Mother with flea problems, i need help!?

Question

My cat had her kittens last night ( unexpectedly ) and we didnt get a chance to treat her for fleas before she had them. And now her and her kittens are covered in fleas! I know its not safe for very young kittens to be covered in fleas, but i dont know what to do : [ Is there anything we can to to safely remove the fleas from mom and her babies?! Thanks for those who answer!

Answer 1

My daughter had exactly the same problem when her cat gave birth. Your kittens can become anemic and can actually die from the fleas. In my youth I lost half a litter to this problem. Here's what my own vet recommended:

You can't use a commercial flea treatment, as you know.

But there are things you can do. For now, Confine the birth bed to an enclosed area, like a closet, if it's not already. Clean the area extremely well before you put the birth bed there. Change all bedding every day. Wash the soiled bedding in hot water and bleach, dry in the dryer on high. (Kills the eggs) You have to do this right away, or at least get the old bedding outside to avoid hatching and further infestation.

Next, bathing the kittens. (This is time consuming and labor intensive - but you get used to it and it really works!) I think you can do it at about 2 weeks, but check with a vet. (Make sure you wash and dry Mama first.) Keep the cleaned bed and bathing areas very warm, get a supply of warm, absorbent towels and keep them next to the bath. Fill a basin with warmish water, (test with your elbow), and a dash of Dawn dishwashing detergent. (Sounds crazy, but my vet expressly said Dawn - they use it to clean water fowl after an oil spill, he said it was safe. Flea shampoo might not be safe on such younguns.) Fill another basin with warm clear rinsewater. Taking one kitten from the bed at a time, bath it in the soap solution, rinse and dry with a warm towel. You'll need to change the bath and rinse water after each kitten.

Here are the detailed instructons, just in case you need them: With the kitten in the water up to the shoulders or there abouts, gently wash the kitten all over, using your fingers to get to the skin. To wash the head, use a washcloth dipped in the soap solution, don't dunk the kittens! Do the same in the rinse water. The kitten does not need to and should not stay in the water for a long time. Immediately wrap the kitten in a towel and gently rub to dry. It's important to get the kitten as dry as possible. Return to mama and she'll warm it up fast.

We ended up doing this every other day at first, because my daughter had 6 other cats in a tiny apartment and all of them had fleas at the time. (Her heart was larger than her bank account.) If your house isn't infested and you don't have other cats, one washing, maybe two and then daily changing of the bedding, vacuuming the area, scrupulously! should do it for you.

Again - I am not a vet. Please check with yours or a good one in the area. We got this advice over the phone without a visit. My vet said they hear this problem all the time and it can be serious.

I hope this helps - but do double check on how old the kittens should be before you can bathe them. Good luck!

P.S. My vet said not to use a bomb anywhere in the house until the kittens are at least 9 weeks old. You'll have to remove all the animals for a certain length of time if you do use a bomb later on. That can be tricky with a litter of kittens.

Answer 2

Fleas are shocking aren't they? New life born and on they go. All I can suggest for now is to groom mother and kittens manually with comb. As well as that, clean up mother cat's bedding, this will have to be a daily job. I can suggest getting a FLEA BOMB for the house. They really do work in getting the fleas (and other crawlies) in the environment. They are very easy to use, your petstore should be able to show you these. Until the kittens are old enough for flea products there's nothing much you can do except constant grooming.

Answer 3

Get some Frontline spray, pronto. It can be used on mother and kittens once the kits are two days old. You can pick or wash the fleas off in the meantime, but the fleas are in your environment now, so until you get some Frontline spray your kittens will continue to be reinfested.

Frontline spray is the only safe and effective way to get rid of fleas on kittens under 8 weeks.

Chalice

Answer 4

Call your vet and ask. Washing with hot water and a slight dish cleaning soap will more often than not kill anything fleas are at the kittens but when you're now not retaining their atmosphere blank then it is useless, they are going to simply get reinfested. I desire you're now not leaving them external? **Added** Mom cats do not abandon their infants in view that they scent unique, that's a fantasy. The mother maybe slightly careworn later on however if you happen to rub them down with anything that smells like her or such as you there would possibly not be a difficulty. People shower and manage kittens at all times. If she feels they're threatened she might come to a decision to transport them, nonetheless.

Answer 5

Yes! You can groom them with a flea comb. Keep a cup of water with some soap in it to put the fleas in.

Answer 6

the only thing you can do now is bathe them...or call the vet i do believe there is a flea prevention for kittens...they will become anemic and die if not treated please do something right away but dont put any over the counter flea stuff on them that will kill them for sure

Answer 7

My sons wife told us today to wash cats in dawn dishwashing liquid to kill fleas.