My moms neighbor had found 2 kittens abandoned few weeks ago. Now the brother died last week and all was left was a beautiful girl. We got her from the neighbor and have had her for a day now but have noticed a bad flea infestation and they are huge. My concern is I don't want what happened to her brother to happen to her. She is overall healthy and very acive. But with being so younge how can I treat the problem? Now this is my first time having a kitten so younge and I am also curious as to how often should they poop? I have her peeing and today she even went in the litter box but no poop yet but horrible gas. Someone please help.
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Purrs
4week old orphaned Kitten with fleas!!!!
(11 posts)-
-
I don't think it would hurt to give her a bath with a mild baby shampoo in the bathroom sink, then combing her with a flea comb to remove the fleas. I would highly recommend that you bring her to the vet in the morning for a checkup since her brother died. He would be able to diagnose poop issues and tell you what to do.
-
At 4 weeks they should be pooping at least once a day (mine do for sure) what kind of food are you feeding her? Make sure its quality =kitten= food and she has access to plenty of water. She might be doing #2 somewhere in the house, do you have a crate you can put her in? If shes not at all litter trained she might be hiding and doing #2, putting her in a crate when you are not with her will show if she is. I always put the kittens in their litter box after they have ate or drank a lot of water. You might want to stimulate with a cotton ball to make her go in the litterbox.
Posted 5 months ago by ~*~Rav's Mom~*~ #
-
-
Hi, Steph, you are wonderful for trying to take care of this baby. I'm so sorry her brother died. Definitely at least use a flea comb on her as fleas can be dangerous to kittens -- they can cause anaemia -- and a bath is also be a good idea but make sure you towel her dry her quickly and well so she doesn't get chilled. At four weeks, what are you feeding her on, wet food or kitten milk replacement? Does she have a snug bed with either a heat pad or a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel (young kittens cannot regulate their own body temp). I agree with CW, a check-up with the vet is a very good idea.
-
Well I gave her a bath with baby shampoo today and my husband and I picked some fleas off I couldn't find a flea comb at the pet store today so I'm gonna go to another one tomorrow. The lady before me had her on only replacement milk so I gave her some canned kitten food and she loved it I didn't give her a whole lot though I am following the portions plus I am giving her the milk and offering her water which she was went to but sniffed it up her nose. I can't bring her to the vet til friday. We are strapped finacially right now we just moved so I have to wait til friday although I am gonna cll around tomorrow to try to find a place that takes payments. She has alot of personality and loves to play and is very active so I am not too concerned yet. I am curious about the pooping thing but have read that to not worry over one day. which it hasn't been a full day yet. But the neighbor said she could have worms from the fleas so what had medicine she was gonna give her but is it safe?
-
She could have worms, Steph, as well as fleas, and she probably has, most stray kittens do, but I would wait until the vet clinic on Friday and ask him about treatment, as she is so young. If she is getting wet food and KMR milk, she is probably getting enough moisture, keep leaving the water out, eventually she will 'get it'. Sounds like you're doing a great job! Yes, do try to get the flea comb as soon as you can but sounds like she's happy!
-
Thank you so much for your helpful information. I just didn't want to worry to much about it and needed a peace of mind I would hate the same thing to happen to her although she is way to alert and I see no signs I could tell he wasn't gonna live it was so sad. I am pregnant and have for kids so don't think I would have handled it to well. Oh wait ok now with the flea comb I know those hummers are hard to kill so when is the best time to come her with it and/or what do I do with the fleas?
-
Hi, Steph. Welcome to the Daily Kitten!
Preventing dehydration is very important with very young kittens. If your kitten is drinking Kitten Milk Replacement from a bottle, you are probably meeting her need for fluid. You can offer her unflavored Pedialyte as extra fluid. If she is eating wet cat food, you can dribble some KMR on it to increase fluid intake.
One way of getting rid of fleas that doesn't involve toxic chemicals is to pick or comb them off the kitten and put them in a bowl of soapy water which will drown them. You can also buy some food grade diatomaceous earth which kills fleas and ticks and is harmless to pets and people. It can be ordered online. It is a powder that you sprinkle on the floor. Your vet will tell you if the kitten is old enough to be dosed with a flea medication and/or worming medication.
I assume you know of the danger the litterbox poses for pregnant women. You could contract Toxoplasmosis which can harm your baby. Here is a good website that explains this: http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/pregnant.html Best to let other family members take care of the litterbox! :)
Please keep posting and let us know how you and the kitten are doing. We'd love to see pictures when you have time to post them. Click on my avatar to see pictures of my three kits, Digit, Furl and Boots.
Posted 5 months ago by Kitten Whisperer #
-
Least expensive place online to order food-grade diatomaceous earth that I've found is Earthworks. I just ordered a 10 lb bag - should last virtually forever, for me! A 2.5 lb jar is inexpensive and completely non-toxic. The kitten definitely should be seen by the vet on Friday, though, since she could be anemic from the fleas (and likely needs to be wormed, too).
Posted 5 months ago by anncetera2 #
-
Hi Steph, I'm new to the board too. I'm fostering 3 4-week old kittens. I was told by the shelter in our area that you can bathe kittens in Dawn or Palmolive dishsoap, make sure it's not antibaterial. It won't kill the eggs, but it will kill the adults. Just make sure to avoid their eyes and keep them warm after the bath. A trick I found online to keep them warm after a bath is to place them in a carrier and put a hair dryer on low/warn about 6 inches or so from the carrier door and let it blow in the carrier until they are dry.
Dawn and Palmolive are mild and won't irriate their skin. Hopefully this will keep the fleas at a controllable level until you can give them a capstar and then when they are older started on regular flea control.
Hope this helps! Congrats on the pregnancy to btw!
Reply
You must log in to post.