My girlfriend and I picked up a stray kitten yesterday, she had been crying all night outside the apartment, no mother in sight and she cant be more than 4-5 weeks old. I had read Borax in carpets etc wont hurt the animals but kill any eggs or dormant fleas, but what to use on the kitten itself?
The little kitten should definitely be seen by a vet right away – worming is especially important for her. The vet will tell you what is safe to use for flea control.
Right now you need a flea comb. Comb her four or five times a day. You can heat a mug of water in the microwave, comb through her, then dip the comb into the very hot water to kill the fleas. Combing is really the safest way to go for now. A bath in dish soap or baby shampoo might not be a good idea if she seems fragile at all. If you do that keep her very warm before and after. The bath won’t get rid of all the fleas and you will still need to comb a lot.
Give your kitten a warm bath with Dawn original. All powders and spray are poison, especially with smaller animals. I had a dog die from spray. Hope this helps. If you give cats a bath starting when they are young they will get use to it.
I got this off of a website… visit the site to get more details.
“The safest way to treat a kitten under 6 weeks of age for fleas is to bathe him using warm water and Dawn dishwashing detergent and then to manually pick off remaining fleas. Dawn dishwashing soap is very effective and it kills fleas quickly. Many breeders bathe their cats in Dawn.
Fill your sink or tub with warm water. (Test the temperature as if you were giving a baby a bath). Using the kitchen sink is often easiest as you don’t have to bend down and you are more in control. Immerse the kitten up to his neck and insure that he is saturated. Wet his face and head with a face washer. Then lift him out and place him on a towel. Gently massage in the detergent. Massage the soap all over his body and around his neck, ears, face, head and under his chin, being very careful not to get soap in his eyes. The fleas are not silly and will head for the high dry ground of the head area.
Then put him back in the water for a rinse. If he is not fighting and struggling too much try to keep him submerged for a few minutes. If he is clawing you to pieces get the job over and done as quickly as possible. Having two people perform the operation is often easier. One to hold the kitten and one to massage and wash the the kitten. When finished wrap him up in a dry towel and dry him off. Try to do this in a warm atmosphere and don’t let him get cold.”
You can get drops that you put on the neck, but read the directions as they come in kitten strength and also bigger cat strength. I have 4 kittens and I buy the little flea collars for about a dollar at walmart. You buy a new one each month. Of course, a vet will be a good person the check out the kitten, but home treatment works just as well.
There are many options you can find at a pet store. You can buy flea collars, medicines, shampoos and you can even find treatments for your home. Once you have fleas its very hard to get rid of but they make powders for carpets, sprays for furniture, or even flea bombs if your interested. Hope all turns out well and good luck!
I would suggest the bath and flea comb and definitely talk to your vet. As far as I know, none of the flea treatments that go on the back of the neck are safe for a kitten that young so please don’t use them without asking your vet. Also, the flea collars from walmart are definitely not safe for a kitten and can cause a horrible allergic reaction in any cat.
It won’t kill the fleas, but it could hurt the animals. If you read the instructions on Borax, I believe they say to keep away from animals.
Please get the kitten checked by a vet. You need to get flea treatment from a vet, because nothing from a pet store works – if the kitten is this young, is need Frontline spray, which is safe for use on puppies and kittens from 2 days of age. You can also pick up a proper treatment for your home i.e a spray.
Chalice
Frontline is very good and very safe for getting rid of flees. As long as you put it right on the back of their neck.
Go to http://www.frontline.com/ and have a look.