How to remove fleas from a kitten? Flea remedy for kittens. How to protect a kitten from fleas: prevention and treatment How to treat a small kitten for fleas

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05.12.2016

Features of flea removal in kittens

It is important to clean your home using insecticides from time to time.

How to remove fleas from a kitten

Fleas in a domestic kitten can appear along with other animals, get into the house on people's clothes or shoes, or jump out of a window. Therefore, before removing fleas from a kitten, take care to sanitize the room.

In a newborn

The hardest thing to figure out is how to get rid of fleas in newborn kittens. The body of such babies reacts sensitively to any medications, and even “medicines for kittens” that are safe for animals for 2–3 months are suitable for them. mortal danger. There are several categorical prohibitions to preserve the health of little kittens.

Newborn kittens should not be smeared with any insecticides, even if they are theoretically harmless to animals. Some part of these substances inevitably enters the mother cat’s stomach during licking, and from there, along with milk, into the baby’s body. However, even in hand-fed kittens, these substances can cause serious allergies.
There is no need to bathe such a small kitten again. The cat provides him with the necessary hygiene, and any shampoos, even those marked “for kittens,” can only be used starting from the 5th week.
Collars, even those marked “for kittens,” are strictly prohibited for such little ones.

A kitten does not have too many fleas at this age, since the cat, while licking the cub, bites off most of them. Therefore, it is quite possible to wait until the baby grows up and use effective sprays or drops.

Combing

It is the safest, but requires great patience and a lot of time. The main thing is to be as careful as possible so as not to damage the baby’s fragile bones.

You need to comb out fleas with a soft comb, brush or damp suede cloth. Prepare a bowl of water or sink cleaner solution: any caught insects will need to be dumped there immediately, otherwise they will immediately climb back onto the animals. Squashing fleas with your fingers is useless.

Bathing

On those rare occasions when it is too a large number of fleas threaten the baby's health, you can decide to bathe with baby or tar soap.

Heat the water to 38 - 39 degrees and pour it into a shallow basin. You can lay a towel on the bottom to prevent the paws from slipping: this will make the kitten feel safer.
Before treating your kitten for fleas, plug its ears with small pieces of cotton wool to prevent water from getting into them.
Wet and gently soap the kitten, without touching the face, however.
Leave the soap foam for a few minutes, then carefully rinse it off with warm water.
Dry your baby's fur with a soft towel or scarf that absorbs moisture well.
Immediately after bathing, take a brush and start combing out fleas. Pay special attention to the muzzle - this is where insects disturbed by water and soap will try to escape.

Make sure the water doesn't get cold. Otherwise, the newborn baby may freeze and catch a cold. And kittens take colds quite hard.

Anti-flea powder

The procedure is as follows:

Without pressing, rub the powder into the kitten's skin.
swipe soft cloth particles remaining on the wool.
and finally, comb your pet thoroughly with a soft comb.

If the kitten is not weaned from the cat, then for the next few hours it will have to be fed manually, from a pipette or syringe - for example, with a milk suspension for kittens. This is necessary to prevent the cat from licking off any powder that might remain on the cub’s fur.

If the kitten is 1 month old

In this age possible options somewhat more. However, all of them are permissible only if the kitten is no longer fed mother's milk. Otherwise, the alternative is still combing and bathing.

Shampoo

Some shampoos, such as products from Mr. Kiss, can be used starting at 4 weeks. 1 ml of the drug is diluted with 400 ml of water, and the kitten’s skin is washed with this solution. Be sure to keep the shampoo out of your eyes, nose or mouth!

The solution should be kept on the fur for 4 to 7 minutes, then rinsed with warm water and thoroughly dried the four-legged baby.

For the first bath, take half, or even less, dose of the drug with the usual volume of water. Some kittens have an allergic reaction even to such safe shampoos. If no painful manifestations appear, next time you can dilute the medicine in a standard concentration.

