[kittenlover85]

I have a 2week old kitten that is infested with fleas, Took him to the vet today found out he is Anemia and also has a heart murmur. =( Took him home bathed him twice and picked I think all the fleas out and now I'm feeding him with a syringe because he isn't feeding off mom anymore. So my question is.. is he going to be OK and is there anything else I can do to help him? What happens after all the fleas are gone..

[paleophlatus]

Hi,
You have your hands full with this little guy. I want to caution you... this kitten is in serious shape, and may not survive. Any time an anemia is severe enough, the best thing to do is give the animal a blood transfusion. But, a kitten this size presents some problems there, as well, and not all veterinarians are set up to do this. If it wasn't suggested, this may be the case. Also, when he appears stronger, put him back to see if he will nurse from his mom.

The anemia is most likely caused by the fleas, from blood loss as they feed on the kitten. When you put him back with his mother, she has even more fleas and they will be all over the little one really quickly. And the blood loss will continue. This blood loss and severe anemia also happens with puppies born with a severe load of hookworms, or fleas. Mom is being eaten by fleas as well, but she is larger and can withstand them a bit better, but then, she has probably been feeding the fleas longer than the kittens
Have, so...

As to your last question, what happens after the fleas are gone... celebrate!

These little bodies don't have much blood in their little bodies, and certainly not enough to feed a horde of hungry fleas. They appear to be 'fine', for quite a while, depending on the number of fleas, but one day they will suddenly become pale and listless. Up to then their little body has kept 'making do' with the lesser amount of blood available, but eventually there just isn't enough, so it begins to shift some of the blood away from non vital areas like the skin and muscles to the brain and internal organs, to keep them functioning as normally as possible. This is where you are with your kitten. What makes it worse is this kitten is really young. Others in the litter will be suffering the same fate as this one before long, I fear.

Marked anemia will often cause a heart murmur as the thinner blood makes more noise flowing through the valves of the heart. Also, with all babies this young, there is occasionally a mild heart murmur as the heart finishes up changing over from being in a not breathing fetus with no blood flowing through it's lungs to a new born that suddenly has to have both blood circulating and air flowing in it's lungs so it can breathe and live. Not something to worry about at this age.

What more can you do? First, get rid of all the fleas. This means off Mom, and the others in the litter, out of their nest, and if Mom is a house cat, out of the rest of the house. No small undertaking, but soon you and the rest of your family will be having fleas on each other, and everywhere else in the house. I am sending a link about fleas, their life cycle, (so you can understand what you are dealing with), and advice on controlling them. But again, there's a problem because traditional control measures are not safe for the little ones.
I'll also send a link about a product and procedure to use on the cats that will kill fleas fast and be relatively safe for Mom and the little ones.
First, a link about the fleas:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/the_flea_control_center.html

About killing the fleas
http://www.fleacontrolbook.com/
About half way down the page, on the right in light blue letters, click on the title" Diatomaceous Earth... flea control." This site sells the stuff, but as much written on the internet about it, I suspect it's available all around, but I haven't had the opportunity to check for sure. Try garden supplies, Nurseries, feed stores, and whatever else you may think of. Get the food grade, not the filter grade as it has been treated differently apparently.

When putting it on the cats, let it flow gently onto the hair. Concentrate on the backs, tail, and top of head and neck of the kittens, not on the face so they don't breathe it either. On Mom, do the same areas, plus use it sparingly on her belly. This stuff is extremely fine, like talc, or finer, so it will pour easily. Use fairly lightly so as to NOT raise too much dust. Then gently comb or pat it into the hair to get down where the flea feeds. Get yourself a mask, like a paper one that is often used while painting, or a surgical mask just so you don't breath in any more than you have to.
Don't forget to treat the house. Remember, wherever Mom has gone in the house there will be fleas developing. Wherever she has favorite spots to nap, etc, there will be lots of fleas developing.

Best wishes.