Noreen Cooper writes:

Sorry to be so long-winded. I guess I'm feeling a little insecure in my
ability to care for a semi-feral cat. The basic reason for my post is to
find out from the experts here all the things I should do health-wise for
the kitten. I'm planning an immediate trip to the vet but the bigger
concern is how to de-flea a kitten. Are there any flea dips which can be
given to a 7-week-old? Or are there other methods you'd suggest?

I'd consult with the vet about chemical treatments. Besides being
de-flea-ed, fleas spread tapeworms so the kitten might need to be
wormed, too.

One thing you can definitely do, though, even before you take the
kitten to the vet, is give it a good grooming with a flea comb. Have
a dish of soapy water handy to drown the fleas in, otherwise they will
just hop right back onto the kitten (or onto you). I would keep the
kitten as isolated as possible until you are sure it is flea-free so
that you don't get fleas infesting your house or your other cats.
When I adopted a slightly older stray kitten some years ago (he was
about 3 months old), he was loaded with fleas, too, and I kept him in
my spare bedroom at first and gave him the flea comb treatment two or
three times a day. I had given him a cardboard box with an old towel
to sleep in, and I changed and washed the bedding every couple of days
and treated the box itself with flea spray. And once I got all the
fleas exterminated from the kitten and decided it was safe to let him
out into the rest of the house, I flea-bombed his room to get rid of
any other fleas that might still be lurking there. IIRC, it took
about a week or so. One good side-effect of all that grooming is that
it very quickly got the kitten socialized to me and accustomed him to
being handled, BTW.

-Sandra