Expert: Karen Craft - 8/17/2009

Question
My cat had a litter of 5 kittens about 4 weeks ago. At first they all seemed healthy. A few of them did have a problem with their eyes matting shut. Then on night when they were about 2 weeks old we found that one kitten had died. All the rest we playful. One week later another had died. Another of the kittens seemed to be having problems walking and her eyes kept matting shut. I took mommy cat and the kittens to the vet and he said they had flea anemia. He gave them a piece of a pill and sprayed them. He also gave us something for our house. After a few hours they all seemed fine again. The one that had problems seemed to be doing ok. Then this morning I checked on them and i knew right away that that one kitten was dying. Within a few minutes she was gone. The last two kittens have never shown any sign of anything being wrong with them. Then i get a call at work saying another kitten had died. Now we only have one left. Could the vet have been wrong or is there something else that might be wrong with them? The vet never ran a test on them. He just saw the fleas and said they had flea anemia. I really want to know if there is something i could do so i can save the last ones life.

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Sorry I couldn't get back to you right away, my computer broke.

Capstar is for kittens 4 weeks and older that are 2 pounds or more. What did he spray them with? And what was the stuff for the house? It sounds like they may have gotten overdose of flea meds. They may have been sick with Herpes. The eyes being matted shut may be a clue to that. That means they may have been weakened from the virus and the fleas.

Remove the little one from what is being used in the house. Wash him with Dawn dishwashing soap. This is what I recommend for young kits. Here's how to do it.

Use Dawn dish washing liquid. Water it down to about 2/3 water and 1/3 Dawn liquid, and saturate the kitty. Be careful not to get it in his eyes or mouth. Rub it into his fur really well. Used a gentle flow of warm water to thoroughly rinse him. Wipe his face and ears with a damp washcloth. Then wrap him in a towel and get most of the water off him. Then wrap him in a clean dry towel.

If you are very careful and talk to him all the while, he will not be traumatized by a bath, and you'll be rid of the fleas too. The Dawn kills them instantly. Comb him through afterwards with a flea comb to remove dead fleas.

Don't put the kitty in a basin of water, set him on a safe surface to do the bathing. Use something like a plastic chair or table set in the bathtub. Place a flat sponge or towel under him so he can grab onto that. Then rinse him in the same place. They are more afraid of being submerged in water than of the water being dipped or sprayed on them gently.

Keep an eye on him. If you remove the flea poisons he may stand a chance. If you have fleas in your house use Borax powder on the rugs. Kills the fleas and is safer for the kits. Also vacuum with a flea collar in the collection area of the vacuum. This will kill any fleas vacuumed up. Hope he is okay. Wait until he is 12 weeks and use a topical flea treatment like Advantage for cats. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen