Cats are not exempt from fleas neither is their offspring. Kittens stand the risk of getting fleas from their infested mothers. On the other hand, the same treatments for an adult cat cannot be used for the kittens. If you want to pick fleas out from their fur, make use of flea combs or a pair of tweezers. Keep in mind that, no treatment will work if you do not clean out your entire environment.
The mother cat’s bedding should be kept clean, soaked in very hot water and washed.
Anemia is a serious problem caused by fleas feeding on animals, on newly born kittens, anemia can quickly lead to death. So, inspect their gums to see if they are still pink – which means they still have enough blood – but if you notice that they have turned pale, take them immediately to a veterinarian for treatment.
Next thing to watch out for is their excrement, disgusting as that is, it is the only way to find out if your kittens are infected with tapeworms. If they are, you will see dried out rice-like tapeworms in their stool.
Flea treatments for kittens
There are two products available for getting rid of fleas in kittens, they are;
- Products that kill flea larvae and eggs (Insect growth regulators)
- Products that get rid of adult fleas.
IGRs are used to clean out fleas from the environment making it a lot safer for kittens and other animals in the house. You can decide on topical or oral treatments after giving due consideration to your pets age and weight. This information will help you determine which product to give to your pet.
Ensure that you never confuse treatments meant for dogs for cats, this can be fatal as dogs are much larger than cats.
Treatments for 4 – week old kittens
There is one product that works very fast in killing fleas on kittens; CapStar will take just 6 hours to get rid of 90% of the fleas. The kitten has to weigh at least two pounds and four weeks.
Capstar will kill off adult fleas for twenty-four hours before wearing off. Before this happens, make sure that your house is free from flea larvae and eggs to prevent re-infestation.
Treatments for eight week old kittens
Eight week old kittens have a lot more products that can kill fleas because they are big enough to withstand the effects of these drugs.
These are some topical products which you can use to treat your flea problem.
Frontline Plus: for kittens older than eight weeks, it has no weight requirement.
Advantage II: kitten has to weigh at least two pounds to withstand the effects.
Revolution: it does not have any weight requirement either.
Treatments for 14-week old kittens
The best treatment for this age is Comfortis, it is administered orally.