Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Unfortunately this extremely hot and humid weather has infested my cat and her kittens with fleas and I am not quite sure about how to deal with the kittens having them, I purchased some Hartz flea control drops and a new flea collor and it really seems to be doing the trick, however, upon close inspection of the three week old kittens I can plainly see on thier underbellies that they have themselves become infested with these nasty pests and I myself have been feeling them on my scalp and around other parts of my body, I know that it is not lice, I know what lice crabs look like, these are fleas! -little reddish-brown micro insects that you can barely see or catch because the minute you seem them they hop out of site, the fact that they have now transfered from the adult cats, (I assume because the can no longer reside on them), to me has even furthered my delema, I dont know which way to go from here or where to start with it. Do I remove the flease from the kittens first? if so, what method do I use to do so, I know the mom is always cleaning them so putting anything on them may cause mom to get sick so I am not sure what to do about the kittens themselves, and as for me and the rest of my apartment I am not sure if I rid myself of them first and then bomb the apartment or visa versa? -and what do I do with the kittens while bombing out the apartment?, I sure dont want to make them sick and if I attempt to remove them from their current location I know mom is going to have a caniption and pick them up one at a time and bring them back into my bedroom closet where she has nested them from the start. So anyone have some suggestions or know of a good procedure for going about this? -it will be truely appreciated!

Thanks,
Infested In Rhode Island
Doug

I personally have never used hartz, but I've read on here that it kills cats and especially little kittens so I would not use it on them anymore. I found a little kitten along side the road last year that was infested with fleas (vet told me he was 4-6 wks old). I was deperate so we actually just used a very tiny amount of flea shampoo, I think it might have even been dog shampoo. It took a few washings, if I remember correctly we used dawn dish detergent too because I was afraid if we used too much flea shampoo it would make the baby sick (Just make sure you rinse very well!). Luckily, it didn't. After that, you're gonna have to flea comb them. I bathed my poor lil guy like once every two days and I would comb him at least 2 times a day with the flea comb. It was really gross and time consuming, but if you leave the fleas on them, it could kill them. When I would find the fleas when I combed him, I put them in a container with rubbing alcohol which kills them almost instantly, so they wouldn't escape. I actually got to the point where when I would hold him, I could spot the fleas and pick them off of him. Then I just flushed them down the toilet. As for the momma cat, you could use flea shampoo and the comb as well. I would definitely suggest having two people when bathing the cats. The kittens will be a little easier because they're small (my poor little guy actually got used to it cuz he had ring worm too and I had to bathe him for that too!) The momma cat will probably be harder. Use one person to retrain and the other to wash and rinse and whatnot.

As for getting your house clear of the pests, I don't really know what to tell you besides your going to have to get the cats out of there until after it's been bombed or they're going to get infested again. I heard vacuuming with the dog flea in the bag works. Good luck!!

Ok, you do have a mess. First of all treat all adult cats. With Mom you need to be sure and read the instructions and warnings on whatever product you are using. Make sure that it is safe for nursing mothers. Put them all in cat carriers or crates and move them somewhere...on a porch..at a friends anywhere. For the kits, ask your Vet if he/she knows of a product that is safe for kits and nursing Moms. All I know of is a regular bath in water with regular furball shampoo and a flea comb. Then put them in a carrier or crate with Mom and move them out too. Then flea bomb the house and when safe, move everyone back in. Make sure to clean her nest too. Good luck!
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 17 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

Also, buy a dog flea collar. Snap it and put it in your vaccum cleaner. This will pick up eggs and fleas when you vaccum killing them. As for the kittens. I have heard to wash them in dawn dish soap. I would call the vet to ask what to do with mommy.
Good luck.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

For yopur kittens try just a normal bath with palmolive dish soap, it helps kill the fleas and then just brush them out. For the mother cat do the same thing. I had goten two kittens that were infested with fleas and the Palmolive really seemed to work. Also for the house moth balls help. Place them under and behind the furniture where you know the cats cant go. Like everyone else said a flea collar in the vacuum.

I had the same problem. My kittens are 12 days old. Call your local vet and make a appt. they have the right stuff for mom and the kittens. DO NOT WASH MOM. What happens is the fleas jump from mom to kittens and from kittens to mom. I lost a kitten to fleas it is nothing to play around with. Another thing flea collers can't be worn around kittens and my vet to me it was not worth the $6.00 I payed for it.

>> Another thing flea collers can't be worn around kittens and my vet to me it was not worth the $6.00 I payed for it.

The flea collar can't be worn by your cat or kittens but it can be put in the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum will pick up eggs and the collar will kill them.

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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker