# UGH!! 8 week old kittens and FLEAS!



## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

Help!! I have had my 8 week old kittens for 2 days now (they are 8 weeks old today) and I suspected fleas straight away but didn't see anything. Anyways I used some food grade Dia Earth on them and sprayed their bed with a flea spray that has IGR in it.

Today I saw Wilson still scratching a lot and grabbed him and under his chin was a frickin' flea! I tried to grab it but it just ran back into his fur! I used a little more Dia Earth under his chin and sprayed the beds again and the cat tower. I know fleas can go everywhere but I don't want to move them into another room so spray the room they are in.

Am I worrying too much? I really don't want to use chemicals on them, they are so young and so small and the Frontline for Kittens is mean, you have to wet them all over first just to be able to spray it on


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## builder (Sep 2, 2012)

I’m so glad we don’t have fleas here in the desert. I used to have fleas before moving here and took my cat to a groomer to have the fleas removed in a flea bath and I almost lost my cat. When I took my cat to the vet after he got sick, the doctor was mad as could be because he told the same people not to do what they’re doing on more than one occasion. 

I’m not an expert, but after that experience I decided to fight the fleas from the ground level with pesticides rather than on the cat itself. You have to isolate them to another room where there are no fleas and restrict them from going outside until you get a handle on the surroundings. The pesticides are not good for the kittens.

Carpets are the worst to get fleas out of, but it has to be done. I don’t have wall-to-wall carpeting anymore because of it.


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## builder (Sep 2, 2012)

After I posted I realized that I forgot to mention that the mother is most likely bringing them in to the kittens, if she is still around.


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

They arent with mum anymore and im guessing I got them with the fleas. They are going to be indoor only so im hoping that once ive got rid of the fleas they wont get them again.

I only have carpet on my stairs which the kittens arent by. Im going to town with the house spray. its a big room so im moving rhem whilst I spray and cracking the windows for a bit to let out the fumes.

It really creeped me out seeing one. Nasty things!


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

My fosters came in with fleas also, except they were only about 4 weeks when I noticed them. Per my vet, adult frontline is safe to put on kittens as young as 5 weeks, provided that you use the correct dosage (don't put a whole adult does on a 2 lb kitten). I didn't have to give anyone a bath first either.

For fleas in my house (I get them once a year, usually, from various fosters), I treat all the cats with flea meds (frontline usually, though I did give the mama kitty who I thought was pregnant Revolution, as that's safe for pregnant cats whereas frontline isn't). I also flea comb all the kitties and pull off as many live fleas as I can and flush them down the toilet. This is what I did twice a day for the 4-week old kittens until they were big enough to use Frontline on. I also spray the house with flea spray (it's an aerosol spray you leave on). Vacuum once it's dry to get up any dead fleas, then empty the vacuum bag/tray outside the house. My house is about 2/3 carpeted, so fleas are SUPER fun for me.


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

Venusworld21 said:


> My fosters came in with fleas also, except they were only about 4 weeks when I noticed them. Per my vet, adult frontline is safe to put on kittens as young as 5 weeks, provided that you use the correct dosage (don't put a whole adult does on a 2 lb kitten). I didn't have to give anyone a bath first either.


I don't know how much these little guys weigh but they are dinky. Have you put adult Frontline on a kitten? 

It's not that I wouldn't take my animals to a vet if they really need it but I refuse to pay a £35 consultation fee for a vet to tell me that they have fleas and to use Frontline!! It can be tricky to get hold on the kitten frontline over the counter.

I've used some DE (Diatomaceous earth) on them as I just couldn't not do anything right now. Tomorrow I'm going to hunt out the flea comb.. I'm sure I must have one! I really detest fleas!


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

Have you bathed them yet?

I'm not sure if you can buy this in the UK. It's called Dawn dish shop. You want the original unconcentrated formula. You can bath them with this and it should help a lot.

