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Flea Dip for 7-week-old kitten



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 22nd 03, 02:37 PM
Sandra Loosemore
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Default Flea Dip for 7-week-old kitten

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




  #2  
Old July 22nd 03, 02:37 PM
Sandra Loosemore
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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




  #3  
Old July 22nd 03, 09:10 PM
Bill
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Noreen Cooper" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.

I didn't grow up with cats but my son has always been a huge cat lover.
When he was younger, I felt the need to guarantee the temperament of our
home kitties and decided upon the Scottish Fold breed. We couldn't be
happier with our two cats, one straight-eared and one folded-eared. The
folded-ear cat has never once bit my son, a very easy cat to maintain.

I've read quite a few books on cat care over the past five years and am
the primary caretaker of our two family cats. My son is now 8 and while
visiting a friend, he found out a feral mom had dropped five kittens into
a backyard down the street. He fell instantly in love with one of the
kittens and I decided to let him have one. The kittens are relatively
well-socialized by the neighbor children; the mother, aunt, and
grandmother all look out for them; the 6-week-old kittens are still
nursing; but the family who presently fosters the brood feeds everyone but
does leave the kittens out all night. Hence the kittens are quite covered
in fleas and Advantage is prohibited until at least 8 weeks. (As an
aside, this family has paid to have both the feral grandmother and aunt
spayed at their own cost but have yet been unable to catch the mother).

I have heard that it is better to adopt feral kittens earlier since the
longer they stay with their mother, the more they will shun humans. I've
noticed a huge difference in just one week where at 5 weeks the kittens
were blissfully playing and ignoring any humans standing around to
6-weeks where they are running away. I invite any comments from the
group but we were thinking of taking the kitten one week from now, at
7-weeks-old to begin socializing it into our family.

What the foster family plans to do is try and place the remaining four
kittens in pairs as litter mates. Since we are over there almost every
day, the odd-out kitten at least knows us.

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 guess I'm also wondering how the semi-feral kitty will get along
eventually with two very over-domesticated cats. The straight-eared fold
is indoor-outdoor and the folded-ear is indoor only. The plan right now
is to take the semi-feral kitten inside for a month or so and then allow
her access outdoors but bring her in at night.

Noreen


Since the kittens are used to people, I'd leave the kitten with its mother
until it is a full 8 weeks old. It's better for the kitten anyway to remain
with its mother as long as it can.

That way, the kitten can be given Advantage when you bring it home. Also,
you don't have to use the whole tube.

Good luck, and enjoy your cat.

Bill



  #4  
Old July 22nd 03, 09:10 PM
Bill
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Noreen Cooper" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.

I didn't grow up with cats but my son has always been a huge cat lover.
When he was younger, I felt the need to guarantee the temperament of our
home kitties and decided upon the Scottish Fold breed. We couldn't be
happier with our two cats, one straight-eared and one folded-eared. The
folded-ear cat has never once bit my son, a very easy cat to maintain.

I've read quite a few books on cat care over the past five years and am
the primary caretaker of our two family cats. My son is now 8 and while
visiting a friend, he found out a feral mom had dropped five kittens into
a backyard down the street. He fell instantly in love with one of the
kittens and I decided to let him have one. The kittens are relatively
well-socialized by the neighbor children; the mother, aunt, and
grandmother all look out for them; the 6-week-old kittens are still
nursing; but the family who presently fosters the brood feeds everyone but
does leave the kittens out all night. Hence the kittens are quite covered
in fleas and Advantage is prohibited until at least 8 weeks. (As an
aside, this family has paid to have both the feral grandmother and aunt
spayed at their own cost but have yet been unable to catch the mother).

I have heard that it is better to adopt feral kittens earlier since the
longer they stay with their mother, the more they will shun humans. I've
noticed a huge difference in just one week where at 5 weeks the kittens
were blissfully playing and ignoring any humans standing around to
6-weeks where they are running away. I invite any comments from the
group but we were thinking of taking the kitten one week from now, at
7-weeks-old to begin socializing it into our family.

What the foster family plans to do is try and place the remaining four
kittens in pairs as litter mates. Since we are over there almost every
day, the odd-out kitten at least knows us.

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 guess I'm also wondering how the semi-feral kitty will get along
eventually with two very over-domesticated cats. The straight-eared fold
is indoor-outdoor and the folded-ear is indoor only. The plan right now
is to take the semi-feral kitten inside for a month or so and then allow
her access outdoors but bring her in at night.

Noreen


Since the kittens are used to people, I'd leave the kitten with its mother
until it is a full 8 weeks old. It's better for the kitten anyway to remain
with its mother as long as it can.

That way, the kitten can be given Advantage when you bring it home. Also,
you don't have to use the whole tube.

Good luck, and enjoy your cat.

Bill



  #5  
Old July 23rd 03, 07:13 AM
-L.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.


The kitten can be treated with Advantage, even though it is younger
than the minimum age for on-label use. I would use a half-dose of the
smallest size available (the kit is 7 weeks old, right?).

We have used Advantage on kittens as young as 4 days (one drop),
without ill effects. It is an off-label usage for Advantage, but in
my working experience, it is safe to use in this manner. When faced
with severe anemia and/or death, we took the chance, and it worked.
Been using it like this ever since.

Good luck,

-L.
(Posting from Toronto - I think I'm in love..)
  #6  
Old July 23rd 03, 07:13 AM
-L.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.


The kitten can be treated with Advantage, even though it is younger
than the minimum age for on-label use. I would use a half-dose of the
smallest size available (the kit is 7 weeks old, right?).

We have used Advantage on kittens as young as 4 days (one drop),
without ill effects. It is an off-label usage for Advantage, but in
my working experience, it is safe to use in this manner. When faced
with severe anemia and/or death, we took the chance, and it worked.
Been using it like this ever since.

Good luck,

-L.
(Posting from Toronto - I think I'm in love..)
  #7  
Old July 23rd 03, 07:16 AM
-L.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.


Sorry to follow-up my own post, but whatever you do, DO NOT flea-dip
this kitten (or any cat, for that matter) with organophosphate-based
chemicals. There is simply no reason to used the old-fashioned,
outdated chemicals any more - Advantage works very well and is
essentially non-toxic.

If the kitten needs a bath, it can be washed with DOVE liquid soap -
very diluted. Dry very well before using the Advantage.

-L.
  #8  
Old July 23rd 03, 07:16 AM
-L.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
I'm not sure what I'm getting myself in for but here goes. Bear with me
as I summarize a bit of background info.


Sorry to follow-up my own post, but whatever you do, DO NOT flea-dip
this kitten (or any cat, for that matter) with organophosphate-based
chemicals. There is simply no reason to used the old-fashioned,
outdated chemicals any more - Advantage works very well and is
essentially non-toxic.

If the kitten needs a bath, it can be washed with DOVE liquid soap -
very diluted. Dry very well before using the Advantage.

-L.
  #9  
Old July 23rd 03, 10:35 AM
Noreen Cooper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Sandra Loosemore wrote:

: 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).

Thanks, Sandra. This may be a dumb question but by simply dipping the
comb in the water, does that guarantee the fleas drown? Or do you need
to keep the comb submerged for a period of time?

I appreciate the detailed advice.

Noreen
  #10  
Old July 23rd 03, 10:35 AM
Noreen Cooper
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Sandra Loosemore wrote:

: 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).

Thanks, Sandra. This may be a dumb question but by simply dipping the
comb in the water, does that guarantee the fleas drown? Or do you need
to keep the comb submerged for a period of time?

I appreciate the detailed advice.

Noreen
 




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