Kittens, kits and pups with fleas. What do you do?

Last weekend we rescued three kittens from a neighbor. While these little 6 week old menaces seem to be otherwise fairly healthy (one seems to have an eye infection which we are treating) they were infested with fleas and covered in little blood stains from all of the itching and biting. Their mother is an outdoor cat who may or may not carry some rather nasty outdoor cat illnesses.
While it is safe under veterinary supervision and guidance to administer products like FrontLine, sometimes you’re left between a rock and a hard place. Maybe your clinic is closed for a long weekend. Maybe you can’t afford flea medication for a whole litter of kittens right now. Or maybe you can’t stand to see the poor little guys itching all over for another second. We found ourselves in exactly this position. After some research we were able to completely (yes, completely) de flea our three kittens safely and kindly without breaking the bank or utilizing harmful flea collars.

Here’s what you’ll need.

• Mild dish soap (Dawn works best, do NOT use human shampoo or dishwasher liquid.)
• A shallow basin (A plugged sink works)
• Two to four inches of warm water
• A flea comb (Lice combs work too. Tweezers work in a pinch too.)
• An old piece of absorbent cloth you won’t mind throwing away. (Old sweaters, t-shirts, etc.)
• A friend (Useful, but not required.)

After you’ve assembled your items, follow these steps.

• Fill the basin with the two to four inches of warm water. Pour a little bit of the dish soap in the water and shake your hand about.
• Hold the kitten, pup or kit by its scruff firmly and gently lower them into the water while supporting their bottom.
• Using your free hand spoon water over the head until the animal is completely drenched from head to toe. Do NOT dunk the animal under the water. Make sure you have a firm grip at all times so they don’t slip under in the struggle that will surely come.
• Firmly hold the animal so the only body part exposed is the head. Try to calm them if they seem upset or frightened. Keep this up for a couple of minutes.
• The first instinct of a flea when the host is submerged is to travel to the head, especially the areas around the ears and nose. Utilizing your free hand or a friend, comb the head for fleas. Tweezers work too, just make sure you don’t pull out any fur or whiskers. Since the fur is wet and matted, it’ll make things easier. Any flea that does not make it to the head will drown. You now only have to worry about one quarter of the animal.
• When you feel you’ve gotten them all, drain the water and rinse the animal in warm water. Gently massage their legs, belly and back to get out all of the flea dirt and now drowned fleas.
• Place them in the absorbent, trash ready cloth and dry them off briskly. You’ll see a lot of dead fleas and some live ones. Get any that show themselves.
• After they are dry, throw the cloth away.

Your kitten, kit or pup should be more or less flea free. Repeat the process the next day if you see more. At the very least you’ve given them some flea relief.

But be aware of diseases. Fleas transmit a number of them, one of which being tapeworm. If the animal has been living in the household for awhile, also but advised that up to 95 percent of the flea population can be found as eggs and other immature stages within carpet and bedding. A good vacuum cleaner can do some of the leg work for you, but washing usually solves the problem. There are a number of commercial de flea carpet, furniture and bedding sprays. But unless the at home infestation is severe you should be able to manage without them.