Q: What can I do to get rid of the fleas my 9-month old kitten has?
Q: What can I do to get rid of the fleas my 9-month old kitten has?
A: There are two things you need to do. Firstly, you need to treat the kitten (and any other dogs, cats, and rabbits you may have in the household) with an effective topical flea treatment to kill the adult fleas. By effective, I mean a prescription treatment available from your vet, which will also be of an appropriate strength for the size of your kitten. Most products available in the supermarkets or pet shops are not effective, and some may not be safe either. The treatments are quite easy to apply, and your vet can show you how to apply them correctly.
The second part of the flea equation is to rid your house of the flea eggs. Flea eggs do not stay on the animal, but fall off and incubate on the ground or in bedding until they hatch. Any bedding - the pets' as well as yours, if he sleeps on the bed - should be put through a hot wash to destroy the eggs. The house should be vacuumed, paying special attention to carpets (vacuum against the grain), skirting boards and the gaps between floorboards. The house then needs to be sprayed with an insecticidal spray. These area available form most supermarkets and pet shops, most vets carry them also. Read the safety instructions on the label carefully and make sure you follow them! It is not safe for a person or animal to inhale the spray fumes and they are also quite toxic to aquarium fish.
In order to prevent fleas in the future, continue to use the flea treatment on the kitten (and any other pets you have) on a monthly basis. I hope that helps resolve the problem!
If you have a question for Dr. Dalya simply send it through to drdalya@petside.co.uk
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