Drops

If a kitten has fleas at the 6th week of life, you can use Stronghold 6% drops, designed specifically for small kittens. They are applied to the withers and rubbed gently. The required dosage depends on the weight, therefore, before removing fleas from a kitten using this method, you need to carefully read the instructions on the package.

Drops cannot be used within 14 days after vaccination.

If the kitten is 2 – 3 months old

There are many options for how to deal with fleas in kittens at this age. Of course, you can only use a small amount of drugs created specifically for kittens. The most important condition remains the same: the kitten should not eat mother's milk in the days immediately after treatment. If the cat is still feeding him, you will have to temporarily move her to another place.

Veterinarians recommend several ways to combat fleas:

bathing with anti-flea shampoo, for example, “Phytoelita”;
the use of drops and sprays (they are quite safe, but their concentration should be less than indicated on the package to avoid allergies);
you can use powder from Beaphar, Gamma or Hartz;
If it is not possible to separate the kitten from its mother, it is better to use a traditional comb for grooming.

If the kitten is 4 or more months old

The easiest way to decide what to do is if a kitten develops fleas after the final transition to solid food - in the third or fourth month of life. Starting from this age, the kitten is considered a “teenager”, and any methods applied to adult animals can be used to treat it:

Of course, up to the age of 1 year, the animal’s body remains very vulnerable, so you need to buy only those drugs that are intended for kittens, and not for adult cats. These include products from Beaphar, Hartz, Gamma, Advantix and some others.

There are several opinions about whether it is possible to put a flea collar on kittens. Many owners consider this “decoration” to be practically a panacea. However, the minimum age of an animal at which it can be used starts at 3-4 months, and the bulk of the products cannot be worn before six months. However, in last years Bio-collars have appeared that can be used from the third month of a kitten’s life.

The question of how to remove fleas from a kitten can be solved even easier with folk remedies than with the help of expensive medications. There are some natural insecticides that are absolutely safe for animals of any age. Their effectiveness, however, is no lower than that of expensive drops and shampoos. Here are just a few of the most simple ways fight against bloodsuckers:

The appearance of a small kitten in the house can change the life of any person, because the baby requires careful care and concern for its nutrition and health. One of the problems that often arises with domestic and, especially, selected street animals is the presence of . The problem of how to remove fleas from kittens is that the use of chemicals on kittens is unacceptable because of their strong toxicity and danger to the fragile young organism.

Where do fleas come from in kittens?

Small cat children, like adults, can have blood-sucking insects in their fur. Fleas get on them in various ways, which depends on the conditions of detention:

On a note!

good and caring owners The pet should be taken care of in advance, even before mating with the cat. Moreover, this also applies to pregnant animals expecting offspring. There are special ones that are soft enough and do not pose a danger to mothers and babies.

The danger of flea bites for kittens

Fleas on a kitten can cause him trouble and pose a threat to his health, because the immune system in cubs it is formed only at the age of six months. And newborn or month-old babies are completely defenseless and are at risk of contracting infections and diseases that can be transmitted by blood-sucking insects.

Possible health problems:

If the baby shows any of the listed symptoms, then it is necessary to examine him carefully. Knowing what fleas look like on kittens, and these are small white and black dots among the fur, you can immediately determine the source of the animal’s poor health.

Methods for removing fleas from a kitten depend on its age: the older the cub, the more of them there are. It should be borne in mind that treatments and products suitable for a 3-month-old baby are not suitable at all for a baby less than 1 month old and pose a threat to his life.

Treatment of newborns and kittens up to 1 month

If there is only one kitten with fleas, then the safest and the best remedy from fleas for him - mechanically combing them out of the wool using a comb. To do this, you can use a soft plastic comb with fine teeth, blunt at the tips (so as not to injure the baby’s delicate skin).

It is better to start the procedure from the scruff of the neck, holding the baby under the stomach, then you need to turn him over on his back and comb him on the lower part of the body. It is not recommended to comb on the forehead and neck to avoid injury. It is also better not to touch the paws. Combing is done twice a day, every day, until there are no more insects left. After this, be sure to periodically check the baby’s fur, because... the remaining eggs and larvae may mature.

