russian blue had kitties, need help

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agent smith - 30 Aug 2004 20:09 GMT

ive had a litter before, but this time, the mommacat (a rescue) somehow got
fleas. is there ANYTHING i can do to safely bathe the newborns (3 days) and
the momma cat so the fleas dont become a nuisance? ive got one other cat, a
fixed male tuxedo, who has been scratching a lot lately. i gave him and my
ferret a flea bath, which solved the problem for about 2 weeks, but theyre
scratching again. help please!

-agent smith

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Magic Mood Jeep? - 30 Aug 2004 21:45 GMT

Mama & tuxedo can be safely treated with frontline or advantage.
For the kittens you will have to manually remove the fleas with a flea
comb - there's no flea bath or drops that are safe for babies.
Best also to treat your home, because that's where the fleas actually live,
only going to the dog/cat/ferret during meal time

Might also be best to take Mama & babies to the vet before trying anything
advised here.

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> ive had a litter before, but this time, the mommacat (a rescue) somehow
> got
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> -agent smith

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Fan - 30 Aug 2004 23:33 GMT

>ive had a litter before, but this time, the mommacat (a rescue) somehow got
>fleas. is there ANYTHING i can do to safely bathe the newborns (3 days) and
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>-agent smith

You did not mention it, so I assume you have not used the "one drop
between the shoulders" medication, like Frontline or Advantage. If
not, use them on the adult animals. They work quite well, in most
cases.

A flea bath mostly gets the ones on the animal at that point in time.
Since fleas do not live on the animal, that has a limited value. It is
usually used only for really bad cases, and then as a suppliment to
the medication.

Since the fleas actually live in the carpet, rugs, furniture, etc.,
you might want to spray the house or to "bomb" it. Obviously, you
would not want to have any living thing in the house when you did
that. Read and follow the instructions on the package, this stuff is
potent.

It takes about two weeks for the flea eggs to hatch. It is not a
coincidence that they seem to scratch about two weeks after the flea
bath.

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Agua Girl - 30 Aug 2004 23:59 GMT

All good advice...
I just want to add that fleas are more than a "nuisance" for
the babies. Get them combed and out of the infested area
as soon as possible.

AG

> >ive had a litter before, but this time, the mommacat (a rescue) somehow got
> >fleas. is there ANYTHING i can do to safely bathe the newborns (3 days) and
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> coincidence that they seem to scratch about two weeks after the flea
> bath.

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agent smith - 31 Aug 2004 03:54 GMT

well, i got some tweezers, and with a steady hang, i got all the fleas i
could find on the newborns out (none of them made a sound while i did this

:). the adults, yes, i do have some advantage i can use (already have), but

didnt know if this was good for momma cat. ferret has also been advantage'd,
as well as Giant. i do have some carpet stuff (you sprinkle on your carpet,
vacume it up 12 hours later) that i could try, but as far as bombin my apt,
thats gonna be a REAL pain. usually, i look this stuff up on my own, but ive
been so busy and vexed at work lately, ive just been lazy. ty for the info

-agent smith

> All good advice...
> I just want to add that fleas are more than a "nuisance" for
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> > coincidence that they seem to scratch about two weeks after the flea
> > bath.

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Janet and Larry - 03 Sep 2004 00:45 GMT

"I once had a litter with fleas...momma too...I spinkled corn startch all
over each and then wrapped each one in a towel very snuggly and held it for
a minute or so (kitten's head sticking out, of course, so it could
breathe)...the corn starch smothers the fleas. I then combed out the corn
starch as best I could and momma (not happily) did the rest. The corn
starch will not hurt even very young kittens...Look at the anatomy of the
flea and you will see why this works...You may have to do this more than
once if you do not get the momma cat and the babies away from the source of
new infestations. Isolation of momma cat and babies works best. Do not
let animals that go outside near them until they are older.....hope this
helps. Janet

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agent smith - 03 Sep 2004 01:20 GMT

> "I once had a litter with fleas...momma too...I spinkled corn startch all
> over each and then wrapped each one in a towel very snuggly and held it for
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> let animals that go outside near them until they are older.....hope this
> helps. Janet

i took the kittens an momma to the vet. they said you could use starch also,
but dawn hand soap works the best (thats what i was told at least). so,
being the skeptic i am, i bought some, and wow, no more fleas on the
kittens! i bathed momma and Giant in it also just to be sure, and also
bathed them in flea soap. i bought some chemical for my carpet also that
should kill any dormant eggs (vacuming every day like i do is also good to
help keep the flea population low). all in all, its been another easy
litter. question tho. it looks like after just a few days, one of the
kittens is managing to open one eye. just one kitten, the other 2's are
sealed shut. i just noticed this today. i dont really wanna take her to the
vet, but if necessary, i will. is this normal? its been so long since my
last litter that i dont recall how long it takes for their eyes to open up.
TIA!

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Sara - 06 Sep 2004 03:16 GMT

> > "I once had a litter with fleas...momma too...I spinkled corn startch all
> > over each and then wrapped each one in a towel very snuggly and held it
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> last litter that i dont recall how long it takes for their eyes to open up.
> TIA!

My cat had kittens about six weeks ago and depending on like short
hair medium hair and long hair they will open up at different times
but usually take about ten-fourteens days is average. They do open one
eye at a time. Some will open before others. So I depending on how old
they are I would say this is normal.

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MaryL - 06 Sep 2004 07:21 GMT

In addition to the steps you have already taken, it is good practice to
empty the bag or cannister after cleaning, then vacuum a few small pieces of
a cut-up flea collar to kill any eggs that may be resting there (use the
flea collar only for this purpose; *do not* put one on mama cat or kittens).
My vet once said that flea eggs are "timed-release eggs" because some can
hatch as long as 1 or 2 years later.

MaryL

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Beaker - 14 Sep 2004 00:33 GMT

> > "I once had a litter with fleas...momma too...I spinkled corn startch all
> > over each and then wrapped each one in a towel very snuggly and held it
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> I have had several litters of kittens in my house at one time or another a

nd it is perfectly normal for their eyes to start opening at 4-5 days
although they will not open fully until 7-10 days, don't try to force them
though they will open when they are good and ready. this is absolutely
normal.

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Sara - 06 Sep 2004 03:09 GMT

I had the same problem with a persian I had. what I had to do was
treat the mother and completely clean the house cause fleas are like
lice they live in your bedding, pillows, etc. DO NOT use the bath
stuff because it is a temp solution. I had to go to the vet's to get
special medication for her. As long as you treat the mother you should
be able to kill most of them. The fleas on the babies will move
between them and the mother so if the mother is treated it will kill
most of the ones on the babies. If left untreated the fleas can/will
kill the babies so call or go to your vet's and get them treated.

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