[gkaustin]

Our momma kitty had a litter of 6 kittens, 3 survived, but are severely infested with fleas. What is a safe and effective way to treat kittens this young?

[theresa101]

I would recommend calling your veterinarian and see what they keep in stock that is safe for kittens that young. I would do it quickly or you could easily your kittens to flea anemia, if they are as you say-infested-mom will need treatment too. Do not-I repeat-Do not, buy anything off the shelf at the department store. You must be very careful what you put on cats as some can be very sensitive to the chemicals they contain. They may be cheaper, but you only need to see one cat that has been exposed to the toxins in them to be convinced that they are bad news. Trust the much tested products you can purchase at an animal clinc. What you can use I'm afraid will be a very short list. Hope this helps.

[hheath541]

You need to start by picking the fleas off the babies and mom at least twice a day. That's about all you can really do at this point. They're really too young to bathe, if it can be at all avoided. You can't bathe mom, either, as the babies will end up ingesting anything you put on her.

You need to treat your house, though. Wash any bedding used by your kitties in hot water, and dry for at least 30 minutes on high. If you can find it, diatomaceous earth is completely safe around kitties. Spread it on all carpet and furniture you can't wash, let it sit for about an hour or so, then vacuum it up.

Picking the fleas off the kitties twice a day and treating your house once or twice a week should get rid of the fleas.

[theresa101]

Treating the environment is very important, but there is product on the market now that is safe for nursing cats, not sure if I can mention the brand name on this site. It is in pill form and you can only get it from your vet. We have used this product safely for about a year now at our clinic. The drawback is the effects of the pill only lasts 24 hours, so the bedding would need to be dealt with at this time also. We also used to carry a flea killing spray that could be sprayed onto a cloth and wrapped around kittens body, effectively "stunning fleas" so they could be more easily removed. I wish we still carried that stuff, but sadly we do not. Another drawback to these products is that you have to be careful if you are dealing with debilitated animals. If there is a true infestation you have got to kill the fleas or they will literally suck your littles dry. Hence the urgency to act quickly and the suggestion to contact your vet to see if they have these products.