Methods and natural remedies how to remove fleas from small kittens:

The most effective shampoos:

Mr. Swiss-made Kiss can be used from the age of 1 month, but not more than once every 10 days (price about 150 rubles);
Rolf Club – applies from 2 months, price 250 rub.

At this age, it is already possible to treat kittens with flea products containing insecticides: sprays, and collars. When choosing different medications, you should carefully read the instructions and take into account the weight and age of the kitten.
The most common and effective remedies for kittens:
Hartz: drops (3 pipettes cost about 150 rubles) and a collar (price about 450 rubles) are allowed from 3 months;
Beaphar: spray, collar (180-220 rubles) and soft-action drops (pack of 3 pipettes - about 480 rubles);
Advantix flea drops can be applied from 2 months, have a prolonged effect, the cost of a package is 1000-1200 rubles.

When choosing an anti-flea product, you must take into account the recommendations in the instructions; you should absolutely not use those that are designed for puppies.

Before starting treatment and deciding how to get rid of fleas from a kitten of any age, experts recommend first assessing the number of parasites in its fur: if there are not very many of them, then it will be easier to comb them out or catch them by hand, so as not to risk the baby’s health. If the degree of infection by bloodsuckers is high, then more effective methods and remedies, and also contact your veterinarian for help.

Fleas are especially dangerous for kittens. Bites blood-sucking insects can weaken the baby’s fragile body and prevent him from growing and developing normally. The main difficulty in removing fleas from kittens is that only a limited range of products can be used for them. The methods must be safe for the pet and its mother, so most chemicals are prohibited.

You can assume that a kitten has fleas if you find the baby on the street or if his mother has these insects. Pests cannot appear if the animals do not leave the house and do not come into contact with other cats, pass preventive treatment and live in good sanitary conditions.

Outwardly, a kitten may look absolutely healthy, so the presence of insects in its fur can only be determined upon examination. To do this, spread the fur at the withers so that the skin is visible. Signs of flea infestation:

You can also suspect an infection based on your pet’s behavior. If he often itches his paw, and suddenly starts and stops the process, he may have fleas. This behavior is due painful bites insects In addition, symptoms such as lethargy and poor appetite may be present.

Features of flea removal in kittens

Only home methods are suitable for treating newborn kittens under one month of age. From 2-3 months some can be used chemicals.

If the baby has not yet been weaned from its mother, all substances applied to its fur will enter the digestive system of the cat, and then the kitten during feeding through milk.

The use of insecticidal preparations based on poisons is permissible in kittens only after reaching 6 months of age. They are applied exclusively to the withers - a place that the pet cannot reach when licking the fur.

For the flea removal process to be effective, it is necessary to treat all cats in the house at the same time. It is advisable to carry out a general cleaning and eradicate insects in the carpets, upholstered furniture, along the baseboards and in sleeping place pets

Please note that the use of some products is permissible only after a certain period of time after vaccination of the animal. Strong drugs should also not be used if your pet is sick.

Traditional methods

You can get rid of fleas on a kitten at home without the use of special chemicals. This is especially true if the baby is less than 2 months old. Traditional methods- gentle and harmless, but sometimes tedious and not effective enough. But if you have no choice, it's worth trying them. How to remove fleas from a kitten folk ways: manually or using natural remedies.

Mechanical removal

By rights, the safest method of getting rid of fleas is mechanical, which allows you to remove insects even from newborn kittens. At the same time, it is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming, since it is not possible to quickly get rid of fleas by combing due to the presence of numerous clutches of eggs.

To carry out the procedure, you will need a hard plastic comb with frequent rounded teeth and White list paper. Combing fleas should begin from the back, gradually moving to the abdomen and paws. It is not recommended to manipulate the pet's head - you can injure the kitten's ears, nose and eyes. Any fleas on the paper should be immediately crushed or thrown into a container of water. The processing comb also needs to be periodically cleaned of accumulations of insects and hair.

