Just got kitten think she has fleas

[TheFurryMenace]

I picked up 10 wk old kitten yesterday. Pet shop owner told me she had been flea treated (and wormed) and should be ok for 3 weeks, however if I see black specs when combing to give her flea tab and treat the house. Saw her scratching behind ears earlier, combed her and lots of black specs fell out. I have the flea tabs, but she wont take it out of my hand. Can I put it in her food bowl? She is on dried food. Also, I have some spray for the house (bought it just in case) should I treat the kitten then do the spray immediately or wait until the tablets have worked?

Are you in the U.K.? If so it's illegal for pet shops to sell kittens. Any shop selling kittens is therefore somewhat dodgy and I wouldn't listen to any advice they gave you. Don't give your cat any flea tabs they sold you. Instead see a vet and get some proper prescription flea treatment, I use stronghold. It's possible that your cat had been treated but with ineffective over-the-counter products. I'd also never spend another penny of my money in that pet shop personally.

wtf are you buying kittens from a ppet shop? Has it had ANY health checks/vaccinations?

See a vet they usually use frontline spray rather than tablets or spot on treatments for kittens.

I didn't know it was illegal. I got the kitten from there as my friend has had 2 healthy kittens from there and had no problems. I have Johnson 4 fleas tablets and spray. I will ring the vet first thing tomorrow and get advice, and ask there advice about what to do about the pet shop.

don't give the tablet. waste of time at best. definitely find out what to do about pet shop.

Right, bin anything from Bob Martin & johnsons, throw it out because they can poison your kitten.

My colleagues only survived because she had to go home at lunch to get something.

The vet needs to prescribe something, you can buy indorex spray for the house. One can does a whole 3 bed house.

You can't skimp on flea care for kittens, they haven't got enough blood to share.

Ok thanks, I will ring the vet first thing.

In addition to what everyone else has said:

Always take your new kitten, in a proper cat carrier (don't use a cardboard box) to the vet to be registered, checked over etc. At 10 weeks, she's old enough to have her first vaccination, so you'll get the general check over for no extra cost. Bring the meds the pet shop gave you for fleas/worms, so the vet knows what she's been given. The vet will then give you the proper treatments, and tell you how to administer them.

Have you had a kitten before OP? If not, then I'd highly recommend buying a book on cat/kitten care.

Is this in the U.K.? They should be reported for selling the kittens, let alone the fact they've sold them in less than good condition.

Anything you buy over the counter isn't good enough for fleas. Ask for advocate at the vets, not frontline.

Dried food is bad for cats. It's manufactured purely for owner convenience. I would transition her onto a wet food asap.

Thank you all for your advice. The kitten is already booked in for Friday. I phoned the vet and they said just bring her then and they will advise further. I will also ask about food. Thanks for all your help. Does anyone have a link to the legalities of selling kittens in a pet shop? I googled it but couldn't find anything that said pet shops must not sell kittens, only that people were campaigning for it. I would like to find this so I can take it further with trading standards and report the shop. It is very upsetting, the owner seemed very genuine and gave me dates etc for deflecting and worming etc, and a friend recommended her as she got both her kittens there and has had no problem with either more than 2 and 1 year ago.

I thought it would be better than buying off a pet owner via the Internet, as they might not be genuine and do all the proper treatments.

I think rescues are still the best option, the pet shop is basically fronting a kitten farm.

Rescues come de-flead, wormed and will either of been neutered or have a voucher for neutering.

Yes, thanks for that. I did try our local rescue centre but they did not get back to me. I also tried one further afield and they did not have any kittens. As it was for my DD she really wanted a kitten as most children do. If I were ever to get another (which I won't), I would try rescue centre of course.

Wipe the black specks with a damp piece of kitchen towel, they will turn red if they're flea dirt.

Get a flea comb and comb and comb to get the fleas out- get ready to squash them with a paper towel.

As others have said you need vet prescription meds for fleas and worms.

Use indorex in the house- works really well. Hoover and wash kittens bedding on 60.

Some dried food is good, read up on it,Applaws is great and a mix of wet and dry works well ime.

I think if you just go they'll show you round, they don't tend to let kittens go until at least 8 weeks. Everywhere will have different procedures.

You have to wonder where these kittens come from ie is it a female being bred from repeatedly until her uterus gives up.

But hopefully that's way down the line & you have the next 18 years with your kitten.

Thank you Dame, I have been doing the combing. We have only found the black specs, but yes, they did turn red on the paper with water, which is how I suspected fleas, but we havent actually seen any. I have treated the living room today, and the vet said to keep combing and it is possibly just the flea dirt from when she was last treated (5th November) but no actual lives fleas, so there is a bit of hope.

I will also ask the vet's advice about combing dry with wet food, thanks for your recommendation. She is currently on Hills Science kitten dry food. She is eating, drinking and pooing well, and very happy and playful, so hopefully, once we've got this sorted, it will be okay.

Thank you to everyone for all your advice, it is much appreciated by a first time pet owner.

Ive also washed all bedding and throws that were in the living room, on a 90 degree wash!

Animonda Carny Kitten is a really good (and inexpensive) wet food for kittens. You can acquire it online from Zooplus.

The first time they get fleas you boil wash everything, after that if you get them again your a bit calmer.

My vet told me dry food is absolutely fine as it's advanced so much in recent years

Have you brought the appointment forward from Friday to sooner? If tiny kittens are literally infested with fleas it can be life threatening as they haven't got enough blood to spare and also the risk of infection. You're doing everything right but I would try to have the new kitten check brought forward to be on the safe side.

Chat, I did ask the vet, but she said no need, just bring Friday and in the meantime keep combing. kitty is 10 weeks and no other signs of ill health, thankfully.

fluffy, is a 60 degree wash OK in future then?

I think so. Indorex spray works for ages after you spray it too. It's toxic stuff though so you've got to read the instructions really well, especially if you have an aquarium.

Last time ours had fleas I picked them off his ears, crushed them and went back to sleep.

Clue dry food has advanced in terms of quality in some manufacturers but the fact remains that cats do not have an innate thirst drive and so will always be prone to health problems caused by dry food. Cats biologically get their water from their prey(food), and don't naturally seek out water sources in addition to that. Of course if they are forced onto a dry diet they will try to drink a little, but it isn't enough.

I almost lost a one year due to his dry food diet, and he needed major surgery to survive.

I don't look to my vet for nutrition advice (despite them being outstanding generally) - veterinarian training covers barely any nutritional information and is funded or provided by pet food manufacturers with vested interests.

a one year old*

Interesting abou the wet and dry food effects, and that vets aren't trained on nutrition, I will defo look into introducing some wet food. Sorry you nearly lost your cat Ms Mimms, what an awful thing to happen.

I will order some indorex, thanks.