i think my kitten is six weeks old and she has fleas. someone told me to use dawn dish soap w/citrus. they told me that the citrus kills the fleas it that true. cuz everthing i went to look for about killing fleas most of all thing out there kitten has to be 12 wks old or older
Answers:
This is not true. All you will get are wet fleas. Unfortunately most products for fleas are designed for older cats, however at 6 weeks you could take a tube of advantage for cats (it has to be advantage, it is the safest, use nothing else) and use 1/2 the tube. This product is labeled for cats older than 8 weeks but at 6 weeks you are close enough to use 1/2 the amount and you will be fine. We do this regularly in our veterinary practice and it works fine. Hope that helps.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?.
Noooo.If citrus kills fleas use citrus juice. Actually water kills fleas period, so just dunk her in it.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!! Can I make it any clearer?
Go to your vet and ask for Revolution. It will help. And it works by weight.
YES It works Well ! I've used it on my kitten and cats it's a big flee help!
Everyone needs to chill on the thumbs down! Sure you should use front line or other flee meds prescribed by the vet But that's not what she is asking she wants to know about dish soap on her kitten! We all get it go to the vet! Maybe she doesn't have the money for it!!
I think it may be a bit harsh on the Kitty's skin, just like a baby. They have some really neat shampoos at pet smart. You should check that out first.
Hello,
Any dish soap is fine. It does not really matter but I do prefer the dawn as it is used in by many animal rescue facilities and used to clean off wild animals that have been exposed to oil from oil spills in the environment. When you wash the kitten you are drowning the fleas, you will need to pick off the rest around the head. Please take special care not to get the soap in the eyes or ears
Hi Rosemary.here's the answer written by "A Veterinarian":
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;. (scroll half way down to see her answer) I'll copy/past it here as well.
I have found that the most effective and SAFEST thing to use for kittens that age is a product called Capstar, at a dosage of 1/2 of a 'blue' tablet (it's really white, but called blue b/c of the packaging.the other size is 'green') every 2-3 days until the kitten is old enough to use the more long-term products. (And when you do get the longer-acting products, DO NOT use the OTC one from the company that starts with an H and ends with a Z..or any of the other OTC's for that matter..unless you want your kitten to have seizures and die. We are baffled as to why those products are even still on the market.) Capstar is available from your veterinarian.just give them a call.
Some sprays are labelled for use for kittens over 6-8 weeks of age, but have to be applied every few days, too. Trust me.the Capstar is a much better option. There are many little tricks, but cats/kittens HATE the sprays, and will often drool for hours after application.
Don't bother bathing the kitten, except to remove flea 'dirt' (flea poop)..if you do that, don't panic if the water turns reddish, as flea excrement is nothing more than your kitten's blood that has been sucked out by the fleas and passed through their digestive system. Even the 'best' flea shampoo available through DVMs will only kill the fleas on the pet while wet with the shampoo..that's why I don't even sell 'flea shampoo' any more. It's a waste of time, effort, and money. Once dry, new fleas will get right back on if you are not treating your house concurrently (which takes time.) Same thing for Dawn/Joy dishwashing detergent..they kill the fleas GREAT (just DON'T get it in their eyes, and don't use it more than once, b/c it strips out the oil glands in their skin).but once dry, there is no residual effect. If you do decide to bathe the kitten for some reason, make sure the gums and tongue are nice and pink. If they are pale (or white!), a bath (even with just plain water) can kill the kitten.
Your only other option is to make like a little monkey and sit there manually picking them all off one at a time.
Please call your DVM about the Capstar. It doesn't take many fleas to suck out enough blood to kill a little kitten like that. (Plus, they cause tapeworms.) The blue Capstar is labelled for kittens of any age, 2# of body weight or more. Your kitten is probably not quite that big yet, but I have treated hundreds of kittens less than a pound with the 1/2 dosage (saving many of their lives in the process.) It is INCREDIBLY SAFE. If you put the kitten in a box or carrier with a white towel after treatment, you will see it covered with dead/dying fleas within 30 minutes to an hour or so. I was a skeptic at first, but have been amazed at its safety and effectiveness. (We automatically give it to all my surgery patients the minute they walk in the door.because 1. we don't want them bringing fleas into the clinic to get on other pets, and 2. it's not exactly sterile to have a flea jump into the open abdomen incision in the middle of surgery.) It supposedly 'lasts' only 24 hours by label, but I have found that it really does a pretty good job for up to 2-3 days. It's safe enough to give every single day if you have to, however. I have also found that the 1/2 pill is quite effective for up to 5-8 pounds of body weight, even though anything over 2# is 'supposed' to get a whole pill. Just make sure to put the other 1/2 back into the little foil 'bubble' and tape it closed with cellophane tape until ready to use it. The longer it's exposed to air, etc. after being opened and cut in half, the less effective it will be.
