What to do about an 11 week old kitten with fleas?

Question

I bathe him every week and this seems to keep the number of fleas down. They aren't infesting my house and I've never seen them on anything but Bandit. Since it is a small number of fleas, a flea collar and a flea bath would do the trick, but all of the collars and shampoos say not for kittens under 12 weeks. He is 11 weeks old and last week we tried a kitten flea collar on him. He became overly lethargic so I took it off in fear of him getting sick. On December 1st, he'll be 12 weeks. Is that still too soon to use any products on him? Was his reaction to the flea collar "normal?" Since it's not a huge infestation and I'm keeping them at bay with baths and normal kitten shampoo, I would be able to wait until he was 14 or 15 weeks old but we are acquiring a new cat tomorrow. Any suggestions?

When I say they aren't infesting my house, I mean, when you sit on the couch, fleas don't jump all over you. When walking on my carpet, you don't receive flea bites on your feet an ankles. I got the kitten at 6 weeks and he had fleas on him then. If you're going to be an idiot with absolutely no mind to interpret a simple sentence, don't answer the question.

And. The only reason I'm getting another cat is because if I don't take him, he has to be put down. His present owners haven't the time to take care of him in the condition he's in. Which is quite liveable, but semi time consuming.

Answer 1

No, he's not too young to start him on topical flea medication. However, there is ALWAYS the risk of allergy to topicals OR flea collars so you'll need to keep a close watch on him for the first few days of using 'topicals' such as Frontline or Advantix. Bathing him every DAY isn't going to solve you problem. I'm sorry. Save yourself the time, money and headache of weekly bathing, as well as the trauma to your cat. Topicals can be bought for $10 to $12 at most any vets office.
It's important that you treat your house as well because although you may not see evidence of infestation now, you are no doubt going to have an infestation very shortly because he's brought them into your home.
As for the new cat. If at ALL possible I would suggest using a topical on this one half an hour or so BEFORE you bring him into the house (if he's over eight weeks) to prevent adding to the fleas already in your home.

Answer 2

I advise you to never use flea collars - they're generally ineffective and can be fairly dangerous. You can get flea treatment suitable for small kittens, like previous people have mentioned advantage comes in a small tube and you can put in on the back of your kittens neck. Be sure you use the right kind for the age (and most importantly weight) of you kitten. You should then come your kitten with a flea/nit comb and drown any of the fleas that come out. A combination of the flea treatment and a week or so of daily grooming should do the trick.

Try not to overload your kitten by trying lots of different treatments as it's a lot for such a small body to take!

Most importantly, even if the house doesn't seem infested with fleas you will need to treat it. Especially the areas where the kitten likes to sleep. Bathing the kitten really shouldn't be necessary if you do the above.

Good luck!

Answer 3

No, collars and shampoos will not do the trick. They are very useless, even against a couple of fleas.

Your kitten is plenty old enough for proper treatment, just not pet store rubbish. Go to the vets and get some proper flea treatment that will get rid of all fleas, i.e Frontline, Advantage or Revolution - they can all be used from 8 weeks of age

Please do not buy any more flea treatments from pet stores. You're really wasting your time because stores aren't licensed to sell the appropriate, safe drugs for flea treatment. That's why they say not to use on animals under 12 weeks of age - they shouldn't even be used on adult cats! Treat your new cat regularly too - with proper stuff.

Chalice

Chalice

Answer 4

first, stop bathing him. It's VERY bad for them, strips the natural oils of their fur...and they HATE it and will learn to hate you by connection.

Second, don't use those products. The reaction you described is a common reaction to an overdose of the poisons used to kill the fleas (he's just to little and cute for that! :) )

Take a bowl of water and a VERY fine toothed comb. Brush him and use the water to dip the comb to remove the fleas. The idea is not to wet the cat, but get the fleas off with the water. Get as close to the skin as possible.

Use frontline for kittens (expensive though) if this doesn't help. (wait a few days from the time of using the collar, though). Then use a back of the neck flea drop (frontline's best, but if cost is an issue, try hartz) on the new cat to protect from infestation.

Finally, get a flea powder and powder their sleeping areas, as well as carpets or furniture. (You can vacuum it up after a half hour. Done daily, it will kill any possible infestation).

Answer 5

Hi I am the manaergerss of a kennels and cattery so I have cleared a vast number of little blighters from areas and pets. , I would first restrict him to one area before that well clean it and all its soft furnishings well. Hoovers do a good job. Buy a good flea spray and do that area well leave windows shut then open them and hoover clean throughout. Wash bedding on the highest wash it can take. Fleas are a problem due to there cycle. They lay eggs and they are living so you kill one set only to have another hatch out right behind them. Once you have cleaned this area and let the place stand for a while. toxic chemicals are not really great for anyone? including little kittens. :-) pop him there and restrict the other areas he can go. do the same to the other areas. do not let him out in the garden for a while as most of the fleas will be if you have no other animals from hedgehogs, mice, wildlife in general. Once you have treated him again with a flea treatment herbal is fine but you have to be thourough. do it again in 3 weeks time and buy a flea comb. brushing through the coat will help you bond with them and also spread natural oils though the coat as an added benifit. You did it right just needed to do the area too! Good luck

Answer 6

Same thing happened to me and the kitten brought the fleas with him....so i know where ur coming from..i just got some shampoo that killed the fleas and their eggs cause that might be ur problem because one bath got rid of the ones he had...so in order for yours to stay u may not be killin the eggs...the shampoo didnt hurt and neither did the fleacollar. I would hold out but if its gets worse i say go for a new one!!

Answer 7

Number one don't waste your money on a flea collar they dont work. However fronline and advantage drops work very well. Its a once a month treatment that you get at the vet and some pet stores. And I do believe he is old enough now. Please stop bathing him every week he will get dry flaky skin because the natural oils in his skin that keep his skin moist are constantly being washed away. If you do bathe him prior to applying the drops you need to wait two days after the bath before applying drops because the drops work with their skin oils and without the oils the drops wont work. Good luck.

Answer 8

We gave our kitten a flea bath when he was six weeks old and he was fine.

Maybe you could call your vet's office and see what kind of shampoo they would recommend that would be safe for kittens.

You might want to vacuum your house just in case, because usually if they're on your cat they're in your house even if you can't see them. You could get a flea comb from the pet store too and run it through his fur.

Answer 9

don't use flea collars or flea products from the store!
they contain pesticides that are very harmful to cats!

take the kitten to the vet and get him treated with advantage or frontline. and when you bathe him, bathe him in Dawn dish soap...it kills fleas on contact.

Answer 10

They aren't infesting your house? Ummm, hello...they do not live on your pet, they live in the environment (yes, that would be your house).
oh my goodness....this is just too much....
I have to say it...
You are ignorant. You first of all, don't bring a cat into an infested home. Second, flea collars are dangerous, nothing like strapping a coil of poison around the cat neck for it to inhale the toxins...I can see this cat having massive seizures and dying from your ignorance. Get it to the vet for some education and treatment. And please, don't get another cat.