someone left small kitten in front of our office this morning 5-6 weeks old

[zippy890]

the feline rescue is closed today. I can't take her I have 2 dogs that would eat her. swe're working the phones for no-kill shelter. she has fleas which is turning people off from taking her home.

anybody have ideas on how to de-flea a small kitten?

thanks

so cute- orange tiger. seems healthy enough, too young to be away from mother.

[Lyric]

1. Frontline works best, in my experience.

I always put a couple of drops right on the upper belly area, where a Mama cat doesn't lick as often. If she's that young, she should be getting KMR and soft solid food.

Edit: somehow I skipped over what you said about the rescue being closed. Oops!

[LeftyMom]

8. Frontline is for eight weeks and up.

[Lyric]

9. I know, but I've used it quite a few times on kittens as young as 10-12 days

with no problems or side effects. Not the full dose, but I've used a few drops on each kitten when we were caring for strays and their litters. I also use Capstar, but if someone can only afford one, I think Frontline is better because it kills all stages, not just adults like Capstar. I *have* experienced bad reactions to Advantage (in adolescent and adult cats) but never Frontline. Just my personal experiences.

It's a guess, but I think the 8-weeks-and-up limit is more about trying to keep people from putting it on babies that are nursing (and thus, poisoning Mama as she licks them off) than anything else.

[begin_within]

2. Can you at least take her to a groomer for a bath?

That might get rid of the fleas. Frontline is not supposed to be used on kittens less than 8 weeks of age.

[LeftyMom]

3. I'd give her a dose of Capstar, some wormer and a bath. In that order.

Capstar will kill any fleas in about an hour, then wormer because kittens almost invariably have worms, then a bath to clean her up and get her presentable for her new home and to get rid of any remaining fleas and/or klingons orbiting uranus, which are another common kitten problem.

edit: Capstar is okay from four weeks and two pounds, so as long as your new kitten friend isn't totally underweight you should be good on that front.

[blogslut]

4. Powder the animal with 20 MuleTeam Borax

You might want to try wiping the kitty with a diluted mix of Campho Phenique and lots of water. The smell makes the fleas flee. The Borax kills the eggs and the remaining fleas.

[LeftyMom]

6. Absolutely do not do this.

Borax is toxic to ingest and cats lick their fur. Doing this to a kitten would probably be fatal, ingesting only a small amount of borax can kill a cat. It does work to get fleas in carpeting, but you have to apply it while the cat is not in the room and then vacuum it up before they are allowed back into the space.

edit: Camphor oil (as in campho phenique) is also dangerous to cats- exposure can cause seizures. Don't do that either.

[blogslut]

12. I'm sorry

I had read that boric acid was non-toxic for cats. As well, I suggested campho-phenique, mixed with a lot of water but I guess that's wrong too.

I apologize.

[zippy890]

5. thanks everybody

looks like a vet down the street will take her.

:hi:

[HopeHoops]

7. The drops are only for cats 5 lbs or larger. Talk to a vet about it.

You might be able to use a powder.

[WolverineDG]

10. You can give her a bath then get some Capstar

wrap her in a warm towel to help her dry & also keep warm.

dg

[Sparkly]

11. Pictures!!! I want to see pictures!!

Flea powder would probably work quickly. Ask at a PetCo-type store.

[applegrove]

13. She is very young. If you take her home just let her sleep and sleep somemore in your arms.