You need to carry out the procedure twice a day until the fleas disappear. One combing session should take about 10 minutes on average. As a rule, it takes 1 month to solve the problem. Afterwards, it is necessary to check the fur for several weeks, since new individuals could emerge from the remaining eggs.

Bathing

Plain water will not get rid of fleas. But if you add salt, tansy or wormwood to the bath, the insects will begin to disappear.

Salt bath. Add table salt to warm water at the rate of 1 tbsp. 200 ml, dissolve. Place your pet in the solution for 10 minutes. Then pat the fur dry with a towel and comb out with a comb. Repeat the procedure every week.

A decoction of wormwood or tansy. Brew the chopped herb in boiling water (1 tablespoon per glass). Prepare a warm bath and pour in the infusion. Keep your pet in the solution for several minutes and dry the fur well. The procedure can be carried out several times a week.

Important! When bathing, be careful not to get water into your pet's ears, nose or eyes!

Tar soap

This flea remedy for kittens is completely safe and quite effective. The soap needs to be turned into thick foam. To make the process easier, you can grate the piece and dissolve it in warm water. The foam should be rubbed into the pet’s fur and rinsed off after a few minutes. To remove dead insects, you can comb the fur after drying.

Special chemicals

If a kitten is older than 2 months and the baby has already been weaned from its mother, some chemicals can be used. Before using them, it is important to assess the kitten’s health; if it is weakened, you should choose the more gentle methods described above, or consult a veterinarian. The first time you need to use the product in a small volume to assess the reaction of your pet’s body.

Shampoos

The most affordable, popular and relatively harmless means for getting rid of fleas at home are shampoos based on plant extracts, such as celandine, or synthetic toxic substances.

Important! The packaging of the shampoo should indicate the age at which it should be used! Make sure this product can be used for your pet.

The kitten must be treated with the drug according to the instructions on the package, then thoroughly rinse off any remaining shampoo. warm water, dry the fur and comb out dead fleas and their eggs. Usually only 2-3 baths are enough to completely remove insects.

Collars

These products are designed to protect the kitten from re-infection with fleas, but they are unlikely to be able to exterminate the insects. Collars can be used from 6-8 months of age.

Features of using flea collars:

They can rub the delicate skin on the kitten’s neck;
In some cases they cause allergies and irritation;
The kitten will try to remove the collar and may damage the integrity of the skin with its claws;
The baby will experience discomfort from the uncomfortable thing.

It is advisable to use collars if there are many pets in the house and some of them have fleas, as well as if a nursing cat is infected. It is worth using them for some time after the insects have hatched in order to prevent re-infection by individuals hatched from laid eggs.

Drops, sprays, powders

The most effective remedies for fleas in kittens are based on toxic substances. Therefore, they can only be used when the pet reaches a certain age and is subject to weaning from its mother. It is not recommended to poison fleas immediately after vaccination or if the kitten is not feeling well.

What are the means:

Drops. They are particularly toxic. Therefore, they are applied exclusively to the withers.
Sprays. Spray on wool. No rinsing required.
Powders. Distribute evenly over the fur and do not wash off. At the same time, the hair becomes stiffer.
Solutions. A concentrated flea remedy is dissolved in water and applied to the baby’s fur. Don't wash it off.

These flea medications for kittens get rid of parasites after the first use, but they cannot be called safe. When washing, some of the substance will enter the kitten’s body and may harm its health. Therefore, it is worth resorting to such radical methods only if other treatment methods have failed or if flea infestation threatens the pet’s life.

If a kitten appears in your house, it can be compared to a small typhoon that can transform the life of any person. However, there is another side to the coin that those who pick up a stray animal on the street usually face. Such kittens almost always have fleas, and getting rid of insects is not as easy as it might seem at first glance.

Why can’t you remove fleas from kittens using traditional methods?

