[jinxlove]

Hello, I adopted an 11 week old kitten from a rescue group in my area. He is being neutered Wednesday and I will be picking him up that night. So he isn't at our hourse as of yet. I am worried that he has fleas and want to take care of it while it is a small problem and want to prevent it from being a big problem. When we visited him I noticed some black spots in his fur (flea dirt I would think) but it wasn't alot.

What product should I use on him when we bring him home? I really don't want to run into a huge infestation and have to bomb my house etc. if it can be prevented before hand.

Also is there anything I should know about his after care with the neuter.

Thanks
Libby

 

[Strawberries]

Hi Libby you shouldn't have any problem with the neutering as male cats are usually back to themselves within a few hours. Just give him a very light meal when he is ready to eat afterwards and then back to normal feeding the next day. I usually wait until the cat is six months old before neutering.

Your kitten would seem a bit young for the droplets for control of fleas perhaps you could try flea powder. But ask your vet about the best programme to put him on when you go to see him.

 

[Rayona]

Check with your vet before using any flea meds. My vet gave me Frontline for my kittens, but told me to use only half of the vial. They were about 8 weeks old and totally infested when I adopted them, and now the girls are healthy and flea free at nearly a year.

 

[Zalensia]

Shop baught ones tend to be for 12 weeks onwards, i got mine from the vets, when they were 8 weeks old frontline kitten, the best thing i would think to do is find out from the shelter weather he has been treated- they might treat him before they let him go, if you are not happy he has/he hasnt then get a vets advice who can give you correct dosages.

 

[Lilly]

I would defenetley have the vet treat for fleas before you go home. Also Never ever use over the counter flea medications on your cat. When my kittens were small we used a spray given to me by the vet. We now use frontline only on the cats and the dog. Also given to me by te vet. It doesnt cost much more than stuff at the store and it works well.

Never Never use Hartz flea medication on your cat!!! Please click the link in my signature for info.

 

[jinxlove]

thank you for all the replies!

Since he isn't being seen by my vet before he comes home but the shelter vet they won't treat him before he comes home.

I need to have him seen within 14 days of bringing him home so I'll give the vet a call and see if he can see him thursday. I am hoping that he can see him and I can treat him within 24 hours of being at my house. I hope that is soon enough to prevent a flea outbreak in my home.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Rayona]

You should be fine in that amount of time. I got my kittens on a Thursday night, made an initial vet appointment for the next Wednesday, noticed fleas on Saturday morning, picked up meds on Monday and haven't seen a bug since. If the shelter isn't giving it a topical I would recommend giving the kitten a bath as soon as it seems comfortable.

 

[fallon137]

Hello Getting females spayed is more of a surgery than neutering the males...so I dont think you'll have a problem. After my male cat got neutered he came home and acted pretty normal.
As for the fleas... Im using Frontline. DO NOT USE HARTZ. I noticed somebody else said that under this topic as well. My cat was terribly infested with fleas last year, and I used Hartz flea spray on him. I figured it would help and it was inexpensive. Little did I know, it was facing HUGE controversy for being responsible for the deaths of countless animals. Anyways...I used it on my cat, who in turn got deathly ill and had to spend days in the vet hospital because of their flea spray. I researched it and found out a lot of information about it, and now i'm spreading the word to people as much as possible. Good luck with the kitty!

 

[jinxlove]

Oddly enough my husband had picked up some hartz stuff last night and gave it to me when I got home. I told him all the bad things I had heard on this board about it. We started reading our local paper and there was an article by a DVM about the harm it can cause. That junk is going straight back to the store tonight.

If the shelter isn't giving it a topical I would recommend giving the kitten a bath as soon as it seems comfortable.

What should I use and how long will I have to wait till he can get him insision wet?

 

[Lilly]

My cat also became very sick from Hartz flea medication, he had sezures and came very close to dyeing.

Fallon, cosider putting a link in your signature simallar to the one I have in my signature. This way you can spread the word easily. I encourage everyone reading this to click the link in my signature, it tells all about why it is not a good idea to use hartz flea medications.

Also frontline doesnt cost very much more at all, just call your vet and price it. If you cant afford the entire box at once they will usually sell it individually.

As far as a bath....I guess I would use baby shampoo or something. If you need a safe flea medication call your vet and ask what they recomend. It is not neccasary to have an appointment with the vet to buy flea medicine from the vet. They keep it in stock and sell it over the counter. Just call your vet and ask what they have and the prices.

 

[drjean]

If the kitten has one female flea or a few eggs on him when you bring him in the house, you *will* have an infestation. You might want to keep him in a bathroom until he gets treated for fleas.

Revolution (similar to Frontline) is approved for kittens as young as 5 weeks. Try contacting your vet and see if you can get some, or have him seen immediately and treated.

It seems pretty irresponsible for a shelter to send home a flea-infested cat without doing anything about it.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean