If I am fostering a kitten and it is full of fleas, I always give it a warm bath with Dawn dishwashing soap well rubbed and bubbly into its fur. It has to stay under water for at least five or more minutes, (not the head, lol,) and the fleas will make their way to the head and then you pick them off and drop them into water set aside in a cup where they drown.
You have to talk to and reassure the kitten while bathing, and also be ready to pick the fleas off on the facial area. Also, Kittens love to have warm breath blown on them if they are docile. Also, kittens need to have their claws trimmed, just a little bit, before handling, just enough not to hook you in the face when you are cuddling them!
Great advice above! I read about 30 articles with pros and cons of kitten bathing to rid the poor little fellow of fleas as we picked him up aged 8 weeks from a very warm house last week and we weren't at all surprised to spot a few jumpy friends on him!
After trying the comb (with little success due to the amount he had!) we put a tiny dab of spot on on his neck each day for 3 days. I know this is only meant for kitties aged 12 weeks but we probably used about a quarter of the normal tube in total over the 3 days and he really was agitated and scratching like mad! This took care of the fleas then it was just the eggs to deal with as when we checked his coat he was covered in the tiny dark specks.
I was dreading giving poor little Oscar a bath and couldn't believe it when he just sat there good as gold while we bathed him in a few inches of warm soapy water then rinsed him down and dried him with a towel and hair dryer. He was an absolute little angel and has just hopped back up on my lap while I type this just 10 mins later!
Please consider giving them a little bath - I hope this is the only time I ever need to do it as I'm not really a fan of cats and water but it solved the problem of the eggs in his coat for us in 5 very painless minutes.
Now we just have to vacuum the front room where he's been living and spray the furniture and carpets and we're flea free at last! :)
By tete (Guest Post)
12/23/2007
Use a flea collar.
By Monica (Guest Post)
12/10/2007
You can't use Advantage on kittens that weigh less than 2lbs.
By Monica (Guest Post)
12/10/2007
You can't use Advantage on kittens that weigh less than 2lbs.
By michelle (Guest Post)
11/27/2007
Does Dawn dish soap kill fleas on a young kitten
By
12/10/2006
how do keep my kitten from fighting me when i give him a bath?
By Jenn S (Guest Post)
08/21/2006
if there is a young kitten the flea treatments are too dangerous. just because cats "dont like water" doesnt mean that a bath to get rid of its HARMFUL AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY fleas is a bad thing.
By
11/11/2004
Have you throught about Advantage? I buy it online for my (indoor) dogs and keep them on it all year. They cannot then bring fleas into my indoor kitties.
I think Advantage would be less traumatic than a bath with dishwashing soap.