Newborn Kittens Have Fleas

Again newborn kittens need manual flea removal.

Newborn kittens have fleas. Topical flea medications are poisons that kill. Check the kitten for fleas by combing through the fur with your fingers or with a flea comb. Look for small red brown specks which leave red stains caused blood in flea feces. When the fleas surface pluck them out and send down the drain.

However you can bathe them in dawn dish soap in the mean time. The preventive to treat kittens with fleas. Dry the baby with warm towels so we don t drop their temperature too much and dry the best you can. Check with your local vet since the kittens are so young.

Use flea medication on the mother only. Have tweezers at your side. As for getting the fleas off of the kittens bathe them in warm water and dawn dish detergent. However most professional flea and tick products contain toxic ingredients that can be fatal to kittens.

You may see active live fleas which will appear as fast moving small dark brown bugs that quickly dart through the fur seeking refuge in the cat s face belly and armpits. Newborn kittens with fleas or ticks should be treated immediately. In consultation with your vet kittens over 4 weeks old may be treated with capstar there is a minimum weight requirement. Typically flea products haven t been tested on kittens younger or smaller than that so they may contain doses that are too high for very young tiny kittens.

Every foster parent should have a flea comb. Lightly spray the paper with a demister. Most of the fleas will die and those that won t will be stunned enough so that they re easy to pick off. The mother may have fleas the kitten may have picked them up outside or sand tracked indoors can even contain fleas.

How to treat fleas in young kittens and nursing mothers method 1 of 3. As soon as you notice there are fleas either in the house or on a pet take action. Stand your cat on a white piece of paper move your hand in the opposite direction of the hair growth to dislodge flea droppings and eggs. This application kills the adult fleas but not their offspring.

The worst thing you can do is nothing. Blood sucking parasites can be fatal to kittens as they can cause anemia or a low red blood cell count or carry lyme disease. If the mother has fleas the kittens will have them also. Fleas can make a new home on your kitten in many ways even in indoor cats.

An 8 week old kitten only weighs about 1 5 2 pounds. Most products are safe for use in kittens older than 8 10 weeks or over 1 5 2 pounds but every product is different. Wash all bedding in hot water. Fleas do not just exist on your cats and kittens.

Put a thick soapy lather of dawn around the neck and ears first as they will run fast and far to get away from the soap. Other flea medications safe for kittens list 8 weeks of age as a minimum.