I recently got a kitten from a friend of mine. I have come to realize that she has tapeworms and most likely fleas. I've already started cleaning my sheets and plan to start vacuuming soon, but I thought I should try and get rid of the fleas on her first before beginning the process of getting the apartment cleaned as they may not be taken care of until she's taken care of. The tapeworms have been very noticeable, and I would really like to know what to do about them. From the research I've done, it seems likely that fleas go hand in hand with worms, and a friend of mine earlier tonight mentioned that she might have seen one or two of them, but they're not around in obscene quantities at the moment. If you could give me some ideas as to what to do, that would be incredibly helpful.

Hi fruitmongerkng - firstly let me say that your 'friend' should have her cat desexed straight away as this is appalling for her have kittens in such a state.

There are some flea powders available for kittens as young as 6 weeks but make sure you read the labels as most are only to be used on much older kittens.

If you do not want to use a flea treatment, wash the kitten in a mild dishwashing detergent and manually pick the fleas out of its fur.
I would suggest flea-bombing your apartment but you will need to vacate it for a short period.

As for the tapeworm there are many tapeworm tablets available, once again make sure you get one for kitten 6 weeks of age.

If you have any concerns or your cat is acting ill contact your vet immediately.

Your cat is around the age that she should be going to the vet anyway. From there they can deworm her and dispense flea products to take care of the fleas. Products such as Revolution are safe for kittens as young as 6 weeks.