i have a flea problem?

Question

my cat had kittens 3 weeks ago. she is an outside cat but i brought her in the house to care for the kittens. well she and the kittens are covered in fleas and i have a chihuahua and she is starting to have them on her too! all of the soaps and treatments say for kittens over 6-8 weeks and not for the mother cats while nursing! so what can i do to get rid of the nastly fleas without harming the kitties
thanks in advance!!!

Answer 1

yes, consult a vet.
I heard somewhere that if you put moth balls inside the vacuum bag that when you vac up fleas and eggs it kills them in there. Try that plus a good sudsy bath for everyone...

Answer 2

Don't use any soaps, shampoos or collars even on adult animals.

The only thing safe to use on kittens this young is Frontline spray, you can get it from a vet. You can use Frontline spot-on for the mother and for your chihuahua, and you'll probably need to spray your house too, because this is where a lot of the fleas are going to be living.

I think people are probably going to suggest you start bathing the kittens in Dawn dish soap, but please don't bother since it will not solve your flea problem. Combing - well, you could comb for the rest of your life and you still wouldn't get all the fleas because the eggs, which you can't see, will just keep on hatching.

Please do get the cat spayed after the kittens are weaned, there are already far too many cats around that need homes without out adding to the problem.

Chalice

Answer 3

Dude,that really sucks!
I would say like everyone else go to a vet--also try for your carpet and furniture, what I used was Advanced Indoor Insect Spray by Zodiac. We had the same stuation like you with the mother being an outside cat and having babies inside and all. We had 5 cats that were COVERED in fleas and this stuff worked pretty well. It doesn't say anything about the animals having to be a certain age but if I were you I wouldn't spray it on them, just to be certain. The spray provides 7 months of protection by preventing eggs from hatching, it's for fleas, ticks and even cockroaches. It's for flea infestation, which is what we had, and it can cover up to 2,000 Sq Ft. It kills adult fleas Flea eggs Flea Larvae and ticks. we had to use it a few times before it started kicking in but we never had to buy more then one bottle. I think you should be able to find it in any pet stores and I got it in Tractor Supply Co. Also look for Adam's flea spray that works well too. And I'm not sure the age limit but the best thing to put right on the animals are Front-Line. We don't have much money but in order to get rid of the fleas on thier bodies that's what we had to use! Good Luck and My best wishes to you. Having fleas can be a real big pain!

Answer 4

I had this exact same problem with my 2 week old kittens last month. I found a page of home remedies and combined a few of then and it worked a treat!
first, you fill the sink with lukewarm water, make sure it isn't to warm, kittens are sensitive. Then add a helping of vinegar to the water, don't be shy. Then dip the kittens in the water, but not their head. Next, get some dish soap, i used ajax, but any think is fine, and gently massage it on. At this point you will see the fleas running to the head. this is when i used a little bit of baby shampoo, careful of eyes and ears, and gently massaged the head. next dip them back into the water, apart from head, and use a cupped hand to make sure the fur is cleaned, if you are very careful clean the head of shampoo, be very careful not to get water in their ears. dry them off and next, this is the time consuming part, get a pair of tweezers and pluck all the fleas out of the fur. when this is done redip and then into clean lukewarm water and towel dry. it is best to keep a heating pad to place the kittens on, not directly though, with a towel covering.
this took me around 45 minutes per kitten but trust me it worked!
hope this helps

Answer 5

Ok, fleas are "species specific", so do not worry about your dog. They will not stay on her as they catfleas cannot survive on dogs. As for the toxicality - ask a vet!

Answer 6

You better consult a vet

Answer 7

go to a vet. or if you don't have time, try to put little vinegar in their food. not to much though. it worked for my dog