AboutJessica Expertise I have bred Siamese cats and have years of experience caring for homeless, feral, orphaned, and terminally ill cats. I am knowledgeable in cat behavior, health, history, troubleshooting, breeds, coat patterns and colors, and trivia.
Experience I have extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to at-home medical care to rescuing homeless cats and placing them in homes. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning. I have given supportive care to cats suffering from terminal cancer, feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonits, and kidney, liver, and heart failure. I have been through chemotherapy with one of my cats who had lymphoma and have also been through many cutting edge surgeries with my special needs cats. I'm an avid cat show attendee and can give you info on the ins and outs of showing.
Expert: Jessica Date: 7/22/2008 Subject: How to get rid of fleas on 2 week old kittens?
Question Hi,
I was just wondering what I could do to get rid of fleas on my 2 week old kittens and their mother. The are losing a little bit of blood but not too much.
Thank-
Jacy
Answer Hi Jacy. There aren’t any flea products out there that are labeled for use in kittens under 4 weeks old. The best idea is to see if you can get the situation under control by first applying Revolution, a topical flea killer available through vets only, or Frontline Topspot, available through vets, online or at some pet stores, to the mama. Both are approved for nursing cats.
For the kittens, try bathing them with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Although not toxic to fleas, the shampoo will help sink fleas to the bottom of the bath and drown them. Then comb the kittens through with a flea comb to remove dead fleas and fleas that survived the bath. Dip the comb in rubbing alcohol between each stroke, then dry on a towel before continuing. After you have combed all visible fleas out, dry the kittens as well as you can. A chill is a kitten’s #1 enemy. Some people will use a blow dryer on low heat to dry kittens off. Bathing will need to be repeated daily until there is no sign of fleas. For the most accurate way to check for fleas, brush the kittens’ fur forward along their back, especially at the base of the tail. Any black flecks are flea feces. These will disintegrate in the bath, so if you see any on a kitten, there are probably fleas still feeding on him.
I have personally used two drops of Frontline or two drops of Advantage on kittens this young when fleas were a serious problem. Unfortunately, flea anemia has been a real threat with some of the kittens I’ve seen, and I didn’t feel I had time enough to bathe the kittens for a few days to get rid of fleas. Although these products are not labeled for use in kittens this young, the risk of leaving the kittens infested was worse than the risk of using a tiny amount of these products to rid them of fleas. This might be an option if bathing fails to get the flea problem under control.
Once the kittens reach 4 weeks and 2 pounds, you can give them an oral medication called Capstar to kill fleas. It will need to be given daily as long as fleas are present. It’s available without a prescription. After that, Frontline, Advantage and Revolution are labeled for use in kittens 8 weeks and older and only need to be applied once a month.
