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- May 15, 2016
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Hello,
I am raising 3 kittens who today became 5 weeks old. I picked one up and saw something long and black on her belly, I tried to touch it, but it didn't move. then it started to crawl! Scary! I am insectophobic so I got scared to hell, put the kitten on the floor, immediately took a pair of gloves, picked the kitten up...the insect was no longer there. I have absolutely no idea where it is. I am worried, is it a flea? I've never seen any flea on any of the cats in our neighborhood.
What can I do with this situation? The kitten has been living inside all her life so if its a flea she must have picked it up inside. If it's another insect then she also has picked it inside. It ran quite fast, at first I was like its ok fleas can only jump...but then after some googling I realized they can run as well
How can I treat it? Should I wash the kitten? Will the mother recognize the kittens if I wash all 3 of them? What kind of shampoo should I use, do all shampoos work? What about the house, is there a possibility that my house is full of fleas now? Or do they like to stay in cat hosts?
Also most importantly, how do I check all 3 kittens for fleas? Will they be visible if I just comb their fur on opposite side of growth, or are they good at hiding? The kittens are tabby so their belly is white but their back can be pretty hard to be checked.
Again, I'm not sure it's fleas but I can tell it was a tiny long insect running below her. Length to width ratio was say 20 to 1 and it was tiny. What if it was lice?
Another thing worth mentioning is that the feral cats in the neighborhood are bald behind their ears, could that be a sign that the area is lice infected? If there is lice, is it easier to control than fleas? Can normal shampoo kill lice?
Could the mother reject the kittens if I washed them because of the smell? Wouldn't like that to happen, they are still young.
Thanks for the info.
I am raising 3 kittens who today became 5 weeks old. I picked one up and saw something long and black on her belly, I tried to touch it, but it didn't move. then it started to crawl! Scary! I am insectophobic so I got scared to hell, put the kitten on the floor, immediately took a pair of gloves, picked the kitten up...the insect was no longer there. I have absolutely no idea where it is. I am worried, is it a flea? I've never seen any flea on any of the cats in our neighborhood.
What can I do with this situation? The kitten has been living inside all her life so if its a flea she must have picked it up inside. If it's another insect then she also has picked it inside. It ran quite fast, at first I was like its ok fleas can only jump...but then after some googling I realized they can run as well
How can I treat it? Should I wash the kitten? Will the mother recognize the kittens if I wash all 3 of them? What kind of shampoo should I use, do all shampoos work? What about the house, is there a possibility that my house is full of fleas now? Or do they like to stay in cat hosts?
Also most importantly, how do I check all 3 kittens for fleas? Will they be visible if I just comb their fur on opposite side of growth, or are they good at hiding? The kittens are tabby so their belly is white but their back can be pretty hard to be checked.
Again, I'm not sure it's fleas but I can tell it was a tiny long insect running below her. Length to width ratio was say 20 to 1 and it was tiny. What if it was lice?
Another thing worth mentioning is that the feral cats in the neighborhood are bald behind their ears, could that be a sign that the area is lice infected? If there is lice, is it easier to control than fleas? Can normal shampoo kill lice?
Could the mother reject the kittens if I washed them because of the smell? Wouldn't like that to happen, they are still young.
Thanks for the info.
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