You'll also need to wash bedding and such frequently and vacuum a lot.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I got Sasha as a kitten at 11-12 weeks. He was under 2 lbs then. First thing was to isolate him until I got him to the Vet. I took him to the vet the very next day I got him. They gave him Frontline for the fleas and Drontal for worms. The fleas he had immediately began falling off all over the place...relief for both of us!

They didn't have a chance to spread all over the house or to my other cats. Two days later, I bathed him and we haven't had problems with fleas since. I think the key is to act quickly and aggressively to make sure they don't spread all over the place.


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

I have several cats in the house, so I buy the large dog size frontline (over here it has a bernese mountain dog on the cover). I split it out...a standard adult cat dose is .5 mL My cats are overweight and my vet told us .7 mL is good for them. The kittens in my current batch at 5-6 weeks old each got .2 mL. My 10 week old kittens (rescued from the same property as the little guys, but different litter) got .3 mL each. That took care of all the fleas and none of the kittens were sick from that dose. 


So far as weight...they're supposed to gain roughly 4 ounces a week so at 5 weeks they should weigh roughly 1 lb, 4 oz. That's approximately how big my guys were when they got the .2 mL dose. The older kittens who got the .3 mL dose were 2.5-3 pounds each.


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

Thank you for all of your replies.

THE WAR ON FLEAS HAS STARTED!!

This morning I bought 2 more cans of house spray and 2 foggers, plus 3 tubs of frontline.. 

The Boyfriend and I strapped on masks, wrapped up the fish tank in towels and clingfilm, took all the plants and animals to the garage and totally blitzed the house!

I threw out ALL beds and blankets.. Litter tray mats.. I just didn't even want to battle with that lot!

We fogged and sprayed everything, hoovered until my hands were raw and then sprayed some more.

Treated the adult cat with frontline and luckily one of the kittens weighed enough for a full tube of frontline and the little guy had nearly a whole tube.

The kittens were sat on the cat tower and on a shelf i saw a struggling flea.. got that little b*****d with a lint roller and killed him.. and then another.. and then another.. They are dropping off dead or dying! WAHOOO!!!

I'm seeing tons around their little necks and I'm trying to pinch them out but havent been that successful. These ones seem very much alive. I just hope they won't be for much longer!

Nasty little things. Can't stand them!


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

You might want to start a flea extermination business. You seem quite enthusiastic about it! 

I'm glad you're getting it handled. You'll need to vacuum and wash daily until they're all gone. It can take a little while. You may still need to bath the kittens if they're not flea free in the next few days.


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

Yep, the frontline works by spreading over the cat through the cat's natural skin oils. It'll take a few days to a week before the cat is 100% protected by frontline. In the mean time, vacuum like crazy. Since you've killed everything in the environment, you've just got to be diligent for a little bit longer and they'll all be GONE


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## Pushkabounce (Nov 6, 2012)

I seem like a crazy lady!! I made myself worse by reading up about how many eggs ONE flea can lay in a day and over how long.. then I started to do the maths and got a bit freaked out by the thought of 1000's of fleas eggs in a very short space of time.

I'm hoovering like crazy and on constant flea watch. Their favourite place to lay is on top of the cat tower so about 6 times a day I'm going to there to pick up flea eggs and DEAD (muhahaha!) fleas with a lint roller.

Touch wood.. Not seen a live flea since 8pm last night. Picked up about 20 dead ones from them, the floor and the cat tree.

My boyfriend thought I had lost the plot when I was on my hands and knees picking up dead ones and squeezing them, whilst cursing them.. but I just had to make sure they were really dead and knew they weren't welcome


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## katbaalew (Nov 19, 2012)

Haha, I don't laugh at you, I laugh because you sound like me 6 months ago. I went on a flea rampage after the whole apartment complex got infested and my poor girl has flea allergy dermatitis! Try Revolution instead of Frontline next time. Its by weight (with a lower dose for kittens), not age, so you don't have the insanity of getting a cat wet. Also, less toxic to your pets. 

(Note: Borax works well to kill them in carpet. Just make sure to keep kitty in a separate, ventilated room, and air out the room you put the borax down in after cleaning it up. It can be toxic in enclosed spaces in high amounts)


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