Can Newborn Kittens Get Fleas

Fleas can be a natural and unpleasant part of life with a pet.

Can newborn kittens get fleas. Do not use flea medications including topical spot on products flea collars dips or shampoos on young kittens unless you have been told to do so by your veterinarian. While you can safely use flea medications on nursing mothers manual removal is usually necessary for newborn kittens. This application kills the adult fleas but not their offspring. Again newborn kittens need manual flea removal.

If the kitten scratches itself or licks the area where fleas are present it is very possible for the kitten to ingest fleas. Some methods for getting fleas off of pets such as flea combing and bathing will only kill the adult fleas on your kitten they don t prevent new fleas from jumping on them. Fleas can make kittens itchy and spread disease and if they re really severe they can even cause serious blood loss and illness. Not only can fleas be the cause of anemia but they will also cause the kitten much discomfort by irritating the skin and causing itching.

With the baby being under 8 weeks of age we have to be careful with what we use. Fleas are annoying to humans and animals and can actually be dangerous for very young kittens. To kill anything that the bath didn t completely get rid of we need a preventative. My go to product is the vet kem ovitrol.

Dry the baby with warm towels so we don t drop their temperature too much and dry the best you can. Fleas will literally suck the life out of kittens so it s very important that you get rid of the fleas. Kittens are very susceptible to anemia from fleas and can even die from it. In consultation with your vet kittens over 4 weeks old may be treated with capstar there is a minimum weight requirement.

Most flea control products are not safe to use on kittens under 6 8 weeks old. Other flea medications safe for kittens list 8 weeks of age as a minimum. Fortunately between over the counter sprays powders and flea collars there are endless solutions to help eradicate a flea problem in your home. However while commercial flea medications and treatments can certainly help tame a flea problem in your cat there are also an array of do it yourself approaches that cat owners can.

Most over the counter flea products will kill the kittens even if you put them on mom advantage is safe.