Expert: Jessica - 9/29/2009

Question
I have 5 baby kittens that were born September 13,2009. Mama is taking awesome care of them. The other day I went to change the bedding (I used 2 big pieces of material and a towel). Went to put them in the washer and had to sorta shake them out to get them in the washer and there were lots of little about the length of a pencil lead, and wide as the top of a needle worm like things. They almost resembled maggats. They were so small but discusting. The vet wants me to bring all 6 cats in and I cant afford it. Can you please give me some advice.

Answer
Hi Jennifer.  Very likely, these were flea larvae.  The final stage of flea larvae are black and measure about 4 mm long.  Even had they been anything else, they probably would not have been of any concern to the kittens, as I recently had a chat with my vets about any parasites that live on cats, and fleas, ticks and lice were just about it.

The fleas, though, are a great concern.  Many young babies have died due to flea anemia.  The fleas take so much blood from the little ones that the babies can no longer survive.  The babies are, unfortunately, too little to be treated with spot-on treatments, which are most effective.  But you should treat mom with one that is approved for nursing mothers.  Frontline is available without a prescription, and Revolution is available through your vet if mom has been seen by the vet before.  DO NOT USE Hartz, Sargeant's, BioSpot, Zodiac, etc.  Only Frontline and Revolution are approved for nursing moms.  Fleas can be a problem even if you don't see them, because cats groom them off efficiently with their barbed tongues.  So even if you don't see fleas on mom, apply a treatment.  

All it will have taken is one flea to have laid those eggs, and soon you may have an infestation of fleas that the kittens will be defenseless against.  To try to prevent this, wash any bedding mom and babies have been on in hot water.  Vacuum all soft areas in the home well.  Also, bathe the babies.  I don't recommend a flea shampoo - many contain ingredients that can be toxic to newborns.  Instead, use Johnson's Baby Shampoo on these little ones.  You will need to dry them very, very well and keep them bundled up.  A chilled kitten will quickly die.  Consider using a heating pad, set on low heat and wrapped in a thick towel, to place the babies on after they have been dried off well.  The bath will help dislodge any flea eggs that could still be on the babies and will also get rid of fleas if there are fleas on them.  If there are fleas, they will all rush to the babies' heads.  Be ready to pick these off/comb them off with a flea comb and drop them into a bowl of rubbing alcohol.  A few fleas on the body could survive the bath, so you will need to flea comb their bodies, as well.  Mom will not need bathing if a flea treatment is applied.

If fleas show up later on the babies, they will need to be bathed again.  They can have Advantage or Frontline when they are 8 weeks, or Capstar if they reach 2 pounds younger than that.  If fleas are severe, you can consult your vet about giving a quarter or half dose of Advantage, Revolution or Frontline.  I have done this in the past, and it has saved my babies, but it is off-label, so it shouldn't be done without supervision.

You can find pictures of flea larvae on the internet by doing an image search.  The very immature ones are white, but the latest stages are black.  If the pictures match what you saw, then you will have your answer for sure.

Best of luck!

Jessica