The problem is that a kitten under 3-4 months of age has a very fragile immune system. Ideally, such a baby should still be with his mother and receive the necessary nutrients along with her milk. However, in practice, everything happens exactly the opposite. It is for this reason that fleas should be removed from kittens with extreme caution, using fairly gentle and non-toxic means. Ideally, of course, it is better to postpone such procedures altogether in order to allow the baby’s body to get stronger and gain strength. It should be borne in mind that if there are very few fleas, they will not pose a serious threat to the baby’s health.

Shampoos and flea drops for kittens

If your baby likes to bathe, then you can breathe a sigh of relief, since in this case the easiest way to get rid of fleas is to use special shampoos. They should be used in accordance with the instructions, carefully ensuring that the product does not get into the baby’s nose, eyes and ears. The frequency of use of such shampoos is usually indicated on the packaging. However, in most cases, 2-3 procedures are enough for your pet to forget about fleas for a long time.

With drops, things are somewhat more complicated, since they can only be used from a certain age - usually from 3-4 months. Of course, among such drugs there are exceptions that can eradicate fleas in one and a half month old kittens. But this can be done if the baby has already been separated from the mother. The thing is that such drops are very toxic and are applied to the baby’s withers. If the mother is caring for the kitten during this period, she will certainly lick the poisonous substance from its fur. In this case, not only the cat itself may suffer, but also the babies it feeds.

In addition, do not forget that today you can buy flea collars for kittens in almost any specialized store. They are quite safe and effective, but they can irritate the skin in the neck area or cause severe chafing. In addition, the baby will constantly try to get rid of the collar, which will cause him a lot of inconvenience.

Folk remedies for fighting fleas in kittens

If you are afraid of harming your pet chemicals, then you can prepare a warm bath with the addition of regular table salt (1 tablespoon per 200 ml of water). You need to immerse the baby in this solution for 10 minutes, making sure that the water does not get into his ears and nose. Then the kitten must be thoroughly dried, and while the fur is still not completely dry, comb it out with a comb. By doing this procedure several times a month, you can easily remove insects from your kitten. You can also prepare a decoction of tansy or wormwood at home (1 tablespoon of dry herb per 250 ml of boiling water), which should be used to wipe the baby several times a week. Approximately 3-5 procedures are enough for the animal’s insects to completely disappear.

It is important to understand that treatment of kittens for fleas is required in any case if they are infected. Fleas cause severe itching in the animal, sometimes allergies and dermatitis, and if seriously infested, they lead to exhaustion of the baby and the development of blood diseases.

On a note

In the photo below there are fleas in a kitten's fur:

To rid kittens of fleas, a large number of products are produced and sold today. effective means, they all have their own specifics and require a careful and thoughtful approach to use. You should immediately be prepared for the fact that treating kittens for fleas requires a little more effort than in the case of adult animals - due to the need to observe increased safety measures.

Symptoms of fleas in kittens

Finding out whether a kitten has fleas is quite simple: their bites cause constant itching in the animal, and the baby often itches behind the ears with his paws and tries to bite insects out of the fur. From especially strong bites the kitten may twitch and wake up, abruptly break away from food and play.

The photo below shows fleas close-up– the culprits of the kitten’s torment:

On a note

If the kitten itches, but does not have fleas, just as the mother cat does not have them, you should show the baby to the veterinarian - the cause of the itching may be subcutaneous mites or dermatological diseases. These diseases should be treated in completely different ways.

An indirect sign that a kitten has fleas is helminths. This is especially true for kittens that have not yet started eating meat and fish. For example, in a one-month-old kitten, fleas and worms usually appear simultaneously - first the fleas begin to feed on the animal, and after a week or two the baby becomes infected with worms from them.

An important point: when you find fleas on a small kitten, you should not immediately rush for the first product you come across and treat the baby with it. The specificity of removing fleas from kittens lies in strict adherence to strict safety measures.

