How to deworm 6 week old kitten?

[stephanie]

We just got a kitten, he's around 6 weeks old...the lady that owns the horse I've been riding found him running up the road. She said she gave him two flea baths and I believe her...but he's still covered with flea dirt and I've been combing him with a lice comb to get it off and picked up 8 fleas too. We gave him a little bit of Revolution on his neck.

He also seems to have worms...I'm guessing tapeworms. How do we best deworm a 6 week old kitten? We're going to take him to the vet as soon as we can, but not until Monday at the earliest and if there's something we can get at Petsmart I want to do that now rather than wait.

He's eating well, we're giving him wet food because he needed dry food soaked in his old home. Anything else we should be doing for him? I've had barn kittens before, but they had excellent mommies taking care of them and all we needed to do was love and cuddle them.

He's also in quarantine in the bathroom. I read that Dawn works good for getting rid of fleas, we're going to give him a bath tomorrow with it and then can get real flea shampoo if we should later...or regular shampoo since I'm guessing flea shampoo can be irritating if the Dawn takes care of fleas?

[cathie]

I use Dawn for all my cats.
They do make OTC wormers that you can mix with the can food. and at least help get rid of some of the worms, I would also get milk replacer for him. just put it in a bowl. He should be drinking from a bowl at 6 wks.
Revolution is not good for cats that young, but im not sure if its because mom will lick it off or what.

[Trailpal]

When you wash him, be sure to get everything, including his face - the rotten fleas will go wherever it's not wet. I don't know about worming, sorry. The KMR is good - I used the powder, it makes up nice and you can make just what you need for the day. If the kitten gets to eating the canned food well, you can still add the powder to the canned food to boost the nutrition while he's young.

[Marci]

I think the worming can wait until Monday. But good meals will help him to feel better and resist the worms better. Plus the stronger he is the better it will be for him when he IS wormed. Remember that worming can cause problems with horses if too many die off at once, not only do they plug up but the dying worms can poison them too. The more full and healthier he is when wormed the better for him.
If he is really run down I would keep him separate and not do shots until he is healthy. Not only are they hard on them but you won't get a good immune response if they are sick.
And yeah fleas can hide on the face or in small spots. Flea combing for hours will get most but its impossible to get all. Again a few won;t kill him but the flea stuff might. Remember its poison.
Now you know what we need......pictures.

[Hasha]

What Marci said!

[snaffle]

Ditto to what marci said.

Monday is only a couple of days away and with the kitten being so young and small, I would worry about giving the kitten too much medications or chemicals and harming his system in some way.

Do not use any dog flea things on him, it could kill him. Also, some home remedy flea products can kill a kitten. Don't ask me how I know.

[kimkats000]

Dawn dish soap ONLY. Make sure he stays warm. Lots of food through out the day.

Do NOT let them give him any shots yet.

Lots of hugs and kisses.

Kim

[stephanie]

He has what look like worms hanging out of his butt which is why I was thinking sooner rather than later. Gave him a dawn bath and picked off tons of fleas. He looked great after i dried him off...so either she didn't give him a good bath or one at all...or the fleas make ridiculous amounts of flea dirt in a short time. I'll take pictures this afternoon now that he looks a lot better!

[res]

With that many fleas, he likely has tapeworms, though he may have other worms, too. You usually cannot find tapeworm meds OTC, especially in a dosage safe for something as small as he is. If he is eating well and not in distress, I would just wait until the vet sees him.

If he came to your house loaded with live fleas, you'll definitely want to keep an eye on the other pets in the house, and yourself. Fleas can easily hop off him and set up camp in the bathroom! They can complete their life cycle indoors, they never have to leave your house to procreate, and you'll be infested! Yuck!

[Marci]

Probably needed a few baths to get them all off. Fleas for some reason just love the poor run down animals best it seems.

[pamz]

You can buy tapeworm tablets at just about any pet store, it's the heartworm meds that you need a prescription for. I buy mine at Tractor Supply. They are for cats and kittens 6 weeks and older. That said, because of the fact that the kitten is already compromised, I'd wait til Monday when you go to the vet. Just feed him good for the weekend.

[Marci]

Now when do we get to see pictures of this little cutie. I have kitten or well BABY animal fever. Oh wait there is a foal on horse board isn't there?......running.

[Hannah Thomas]

I just found worms in my 5 week old kitten and they are small and white we have used the tobacco and duo fast I don't see any more worms but I need something cheap and easier for my little kitten to get down cause she has. Fluid inn get lungs and I just really want to help her out add much as possible can someone plz give me a little advice

[Marci]

It might help but doesn't get rid of them. At 5 weeks any kind of wormer is going to be hard on their little systems. If it looks like rice its tapeworms.

[cutekittens]

My cat gave brith to three kittens. About 6 weeks ago. This is her first liter. They have very bad worms & fleas . The mother cat has lost alot of weight. She always seems hungery no matter how much I feed her. Sould I bring her to the vet?