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#22
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From: Noreen Cooper
Bill wrote: : 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. Thanks, Bill. I'm wondering about leaving the kitten for the extra week since the foster family is extremely well-intentioned but the kittens are left outside all night long, are seriously infested with fleas, and are being fed adult cat food along with the other cats. I would get that kitten ASAP. If he is infested with fleas, that is very bad. Fleas feed on his blood and the kitten can go downhill quickly if the fleas aren't taken care of. You can bathe him with some kitten safe soap. Just soaking him for a few minutes in some very mild soapy water will get a lot of the fleas off of him. Even a flea comb will help. Here's a website for some info: http://www.4fleas.com/fleacontroldonot.htm Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm |
#23
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"Noreen Cooper" wrote in message
... Bill wrote: : 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. Thanks, Bill. I'm wondering about leaving the kitten for the extra week since the foster family is extremely well-intentioned but the kittens are left outside all night long, are seriously infested with fleas, and are being fed adult cat food along with the other cats. I don't want to judge these people, there is a difference between volunteering to foster feral cats and having a feral cat drop a litter in your backyard, so I think they are doing more than most people; however, I'm having to weigh several factors as to whether the kitten should stay another week with the mother or not. The mother runs at the sight of humans and the kittens are beginning to imitate this behavior a bit more than last week. Under those circumstances, do you think it best the kitten stay the extra week? Noreen As long as the kitten is still nursing from its mother, it's probably getting the nutrition it needs. As long as the kitten has been exposed to people and has been handled by people before it's eight weeks old, it's usually not very difficult to tame it again. It would seem the biggest danger is that a wild animal or another cat may come into the yard and kill or injure the kittens, especially at night. But I don't know the exact circumstances. It's really your call at this point. It would be better to wait until the kitten is eight weeks, but its unlikely there would be any permanent damage if you take it at seven weeks. Bill |
#24
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"Noreen Cooper" wrote in message
... Bill wrote: : 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. Thanks, Bill. I'm wondering about leaving the kitten for the extra week since the foster family is extremely well-intentioned but the kittens are left outside all night long, are seriously infested with fleas, and are being fed adult cat food along with the other cats. I don't want to judge these people, there is a difference between volunteering to foster feral cats and having a feral cat drop a litter in your backyard, so I think they are doing more than most people; however, I'm having to weigh several factors as to whether the kitten should stay another week with the mother or not. The mother runs at the sight of humans and the kittens are beginning to imitate this behavior a bit more than last week. Under those circumstances, do you think it best the kitten stay the extra week? Noreen As long as the kitten is still nursing from its mother, it's probably getting the nutrition it needs. As long as the kitten has been exposed to people and has been handled by people before it's eight weeks old, it's usually not very difficult to tame it again. It would seem the biggest danger is that a wild animal or another cat may come into the yard and kill or injure the kittens, especially at night. But I don't know the exact circumstances. It's really your call at this point. It would be better to wait until the kitten is eight weeks, but its unlikely there would be any permanent damage if you take it at seven weeks. Bill |
#25
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Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
-L. wrote: : 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?). Not exactly. Today the kittens are 6 weeks and three days old. : 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. Thanks, L. That might be the best way to go, the half-dose of Advantage on a 7-week-old, followed by a thorough grooming with a flea comb. Noreen You can treat them now, with the Advantage. I would still use the half-dose though. Let us know how it works. Advantage takes about 24 hours to work, so combing isn't a bad idea. Also, if it has fleas that badly, it probably also has tapeworms (you may have addressed this in the OP - I can't remember). Talk to a vet about treating tapes - a shot of droncit is the way to go, if it is old enough to have the shot. And just FYI, the vet will ask if you want a fecal done for worms - in the case of a small kitten, not a bad idea, because it may have more than just tapes. My general approach when rescuing little ones who are in hard times (fleas, worms, etc.) is to treat the worst symptoms/problems first, let the baby recover for a week or so, then treat the other problems. And I also never vaccinate until the kitten is well. Don't want to overdose him with too many meds, especially if he's on the sickly side. That being said, in a household where other animals reside (or if the animal is to be housed at the vet), gettting rid of the fleas is the first step in treatment, always. Good luck, and thanks for helping this little guy. -L. |
#26
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Noreen Cooper wrote in message ...
