My husband just brought home a kitten that looks to be about six weeks old. She looks very healthy, with the exception of needing worming which I plan to do today. My question is with giving her flea drops. She is pure white and so I'm sure that she would have a serious flea allergy and we have a bad infestation so I want to get her doctored with the Frontline plus as soon as possible. But I'm not sure if she is old enough for it. I noticed she doesn't have many teeth so eating dry food is hard on her so I'm moistening it. But I can't remember the growth stage of a kitten because it's been years since I've had a young kitten, and all the information I've found on the web only goes to four and five weeks of age without detailed information on the development of their teeth. I know she's at least five weeks old because she is playful, eyes brightly open, ears up, and she knows what dry cat food is and eagerly tries to eat it, but I'm not sure if she is old enough for flea drops.
2007-10-31 07:48:50 · 5 answers · asked by masmalan2004 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
Just for an F.Y.I. in case anyone asks, this kitten was dumped into a compactor at my husband's work and one of his co-workers rescued her and my husband brought her home to us. So there is no way to ask the person he got her from how old she is. Also, yes I plan to take her to the vet next week, but I want to get the flea drops on her now.
2007-10-31 07:54:27 · update #1
There are ways to get a rough estimate of a kitten's age. Check the eyes. Are they changing color? The eyes start to change color when they are about eight weeks old. The exception to that are kittens with naturally blue eyes but they typically have that bright blue color at birth. They don't have that slate blue eyes found on most kittens. Another way to check is if they have started losing their baby teeth. Kittens start losing their front teeth at about the age of three months. Still another way to guess their age is their size. Most kittens are about half the size of an adult cat by the time they are three to four months old. Good luck with your kitten and I'm glad for that person who rescued her.
2007-10-31 08:09:35 · answer #1 · answered by RoVale 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you should have left the kitten with her mother. Kittens aren't supposed to be separated until 12 weeks. Puppies can go at 8 weeks. She probably is still too small for dry food. Feed her wet kitten food. You could soften the dry food with some of the kitten milk. The best thing would be putting her back with her mother if this is a safe thing to do and then get her when she's old enough. She'll have behavior problems for the rest of her life because she didn't have time to learn what she needs to know from her mother and siblings.
2016-03-13 09:10:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Veterinary spot-ons like Frontline and Advantage can only be used from 8 weeks of age. Since you can't be sure the kitten is over this age, pick up some Frontline spray from your vets - it can be used from 2 days of age. You don't need to take the cat in to get it, so you can just pick some up yourself in the meantime, before you take the cat in for a check.
You can also pick up worming treatment without taking the cat in - the vet can supply you with Panacur paste, which is given at a dose of one ml per kilo of bodyweight - if you've got food scales, weigh kitty on that!
Your vet can tell you how old the kitten is but like I say, you don't have to wait until you take her in.
Frontline Plus can also only be used from 12 weeks of age, so you'll definitely have to wait before you can used that! Frontline spray is very effective though. If you have an infestation in your house, I'm thinking you'll want to pick up some housespray while you're at the vets!!
Chalice
2007-10-31 10:56:32 · answer #3 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi....Bless you for saving this kitty. I would call your vets office and ask if they can reccomend something for kittens under 8 weeks. They will be able to tell you without an appointment. Also, you may want to get her some canned food. I know Iams makes kitten food in a canned variety and another good brand is Chicken Soup For the Soul cat and kitten food.
2007-10-31 08:27:50 · answer #4 · answered by rosiegirl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
regarding fleas, you need to talk to the vet, the vet can look at the kitten's teeth to determine the age. None the less, some flea products are very harmful to kittens. Your best bet is to call the vet :)
Hope this helps
2007-10-31 07:54:20 · answer #5 · answered by ? 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