New kittens

[ama1450]

I just got two kittens, born May 31st. A black and tan spotted mix female, and an orange male. Both, i believe have ear mitts and fleas, and I am treating for both.. Although, I found a hard spot on the head of my boy....it move when I rub it, but it almost feels like a lump stuck under his skin. The lump is between his ears...he plays rough with my female cat, his sister, and 3 ferrets that i have....


Is this going to be ok, or do we need to make an ER trip??

[reptilicus81]

I wouldn't think you would need to go to the emergency vet. If it is not getting better tm make an appointment, or you may want to wait a few days to make sure it isn't getting any worse...up to you! Cats often times play rough, and our ferrets have sunk a bite or two into the cats on more than one occasion! If it is a wound you need to watch for infection. We have a 9 month male orange tabby named Rufus that was loaded with fleas, worms and ear mites when he was given to us at 6 weeks old! He is a great cat and has had no health problems since the parasites were eliminated!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/Reptilicus81/DSC04520.jpg
Anyways...good luck with your kitties, and don't forget to get them spayed and neutered early so you don't get lots of little babies of your own! I am a big fan of the lost cost spay and neuter clinics! We got Rufus neutered for $40, and most places will fix them as long as they weigh more than 2 lbs and are older than 8 weeks!

Have a good night,
Amy

[reptilicus81]

Oh yeah...what are you treating them with for fleas and earmites?

Amy

[ama1450]

I tihnk I double posted this...Sorry-


but Im just worried since Ive never had a cat infested with fleas before..Im treating the mits with a solution from Petco... its a thick globby drop which you drop in and wipe out....the flea collars are on both kittens for the fleas...any other/better suggustions?

THANK YOU

[reptilicus81]

Yeah fleas stink! The flea collars really don't work very good for controlling flea populations that already exist unfortunetly(they are okay when you are trying to prevent them from returning). A couple things you might want to try...since you already go to petco you can pick up something called Frontline. You can also get this online a bit cheaper. I know it is a bit more expensive but it will completely eliminate the fleas before they have a chance to settle in your house. This is how it works...you put the vial of frontline on the cats neck (where they can't lick), the chemical absorbs into the sebaceous glands (oil glands) through out the body. So basically the fleas can't stay on the body, and if they feed they will die. This works better than the traditional flea collar that basically repels fleas. Remember only use flea products designated towards cats/kitttens. We eliminated all the fleas with just 2 doses of frontline (one a month)! You may also want to vacuum the floor often and throw away the bag when you are done (eggs will hatch in the bag!). Be aware the fleas can be an intermediate host for tapeworm which they inject into dogs and cats and even people. Rufus had little rice segment pieces that would fall out of his butt several times a day until we got him dewormed. Over the counter dewormers barely work, so if you haven't gotten them dewormed yet at a vet make sure you do. If the ear mites haven't improved in 1-2 weeks on the over the counter stuff you need to have the vet do that as well because the medication they have will clear up all earmites with one or two doses.

We had a hard time keeping up with the vet bills (or min pin got attacked by a dog around the time that we got Rufus), so we got his vaccinations done a Petco. They are really cheap there, and some people aren't aware of their clinic. See www.luvmypet.com for a list of participating petco locations.

Good luck,
Amy

[ama1450]

Im not really sure if it's fleas with the more research Im doing....Im not really sure what it is...its a small bug, kinda almond shapped.may be winged, but doesnt fly, just scurries around in the fur/skin....most visable under the chin of my orange male,but the female is black, so it's hard to tell she even has them, except her ears are black and waxey, like his..

Is anyone familar with this bug? is it just ear mites or something else?

[AllAnimalLover]

those are fleas alright. flea collars don't do anything but keep them away from the head...or on the head in your case. i don't know much about frontline but Advntage works wonders. Adults drp dead within about 30 minutes of application. Its a drop you put on the back of their neck and it just moves all over the body by the movement of the cat. You need top use this for atleast 3 months. Vacuum either every day or every second day. You can get a surface spray called siphotrol that kills adults and stops pupae from hatching. this has a residual effect for 7 months.
Ear mites? you can get ivermectin to put directly into the ears.

personally I would make a vet appointment

[ama1450]

now, these cat fleas are not something I could contract, correct? they could just bite me, but not actually live on me...i emailed the vet this AM, and most likely will be up there ASAP...

[AllAnimalLover]

no, they won't live on you. They will bite you and some people get more bitten than others. normally, they will jump on you (cuz your warm) and bite.....get some blood and say "ewwww" and go find your cat.

[ama1450]

Ok, so we're looking better today.. I bathed the cats, and sprayed them with some Hartz flea spray...and they are looking flea-free!!!! I did also by the hartz liquid to put on for the 1 month prevention..so hopefully all we need to do is fight the ear mite battle, and healthy kittens at last!

thanks for your help.

[Nell]

Hartz products have been proven to be very dangerous and even fatal to some cats and dogs.
Do not use Hartz products or any other OTC flea medication. They do not work effectively, do not save you money in the long run and put your pet at an unneccesary risk.
The safest and most effective option is to do what others have already told you. Take the cats to a vet for a full physical (that they should have anyway) and get some Frontline or Advantage, which should take care of both the fleas and ear mites.

[reptilicus81]

Sounds like fleas. Mites are hard to see, but in the cats ears there will be a dark sticky material, and ticks won't really scurry around they usually stick on one place and then fall off. Ear mites won't go anywhere other than the ears...so they woundn't be on the chin of your kitten. You'll find that Frontline takes care of fleas, ticks, and some skin mites...so definetly get them on something. Even if you are not worried that they will infest your house and spread tapeworm (or at the very least bite you and cause itchy bumps) remember that fleas can actually kill kittens by causing them to become extremely anemic, so get a more powerful topical so you can prevent this from becoming a serious situation. It sounds like the kittens have fleas and earmites like you originally assumed. If they haven't been dewormed yet they will almost definetly have tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms as well...all which can be transmitted to humans. http://www.angelvetcenter.com/care/feline/deworming.htm

It is much easier just to get these things treated before they become serious..it will be cheaper in the long run :) Don't forget to keep up on the vaccinations as well. Kittens need their shots every 3-4 weeks from 8 weeks old to 16 weeks old to help prevent them from contracting several deadly kitten diseases.

Amy

Amy