-L. wrote: : 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?). Not exactly. Today the kittens are 6 weeks and three days old. : 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. Thanks, L. That might be the best way to go, the half-dose of Advantage on a 7-week-old, followed by a thorough grooming with a flea comb. Noreen You can treat them now, with the Advantage. I would still use the half-dose though. Let us know how it works. Advantage takes about 24 hours to work, so combing isn't a bad idea. Also, if it has fleas that badly, it probably also has tapeworms (you may have addressed this in the OP - I can't remember). Talk to a vet about treating tapes - a shot of droncit is the way to go, if it is old enough to have the shot. And just FYI, the vet will ask if you want a fecal done for worms - in the case of a small kitten, not a bad idea, because it may have more than just tapes. My general approach when rescuing little ones who are in hard times (fleas, worms, etc.) is to treat the worst symptoms/problems first, let the baby recover for a week or so, then treat the other problems. And I also never vaccinate until the kitten is well. Don't want to overdose him with too many meds, especially if he's on the sickly side. That being said, in a household where other animals reside (or if the animal is to be housed at the vet), gettting rid of the fleas is the first step in treatment, always. Good luck, and thanks for helping this little guy. -L. |
#27
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From: (-L.)
And I also never vaccinate until the kitten is well. Very good advice. I definitely would not vaccinate until the kitten's immune system is strong. It will even say on the vaccine insert to give to healthy animals only. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm |
#28
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From: (-L.)
And I also never vaccinate until the kitten is well. Very good advice. I definitely would not vaccinate until the kitten's immune system is strong. It will even say on the vaccine insert to give to healthy animals only. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm |
#29
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Thanks to everyone for such great advice. What I've decided to do is wait
one more week since the foster family is now bringing the kittens in at night and I am going every day to make sure all the kittens are fed kitten food while my son and I continue to socialize them by picking them up and playing with them. I bought Advantage for all the kittens and the foster family will put the Advantage on the kitten we are taking home one day before we pick him up. I prefer cats over dogs, but it is my 8yo son who is the true ailurophile. He claims to have 61 cat friends, all cats from our neighborhood which he has given his own names. Yesterday, as we were visiting the semi-feral kittens, one of the adult feral females who runs away from any human in sight allowed my son to pet her. It was quite the honor to witness this exchange between the two, with my son saying as he's scratching her head, "So, are you a 'ear' cat or a 'neck' cat?" Anyway, he's quite the cat boy and I fully expect he'll be contributing to this group one day...when he learns how to type. Thanks for all the help you have given us throughout the years. I follow this group from time to time but am not a regular subscriber. But when I am in need, it is always a pleasure to come here to get some excellent advice. Noreen |
#30
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Thanks to everyone for such great advice. What I've decided to do is wait
one more week since the foster family is now bringing the kittens in at night and I am going every day to make sure all the kittens are fed kitten food while my son and I continue to socialize them by picking them up and playing with them. I bought Advantage for all the kittens and the foster family will put the Advantage on the kitten we are taking home one day before we pick him up. I prefer cats over dogs, but it is my 8yo son who is the true ailurophile. He claims to have 61 cat friends, all cats from our neighborhood which he has given his own names. Yesterday, as we were visiting the semi-feral kittens, one of the adult feral females who runs away from any human in sight allowed my son to pet her. It was quite the honor to witness this exchange between the two, with my son saying as he's scratching her head, "So, are you a 'ear' cat or a 'neck' cat?" Anyway, he's quite the cat boy and I fully expect he'll be contributing to this group one day...when he learns how to type. Thanks for all the help you have given us throughout the years. I follow this group from time to time but am not a regular subscriber. But when I am in need, it is always a pleasure to come here to get some excellent advice. Noreen |
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