out and the eggs not hatch because the kitten is not here?

Answer 1

First not to be hard on you or anything but you really should not have taken him around any other animals until he is fully vaccinated. Even if the other cats/dogs are vaccinated they can still be "carriers" of different diseases and pass them on to your kitty.

You might want to get a vet strength anti-flea med. They have some at the vet called Revolution that is specifically for kitten 6wks and older.

There is a possibility that your house could be infested especially if there is alot of carpet. The best thing to do would be to first treat you kitten with a preventative flea treatment and then there is a type of spray as well as a powder for carpets that kills fleas that you can buy at most places like walmart or petsmart to treat your house. Good Luck. Remember the best way to treat fleas is to prevent them all together!

Answer 2

Don't use flea shampoo. It doesn't work, and on a kitten that young it is quite likely to be dangerous.

95% of a flea population is in the environment so yes, you do need to treat your apartment. Even when the kitten is not there, the fleas can survive to an extent on you. Flea eggs can also lay dormant for a long time until an appropriate meal turns up, they will not die.

Now for proper treatment, go to a vets. You need something like Frontline, Revolution or Advantage, and you need a proper spray for your house as well Make sure the Frontline or whatever gets right on the skin of your kitten, not the fur, You can't put it on within 24-48 hours of bathing the cat, because you've washed off the natural oils from the skin that the Frontline requires to work. You could get a capstar tablet in the mean time - it kills all fleas on the animal within a few hours, but it does not prevent reinfestation (from the environment).

Tell all this to your girlfriend as well so her dog and cat can be properly treated. Please avoid store-bought products of any kind, they are a complete waste of money and many are dangerous.

Chalice

Answer 3

First of all you need to get to a vet to buy Frontline or Advantage flea control. All over the counter meds are for cats over 12 weeks old and are dangerous as hell to use.
Because it's only been a short time, you probably don't have a large infestation. I would vacuum your apartment very very well. Get the furniture, any drapes that touch the ground and get under the furniture as well. When you are done, take the bag or canister to the dumpster immediately as fleas will come right back out of the thing. Put a flea collar in the bag or canister as an added preventitive.

Answer 4

Yes, your apartment will get fleas. My kitten is an indoor kitten and somehow she got fleas. My roommate got bitten several times a day, and even though I sleep with my cat every night I never got a bite. We had Terminex come out, that didn't help. Finally we fogged the apartment. It has been a week and there have been no fleas. My cat is at a friend's house, I will be washing her again with flea shampoo again tomorrow before bringing her home, hopefully this will be the end of it! :)

Also, you want to get something for fleas and their eggs... cuz the eggs will hatch in 30 days, and you will have to go through the whole process again.

Answer 5

We had a flea problem a while back. Is is a tedious process but.... here is what worked for us. First an foremost bathe your kitty, in the flea shampoo. Then treat all of your carpets, arm and hammer works best, when you vacuum... empty the bag immediately. so any live fleas will not come back into your house. There is a product called flea breeze that is safe to use on your furniture. Spray EVERYTHING. Couches, seats, beds. The fleas will hide anywhere! Also it helps to sprinkle the arm and hammer poweder between to coushins of your couches. Routinely use a flea spray and continue treating your house for the fleas. After a bit you should see a big difference. Good luck. And give that kitty kisses for me!

Answer 6

If you caught the fact that you kitten had fleas this quickly you may not have them in your apartment. The best thing to do is bathe your kitten as directed and you can get spray or powder to put in your carpet that is safe to protect infestation from happening in your home.
The other thing to do is always protect your pet from being subjected to other animals who may have fleas. Buy Frontline or another product from the Vet to always have your pet protected even though others don't. The other thing is fleas can cause your kitten to have worms. Take it to the Vet.

Answer 7

Shampoo him with FLEA shampoo(some of the shampoo is just for healthy hair or hairball problems) and FOLLOW the instructions or it won't work. Vacuum twice a day for a week this includes furniture. Hell if he'll sit still take the hose and vacuum him, our cat loves it. Also you can buy the drops for him but I think he's too young for those I don't know what the age limit is for them. Spray your carpet with flea spray. I use the same spray that you use on the cat, I figure if it's safe for him then it's safe for him to sit on or sleep on. Take a flea collar and activate it (stretch it) cut it into 3 inch strips and put one under the cushions of your couch and put one under the cushion of his/her bed if it comes out. I don't know what is in those things but if you put one or two strips under you couch cushions fleas are attracted to them and they'll die. Check it after a month or every week and you'll see a little pile of dead fleas and sometimes there are eggs by it too. Vacuum them up and your done.

Answer 8

No, fleas can only survive on animals. There may have been a chance that a few dropped off onto your carpet, but it's nothing a good vacuuming can't handle. Nevertheless, wash your kitty with flea shampoo and wash your linens in hot water just in case. Good luck =)

Answer 9

Anti-flea powders for carpets. I used it before & it worked

Answer 10

yes, you will get infested with them and so will your home,
pretty soon you will even see them flying in the air.