I'm a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with 20 years exp in private practice (27 total years in the profession.)
dont do that it will riun there skin.
The fleas drown in the water, they are not poisoned by the dish soap. A nice bath with a great rubdown in a soft towel will get a lot of fleas on the kitten and not all. You will still have to comb for fleas really consistently for many days to get them all.
I think 8 weeks is safe for some of the topical flea treatments. Please check with your vet on that.
Some dish soaps can harm your kitten. If you must use dish soap, use Dawn. Dawn is used on animals that are caught that have guck on them. You may remember the commercial with the ducks covered in oil? Pet stores do have all kinds of shampoo for getting rid of fleas.and water does not get rid of fleas alone. The only problem using dish soap is you may not get rid of all the fleas and you'll find yourself giving your kitten another bath. Good Luck :-)
I wouldn't use dish soap on my cat.
phone up the vet for advice
On no account ;
put anything on your Kitty's coat that he can lick!
( this includes dish soap!)
as they have delicate digestions and can easily be poisoned
an 'up-set tummy ' can kill a kitten of that age .
un-pleasant though they are , the fleas may have to remain until the vet gives him something, to get rid of them .
so consult the vet and see what he has to offer .,
all best
>^,,^%26lt;
You have already gotten a lot of good advice from others. I just want to point out that the reason they use Dawn on wild birds is because of its grease dissolving properties. This is not your problem. Dawn, or any other dish soap, will strip your kitten's fur and skin of essential oils. It's practically impossible to "drown" fleas. You may be rinsing some off and down the drain, but fleas are tenacious little suckers and won't go down without putting up a good fight. That Capstar suggestion sounds the best to me.
well Frontline requires the kittens to be atleast 8 weeks old.why they make a limit on such a safe product i don't know. They have studied that dogs and cats can eat it and not show any signs.it's completely safe. You can put about half of the dose onto your kitten at this age. Just part the hair on the shoulder blades and place the liquis right onto the skin. Don't bathe her 48 hours prior and 48 hours after applying the dose or you will rinse it off. The fleas will start dying after about 24 hours. You can apply the dose every 3 weeks until the fleas are gone. But also know that if they are in your house, you need to vacuum twice daily and throw away the pick up bag after every vacuuming..the fleas breed in there and will re-infest your house. If you have any other questions feel free to email me.
p.s dawn dish soap is ok, but not good for a kitten unless the water is warm and you completely dry her off. The body temperature can drop significantly after bathing. Do NOT use a hair dryer though.a warmed towel can do the trick.
Honestly, Seattle should get best answer on this one. Very helpful. The Capstar treatments would probably be your best bet until the kitten is old enough to be put on Advantage. Frontline Plus is supposed to work great, but it didn't on my cat. In fact, it didn't do a damn thing. He is now on Revolution (same as the dog). The vet advised us to NOT use anything on our carpets or furniture. He said to simply vacuum the apartment frequently and empty the canister into a bag and put it straight outside as soon as we're done (otherwise, the fleas just jump right back out of the vacuum).
I would never use dish soap on an animal unless it had gotten into some kind of oil or grease. Baths strip the coat of its natural oils and are not recommended for animals on a regular basis. And that's with NORMAL shampoos. Dawn dish soap strips oils like nothing else and would probably dry an animal's skin out terribly.
Good luck!
Contact your local vet.
lemon joy is the best dawn will dry their skin out. also after you wash the kitten add vingar to the rise water then rub baby oil on your hands and rub it on the kittens fleas cant stand the acid from the vingar and they cant breath for the baby oil and it also makes it harder for them to stay on the cat i find this works better then the flea shampoo
i dont think it is very safe but you can buy soap flea killer.. Make sure you get all the soap out!
call a vetrenarian and see what he/she says.
I have done this before but I was told to use vegetable oil--them bathe them in ivory dish soap--it's the only mild one that cuts the oil. It worked real well the fleas just fell off but was a mess to do. You're better off to get something from your vet--especially if the kitten has been in the house--as there is probably eggs around there now---and something from the vet will also prevent the eggs from hatching --something like frontline--etc. flea stuff is really easy now--just put it on the back of their neck. good luck!
No to the dish soap. Use a shampoo just for cats.
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