Safety rules: when medications are more dangerous than fleas themselves

For example, some organophosphate insecticides (Malathion, Dichlorvos), as well as pyrethroids (Permethrin and its derivatives Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Alphamethrin) are dangerous for kittens. If flea medicine for kittens contains these ingredients, it should not be used on kittens under 6 months of age.

You should also remember that you can treat kittens for fleas only after weaning them from their mother: all flea remedies remain on the baby’s fur for some time, and if the mother cat licks him, part of the drug will definitely get into her milk. The nursing cat itself is also not allowed to use chemicals.

Kittens of different breeds and ages: what medications are suitable for them?

Depending on the age and breed, getting rid of fleas from a kitten should be done using the best means for it.

Let's look at the main ones:

Finally, from the age of three months, you can rid your kitten of fleas with Advantix drops, Bars products for kittens, and specialized preparations Hartz and Blokhnet.

A British kitten, bobtail, Persian, or Himalayan kitten can usually get rid of fleas using shampoos. Kittens with short hair are easier to treat for fleas with drops or sprays.

Gennady, Tver

Individually, a kitten may develop allergies or side effects from one means or another. In this case, you should stop using the drug and buy a product with another active ingredient. If there is a strong reaction to the drug, the kitten should be taken to the veterinarian.

On a note

It is believed that the safest way to rid kittens of fleas is to use special insecticidal powders. However, their use in kittens of long-haired breeds is quite problematic.

Removing fleas with sprays

The kitten should be treated with the spray after a good feeding. The baby should hold his head so that he does not accidentally expose it to the spray of the drug, carefully part the fur and spray the exposed areas of the skin.

Care should be taken to ensure that the spray does not get into the baby's eyes. After treatment, you should play with the kitten for half an hour or an hour, and then immediately bathe it.

Hartz and Frontline sprays are also good, but only for kittens from the age indicated in the instructions for their use.

“The easiest way to treat a kitten for fleas is with a spray. This spray costs a little more than the drops, but gives an almost instant result - the fleas either die on the kitten or jump off it. We sprayed our miracle with Hearts, there were no problems from it, the fleas disappeared immediately ... "

Irina, Moscow

Powders for kittens and rules for their use

Flea powder for kittens is suitable in most cases. Usually, Hartz or Gamma powders are used to rid kittens of fleas.

The latter can be used for a kitten up to 1 month old, provided that for several hours after treatment he does not have contact with his mother.

You can remove fleas from a kitten using insecticidal powder according to the following plan:

If the kitten continues to suckle from its mother during this period, after treatment it should be placed in a separate tray and bathed after an hour or two. After this, it can be placed under the cat again.

How to wash a kitten for fleas?

It is best to wash a kitten against fleas with Phytoelite or Mr. shampoos. Kiss - they are as safe as possible and lead to virtually no side effects.

The kitten is bathed with flea shampoo in the same way as with regular water procedures.

It is only important to thoroughly foam the product and make sure that all of the kitten’s fur is treated with it.

The foam is kept on the pet for several minutes, and then washed off with plenty of running water.

What should you do if your kitten is poisoned by flea medication?

In rare cases, a kitten may accidentally swallow flea drops or lick shampoo or powder from its fur. In most cases, this does not lead to serious consequences, but sometimes the baby develops allergies, vomiting, drooling, anxiety, shortness of breath, discharge from the nose and eyes, as well as other signs of intoxication. If you think your kitten has been poisoned by flea drops, give him plenty of water or milk and show him to the vet as soon as possible. First, the drops themselves can be wiped off from the kitten’s skin using a cotton swab with vegetable oil.

And finally, if the kitten’s fleas have been successfully removed, all that remains is to consolidate the result. The first thing is to buy anthelmintic drugs and treat the baby’s helminths. The second is to look for fleas in the apartment, and if they are found, remove them in any way, including treating the entire room for fleas. In the future, the kitten should buy a special “children’s” flea collar and be allowed outside only wearing it.

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