flea control?

[mo2]

So we just got 2 kittens. The man who gave them to us said he had given them a flea bath, but we've had them for 2 days and they are scratching a lot. If this is because of fleas, how do I get rid of them? I would prefer not to use chemicals because I have small children. A quick google search brought up several articles about Dawn dish soap. Does this work?

[mo2]

:bigear:

[Cinder]

Have you checked with your vet? They might still have fleas--have you seen any black grit in their fur? Or they might be reacting to the flea bath.

 

Your vet could help you figure out the best course of action.

 

Cinder

[vettechmomof2]

Not knowing what he bathed them in could also change what you should use so personally I would recommend a vet visit first. Since you have young children you should have a fecal exam done right away because if they did have fleas then they also most likely have tapeworms and potentially other intestinal parasites. While there for that you could discuss flea control and prevention.

[mo2]

Thanks. A vet visit will be done but will have to wait until next payday (sigh). I will probably just bathe them here and comb them, looking for fleas.

[Lawana]

Interesting that you should ask, since we are going through the same thing right now. At the recommendation of the vet, we are bathing them in plain water, since at 5 weeks, our kitten is too young and small for any chemical flea treatment. The water drowns/floats off the fleas, without in any way harming the kitten. We bathed 3 consecutive days, resulting in 11 fleas the first day, 4 the second, and 1 the third. We'll do it a few more days to catch any newly emerged fleas. A quick wash wasn't as effective as holding the kitten submerged to the face for a few minutes. Most fleas drowned, but others ran for high ground while the kitten was in the water, so we used tweezers to grab fleas as they migrated to the face. Good luck;).

ETA: Bathing was much more effective than combing. I think we got only 1 flea with the comb.