to be overwhelmed

[doubleyellowline]

My sister turned up last week with a kitten for my children..... I was less than impressed at the time as we are really struggling financially at the moment and I can't cope with everything I currently have on my plate.
I was stroking the cat today and saw something scuttle across its fur. It wasn't a flea.....I have Google and since found out that it looks like it has lice. I am livid.....I don't know how to deal with it or how I'm going to afford to take it to the vet and pay for the treatment.
I also suffer with an anxiety problem and the thought that these insect things are crawling all over the kitten and potentially breading in my soft furnishings is freaking me out. I don't know what to do.

My mum has said she will pay for the vets I'm just really frustrated by it all.

Give it to a rescue charity if you can't cope - cats protection league, it's better than being worried of fearful about it.

Not unreasonable if you can't cope or can't afford it by the way.

You don't need a vet. Get a pair of tweezers and loo roll. Pick off the lice with the tweezers- squish them to break it and wipe it on the loo roll. Repeat. Start with the ears and neck as that is where most will be. Its quite rewarding.

I think the best thing all round would be to get it checked by the vets and then get in touch with your local cat rescue and arrange for it to be rehomed.. Where on earth did your sister get it?

OP, your sister was really irresponsible bringing the kitten without discussing it with you!

YANBU to be overwhelmed. Unfortunately I don't have any advice regarding the lice as I've only ever experienced fleas on my cats but hope you're ok.

Or use baby wipes and wipe around the ears- that will pick up the lice and you can squash them.

But if you can't afford to keep it and vaccinate and neuter it then now is the time to rehome as much easier with a kitten than a cat.

She bought it from someone. I have been very low recently and I think she thought it would cheer me up. He is lovely.....I'm just freaking out over the bugs. My skin is crawling and I'm having palpitations. It's gross.
The kids are going to be devastated if I get rid of him.

I'm going the try the tweezers now

He may be unwell if he was bought from someone. How old is he?

Definitely take him to the vets and get him flead and wormed and sort the lice out. Plus get the vet to check him out all over.

I had a rescue tom who was a big hunter. He got lice after we had had him for about 3 months. When we first got him he was really aloof and wouldn't be stroked- chunks out of his ears, always fighting.

Then he got lice. Over 2 weeks I picked them off and killed them. Its easy but you have to do it every couple of days but they diminish quickly. he then became the most loving cat and sat on my knee every evening.

Lice don't move quickly so unlike fleas they are easy to get.

I managed to pick one off with the tweezers. I think they might be fleas. Still wrenching over it though.
I am going to get a vets appointment and see where we go from there.

Oh gosh OP - you should have told your sister to take it away. Why do people do these utterly stupid things?

I think it's the PDSA who have vets whereby if you are on a low income or in receipt of certain benefits, you get treatment for free. I don't think there are that many of them about though.

Lice are like black spots- much small than ladybirds- when you squish them you see legs etc but not when you just look at them. Fleas are bigger- move quickly and you can see legs ?

Lice don't spread to furnishings or humans but fleas do . Animal lice can't live on human blood

based on my experience- no specialist knowledge

Op I get all my cat medicines from Amazon, they are cheap and same thing sold in vets.

Sorry - they can be black or white spots.

They were zooming about on the fur so I think they are fleas. I am going to take him to the vets and get some treatment. We do have a pdsa but I think I probably earn too much.....just have massive outgoings.
Will I need to spray all the carpets and all the bedding?

Don't get an actual vets appointment, ask for an appointment to see the nurse - they generally don't charge for this. Then get a product called Advocate - it will do for fleas, ticks, mites and worms. Its a bit pricey but you'll save on the consultation fee, which would be abour £30 to see the vet. You can buy indorex flea spray to spray the house if you need to but the advocate will work soon enough.

You would need a prescription to buy advocate online, don't get frontline, it doesn't work anymore

Get to the vet. If your mum has offered to help, then I would let her. I don't blame you for being anxious about this. It was a very thoughtless gift from your sister. Once you know what you're dealing with, then you can make your choice about whether or not to keep kitty. Kids move on quickly from things like this - especially as you've not had the kitten for that long. Hope you feel better soon.

If you have already been seen by the vets, you dont need an appointment, just get the advocate.

Why do people give cats thinking they're the cheaper option? It makes me so cross

Vets, health check, vaccinations, parasite treatment we pay every 4 and 6 weeks forever, decent food and neutering.

It's not cheap!

One thing you will need to do is get your cat speyed or neutered. The cats protection league in this area help towards the cost and i shouldn't say this but don't ask too many questions about income as their main perogative is getting the cats neutured. Might be worth asking about this as this is an essential.

Thoughtless of your sister really but i understand why she did it.

How old is the kitten? Advocate may not be suitable if it's very young. You can buy it in Pets at Home without needing to see a vet and it is very good.

If you have a PAH with a vet surgery near you, book to see a vet nurse. I did this with an orphaned feral kitten I rescued last year. They apply frontline spray for kittens, which is safe from birth, and provide a worming treatment - I think the total cost was about £8.

Go to pets at home, they have flea stuff and cheaper than vets. And probably a wormer too. Don't buy it off line, especially for a kitten unless you already know about brands and active ingredients etc.
pdsa is certain income related benefits.
But if money will be an ongoing issue, be aware vaccs and neutering are way more expensive than flea treatment. Let alone possible vet bills, so if money is likely to be an ongoing issue then unfortunately getting in touch with cats protection is the kindest option. I get your kids will be disappointed, but less so than if it gets ill and dies from not being vaccinated.

doubleyellowline

You seem to be fluctuating between keeping and getting rid of the kitten. I know you said your Mum will pay for lice/flea treatment.

However, I would urge you to consult the PDSA (or similar) to have the kitten checked over, the infestation confirmed as fleas or lice, and have kitten microchipped at the same time.

If you really want to keep the kitten in your family, there are loads of people who can advise and suggest cheaper alternatives to medication prescribed by the vet.

If you really DO NOT want the kitten to stay, then please find a local sanctuary that doesn't euthanase a healthy kitten. (I can give you a link to one in Yorkshire and another one in Surrey that I work with)

I should have said, the two sanctuaries I work with will deal with neutering before a kitten is re-homed to their forever home. So don't worry if you can't afford to have the kitten spayed or neutered before handing it over to a responsible sanctuary.