What should I do?

Question

My six week old kittens are infested! tHey have fleas so bad you can see only fleas and eggs, and worst of all, the kittens have been ok with it! They need help now, and I am not taking them to the vet because they are barn cats. I just want home remidies to get rid of the fleas.

Answer 1

buy some frontline,out some on your kittens,leave for a few minutes and then gently bathe your kittens in luke-warm water. hopefully all the fleas will be dead and you can jsut brush them out with a thin toothed comb

hope they get better soon

Emily xxx

Answer 2

You need to be very careful with the product you use to rid the kittens of fleas. Most products say "Do not use on kittens under 12 weeks." I had barn cats growing up and they were never vet treated. (I now have an indoor cat that is vet treated.) Getting rid of fleas can be very difficult especially since you cannot treat their enviroment well. One plus is they don't generally fare well in cold weather so some if not most will die off if you live in a cooler climate area. Once the kittens are old enough to use product, flea baths are good (and one bottle for $5 would be enough to rid them of fleas, until they go back into the enviroment again). Advantage is what my vet recommended but it's expensive. My vet recommended that I not use collars (especially on barn cats as they can get caught on things and choke themselves). You might be able to help treat the area they live in though by putting a flea collar where they sleep. (Just don't do that if it's in hay that is later going to be fed to livestock/horses.) You might be able to alleviate the fleas for a bit, but for outdoor animals there's not much you can do in the long run. Best of luck to you and your kittens!

Answer 3

There are several over the counter flea medications you can use but make sure they're acceptable for kittens. Also a flea bath followed by a flea collar may help. Flea infestations can be deadly to kittens as the blood loss can actually kill them. Also, not taking animals to the vet when they're sick or hurt can be classified as animal abuse depending on your districts laws and you could get the cats taken away from you as well as a fine/jail time.

Answer 4

Six week old kittens can be killed by fleas. They really should see a vet. Do not buy over-the-counter flea products for them. They are too strong for young kittens. If you are determined not to take them to a vet, try this at home:
1) Bathe the kittens in warm water, washing away as many fleas as possible.
2) Comb them out with a flea comb. This is a very fine toothed comb. You can buy one at any pet store. Be sure to crush the fleas you remove with the comb, or they will just jump back onto the cats.
3) Thouroughly clean the area the kittens are to remove fleas and flea eggs from the enviornment. Change their bedding. You mentioned they are barn cats, so I'm not sure what type of surface they are on. Any blankets, towels, ect. should be washed in hot water and dried. Hay, shredded paper, ect should be discarded and replaced with fresh. Hard surfaces should be mopped with regular cleaner, be sure to rinse and allow to dry before returning kittens. Carpets and upholstry should be sprinkled with baking soda, left for 20 minutes, then thouroughly vacuumed and the vacuum bag discarded. In any case, be sure to clean in corners, crevices, under and behind furniture. Fleas tend to hid in dark places.
4) Repeat this daily until you no longer see fleas on the kittens. Flea eggs will continue to hatch and reinfest the kittens, so there is no one-shot treatment except the long-acting products available from a vet. If they don't look too bad on the second day you can skip the bath and just comb them out, but if they are covered with fleas you will need to bathe them.

Answer 5

A fine toothed flee comb and a cup of boiling water to put the fleas you catch in will alleviate it a bit, boil washing any bedding will also help. You can also get some flea treatments at supermarkets and pet shops but they may not be as effective as the ones from the vets. I'd definitely recommend getting a proper treatment or the chances they won't be the only ones with fleas before long.

Answer 6

Not home remedies or pet store products, they don't work. You can pop in to a vets to get some Frontline, you don't have to take the cats.

I doubt you can see flea eggs, they're microscopic. I think you're seeing the flea dirts - looks like small black specks, they turn red on contact with water. You usually see flea dirt before the actual live fleas, unless the infestation is that bad.

Chalice

Answer 7

I like the vinegar idea But they also sell a flea comb.What that is is a comb & when you comb the cats the fleas get stuck in the comb.We used to have a dog who was infested with fleas & what my mom used to do was boil some water & put the water in a old bucket or pail.She would comb the dog & after a few strokes she would clean the comb & releasing the fleas in the water.Needless to say,he had really,really bad fleas.The comb itself is only like $5 so it's worth trying.

Answer 8

Can't you just go the the Vet's office and ask for Advantage. The fleas suck the blood and cause anemia, and tape worms. Get the other cats fixed to keep the population down. Barn cats have the same needs and concerns of all cats, responsible pet ownership. Not a lecture, ,just something to think about.

Answer 9

Well, there too little for tradition Flea rememdies maybe you could try something else.

Do you have the mother still, is she infested because if there still with there mother than you can give her a flea dip and see if that helps. Besides it's very smart to give a kitten under six months a bath they could get really sick from it. Try flea powder designed for Kittens or go to a Petsmart or Petsupplies plus and see what they will say.

Answer 10

Medications, even over the counter, usually are not safe for kittens under 10-12 weeks old (read label).

Fleas have lungs and therefore can drown. Bathe each kitty in warm water and kitten or baby shampoo. Rinse well and dry really well if they are not indoor furbabies.

You will probably need to treat the mother cat too, if they still have any contact with her.

Also, spray or replace "bedding" where they usually lie/sleep.

Good Luck.

They will not only get reinfested with fleas in time, but will grow up and become fertile and "make" more cats.

Please consider having females spayed

Answer 11

There really are not any home remedies that effectively remove or kill an infestation. You can treat grass areas with flea preventatives available at hardware stores, but I have never heard of a homeopathic for fleas that works. I would get them flea dipped this once, and buy a monthly preventative like Frontline in bulk, and apply it to all of them. May be costly but thats what comes with being a responsible pet owner.