Checking Kittens for Worms & Fleas

lmahoney79

Hey, a semi-feral cat we have been feeding for the past year has given birth to 3 little kittens in a little hut on our terrace. We cant possibly feed this too so need to find homes for them. What I wondered was if anyone knew roughly how much it would cost to have the 3 checked for worms and fleas before we try rehome them as I notice people tend to do this before trying to find good homes for them. The cheaper the better as we cant really afford to do this but afraid people wont take them off us unless we do. thanks in advance....;)

Toulouse

http://www.vets.ie/your-pet/new-kitten.php All these products are available from your vet over the counter and can be administered yourself. If you don't want to do it yourself then ring around your local vets, explain the situation and get quotes. Or you could see if any local welfare groups will help you. Whereabouts are you?

Please try to get Mammy cat spayed or you're going to end up in the same sitation again.

lmahoney79

we are in North Co. Dublin. We will be getting Mother cat spayed but not yet as she has only given birth and have been advised to wait until kittens are weaned

Toulouse

Good on you!

The Blue Cross have a mobile clinic in Dublin http://www.bluecross.ie/areas.html

The Sweeper

lmahoney79, see if your local vet office will give you the names of some products suitable for small kittens. Not everything is appropriate for use on kittens, and often it's best to wait until eight weeks before starting treatments because worming and flea killing treatments are pretty strong and not suitable for tiny kittens.

How to check for worms and fleas:

A cat with worms will exhibit a number of signs, including a swollen or distended belly, a rough, raggedy coat that feels wiry to the touch, blood in the stools or signs of worms in the stools - like white grains of rice or white ribbons. They may also scoot - pull themselves along on their bottoms with their back legs in the air, trying to ease the irritation.

Cats with fleas will of course scratch, but you should also be able to see 'flea dirt' - these are flea droppings, appearing as black specks around the roots of the hair on the nape of the neck. You can pull some specks off and rub them on a wet tissue and they'll turn into red smears.

lmahoney79

Thanks to everyone for their advice...........much appreciated

morganafay

Well you can't really check for worms, but all kittens should be wormed, because they probably do have worms. Vets just assume that all kittens have worms. I think you have to wait til 6 weeks to do that. You can get really cheap worming tablets for like 3 euro, I think drontal, and you'd only probably have to give them 1/4 and then maybe another quarter at 8 weeks or something, I forget what it is exactly.

To check if they have fleas, (when they're a bit older) run your fingers through their fur and check for black dots of dirt, which are flea dirt. If they have this dirt, and are scratching or you see any fleas crawling on them (check around the throat and belly and back) then you should treat them, but I'm not sure if they'd be old enough to be treated so check what the flea stuff says on the packet or ask the vet.

Make sure to handle them a bit if the mother will let you, to get them tame so that they can find new homes. You can handle them from birth but the mother might freak out if she's very nervous, but definitely handle them when they start to crawl around. And good luck with them

The Sweeper

Yeah, just one more thing ( ) - fleas and worms are not the end of the world unless they are infestation proportions threatening the health of the kittens. Consult the vet about just treating the mother cat initially, and leaving the kittens until they're 8 weeks old for their first treatments - but check with the vet for products that are safe for a nursing queen. The best time for them to go to a new home is about 12 weeks - but they can start eating solids from 4-5 weeks onwards and mum usually gets tired of nursing and kicks them away at 7-8 weeks, unless she's been shut in with them (in which case she can continue to nurse if they're persistent and she feels like it).

The mother can start calling again for another mate as young as 6-7 weeks on the kittens, so keep a note of dates and ages. In the period between 8 weeks and 12 weeks, kittens can learn a lot of manners from their siblings and their mum, but they'll also become quite shy of people unless they're well socialised during this time, so make sure you handle them a lot.

Also think about vaccinating - it's not cheap but you might be able to find someone like the blue cross to help you out with it.

morganafay

Some mother cats will keep feeding the kittens for months though, and it takes a lot out of the mother. If she gets very skinny and is still feeding them, then I might take them away from her anytime after 8 weeks. There's also the thing that they will settle into their new home better if they go earlier. It is good to keep them with the mother til 12 weeks, but anytime after 8 weeks would be ok.

lmahoney79

well i think i will wait until about 8 weeks then think about bringing them into the DSPCA for re-homing and up until i will give them lots of cuddles so they get used to human contact

Here is a pic of them:

morganafay

They are really gorgeous! If I lived in Dublin I'd so want one!

lmahoney79

ae you that far away??