Kittens with Fleas and Maybe Ear Mites

[johnnyrelentless]

Well, the two stray kitties I got the other day have fleas. I got a flea comb and discovered that.

I have wooden floors, no carpeting anywhere, so I don't think fleas will be a big problem in the house once I get rid of the fleas on them, but I'm not sure how to do that since I'm not sure of their age or what would be appropriate treatment for their age.

The insides of their ears have a lot of dirt that I can see just by looking. Could that be just dirt or could it be ear mites? How can I tell? How should I clean their ears?

The Craigslist ad I found them on said they were 2 1/2 months old, and maybe they are, but they seem very small and thin to be that old.

[Mary_NH]

probably not that age....your "free" kittens are going to end up not being so free (which is usually the case)
you can clean their ears but they will need meds from the vet to fully get rid of the earmites (ivermectin).
Vet should show you how to clean the ears.
That way you can get a better quesstimate on their age too.
And take in a fecal sample cause if they have fleas they have parasites and need to be treated.

[johnnyrelentless]

Well, my wife and I cleaned the kittens' ears with mineral oil. I read that that will help with the mites. They didn't like it, but they didn't resist too much.

Then we bathed them. Whoa! They did NOT like that! Looked up how to do it. Put a few inches of water in the kitchen sink. About body temperature. Filled two large cups with water. Had two large, thick towels ready for each of them. Used baby shampoo. Talked gently to Jeff. Picked him up gently, and put him in sink, and he immediately started fighting to get away! He didn't bite or claw me, but he was panicked and trying to scramble out. Held him firmly while wife rubbed him down, then used the two cups of water to rinse him. Then we wrapped him in towel, dried him well. He was quite calm once he was out of the water. We were afraid he'd hate or mistrust us forever, lol. But he seemed to rely on us for comfort. We hand fed him bits of tuna, which, as far as I know, he's never had before.

Then we did the same thing to poor Lester! But he was onto us, and we had to catch him first. He had never run away from us before! Other than that, the entire process went exactly as it did with Jeff.

Then we gave them the rest of the can of tuna, and now they are both quietly cleaning themselves further. Guess we didn't do a good enough job, lol.

We will probably use the mineral oil in the ears every day for a week, hopefully that will get rid of the ear mites. If not, i will take them to the vet.

But now the question. Do we give them regular baths just to get them used to it? If they fight like this when they are full grown, bathing them will be impossible. Or, since they panicked the first time, will it always be a traumatic experience for them? But since they will be indoor cats, hopefully once the fleas are gone, they will not have to be bathed again.