My daughter's friend found 2 stray city kittens. Unfortunately, the one my daughter adopted made his first trip to the vet at about 3 weeks old. The vet said "Jake" has both ringworms & tapeworms and no doubt fleas as well. He is very active, playful, & cute, but now she's dealing with his diarehea /vomiting & pulling out the tape worms after he poops. This is her first pet at 20 yrs old and she's not off to a great start. We are concerned for my daughter's health and "Jake's" as well. She is full-time college student living with roommates in a house in center city and classes start up again next week. Can the kitten's condition be safely & effectively treated at 4 weeks old? He doubled his weight in a week (now 1.2 lbs). How long does it usually take to rid of worms? What precautions should she take in keeping her apt & self disease free? Can humans contract these pet worms? Would you advise she give kitten up for a healthier one in future. Her upcoming work load may conflict with pet care of a sick kitty. And yes, we've had the joy of meeting Jake & have also become a little attached. She has asked us to take him in while being treated for the worms. We both work full-time and don't really know what we would be getting into. Any advise you can offer in dealing with the worms would be a great help. Thanks!

Did the vet not tell her how to take care of the kitten's problems?

Hello Cat1864,
The vet is treating Jake with de-worming meds and I'm sure he adivsed her on proper kitty care. She said she has to return next week for check-up and another med dose as long as he keeps gaining weight. I was not there for the vet visit and wanted to hear from anyone's personal experience, if they can fill me in on other issues I'm concerned with. Thanks.

Keep in mind that due to his age, the vet needs to be the one to tell you what treatments to use because only he/she can give accurate dosing information.

If he is gaining weight and visibly improving, he should be old enough and healthy enough to handle his living situation.

She does need to take several precautions until the vet says that Jake is 'clean'.

Ringworm is actually a fungal infection. Everyone who pets or handles the kitten needs to make certain that he/she frequently washes their hands to keep from spreading the fungus. (BUT the vet is the one who will have to provide the proper type of treatment (anti-fungal) for Jake.)

This site has some very useful information that may help you understand what the vet recommends:
Worms From Your Cat - Protect Yourself

Fleas are going to be one of the tricky ones to keep from becoming a bigger problem because as well as treating the animal (the vet would have to give instructions on treating a kitten that small), the environment needs to be treated. In the Pest Control Forum is a stickie (a post that stays at the top of the board) on the best way to treat the apartment for fleas. Mostly it is vacuuming and more vacuuming. It is time consuming but it is better than the fleas.

I wouldn't make any decisions about Jake's fate until after the next vet visit. However, it sounds like the little guy is very luck and has a chance at a very long life (probably healthier than it is starting out).