Newborn Kittens Have Fleas

Use flea medication on the mother only.

Newborn kittens have fleas. However most professional flea and tick products contain toxic ingredients that can be fatal to kittens. Lightly spray the paper with a demister. Dry the baby with warm towels so we don t drop their temperature too much and dry the best you can. Check the kitten for fleas by combing through the fur with your fingers or with a flea comb.

Newborn kittens with fleas or ticks should be treated immediately. Have tweezers at your side. 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. Every foster parent should have a flea comb.

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. 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. As for getting the fleas off of the kittens bathe them in warm water and dawn dish detergent. If the mother has fleas the kittens will have them also.

Other flea medications safe for kittens list 8 weeks of age as a minimum. This application kills the adult fleas but not their offspring. To kill anything that the bath didn t completely get rid of we need a preventative. Again newborn kittens need manual flea removal.

How to treat fleas in young kittens and nursing mothers method 1 of 3. Topical flea medications are poisons that kill. Fleas do not just exist on your cats and kittens. Look for small red brown specks which leave red stains caused blood in flea feces.

Blood sucking parasites can be fatal to kittens as they can cause anemia or a low red blood cell count or carry lyme disease. Check with your local vet since the kittens are so young. 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. Fleas can make a new home on your kitten in many ways even in indoor cats.

In consultation with your vet kittens over 4 weeks old may be treated with capstar there is a minimum weight requirement. However you can bathe them in dawn dish soap in the mean time. When the fleas surface pluck them out and send down the drain. Take a wet washcloth to clean the ring behind the ears and to wash the chin and face.

While you re drying them pick the fleas off with tweezers and wash them down the sink. The preventive to treat kittens with fleas. 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.

An 8 week old kitten only weighs about 1 5 2 pounds. Most of the fleas will die and those that won t will be stunned enough so that they re easy to pick off.