Kitten Help

[ThisIsMyName]

This technically isn't a medical science but I need a little help with my new feline. Two days ago, my friend gave my a six week old female kitten. But there's a couple things I'm nervous about. For instance, at times her behind almost looks like she's trying to force a bowel movement. She has some fleas and I'm working on trying to get rid of them without using any shampoos. I don't know if anything wrong wiht her, or if it's normal. She's somewhat hyperactive and spazzy, but I think that's normal. If anyone has any advice, maybe knowing what's up, and any household flea repelants that don't involve vinegar or shampoos, that'd be great!

Thanks.

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[Turtle]

This technically isn't a medical science but I need a little help with my new feline. Two days ago, my friend gave my a six week old female kitten. But there's a couple things I'm nervous about. For instance, at times her behind almost looks like she's trying to force a bowel movement. She has some fleas and I'm working on trying to get rid of them without using any shampoos. I don't know if anything wrong wiht her, or if it's normal. She's somewhat hyperactive and spazzy, but I think that's normal. If anyone has any advice, maybe knowing what's up, and any household flea repelants that don't involve vinegar or shampoos, that'd be great!

Thanks.

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I am not a Veterinarian, but I sometimes impersonate one online. Your kitten likely has intestinal worms.

 

 

Tip 63 - Worms in kittens - worms in cats

When your cat or kitten has worms, it is the result of coming into contact with a parasite (usually a flea) that has entered your cat's body. Most kittens are born with worms and will need to be dewormed (take a medication that kills the worms) several times during the months that make up kittenhood. It is therefore necessary that EVERY new kitten be checked by a vet to see if it has worms and for a general health exam.

http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-63.htm

 

Web Search ResultsResults 1 - 10 of about 65,304 for "worms in cats behavior"

[ThisIsMyName]

Ick, I was afraid of that... But she doesn't drag her bottom on the ground. I thought that was the number One sign for worms... Is "de-wormification" medicine expensive?

[Turtle]

Ick, I was afraid of that... But she doesn't drag her bottom on the ground. I thought that was the number One sign for worms... Is "de-wormification" medicine expensive?

 

There is not substitute for a trip to the Vet. Caring for a pet is a responsibility; it bears all the costs as well as the rewards.

http://www.justanswer.com/pet-health-care.asp?r=gapet&B=Vet

[HydrogenBond]

If it is only six weeks old the kitten may still be used to mother's milk. It could be the change of diet. Maybe try to use milk mixed with soft foods. This will make it crap like a goose. Gradually solidify the diet with harder food reducing the amount of milk. If this low tech approach doesn't work see higher tech help like a vet.

 

To get rid of fleas, one way is to just dip the kitten in water, with only the head sticking out. A little something in the water, like soap will help. Many of the fleas will drown, while some fleas will crawl up to neck and try to get into the eyes and ears. This is their last place where they think they will not drown. Maybe you can pick the last little buggers off by hand. Change the water and do this a couple of times to make sure they don't jump back on board when the kitten is removed from the bath. There are strong fleas dips that use this approach but will require a groomer of vet for access. You may have to bomb the area where the kitten plays also be prevent reinfestation. Again low tech before high tech.

[Turtle]

If it is only six weeks old the kitten may still be used to mother's milk. It could be the change of diet. Maybe try to use milk ...

Absolutely not!:confused: Contrary to popular belief, milk is bad for cats.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006052809377

To get rid of fleas, one way is to just dip the kitten in water, with only the head sticking out. ...Again low tech before high tech.

 

Again, absolutely not!:) This is not experimental science. If you assume ownership of a pet, it is your responsibility to get regular veterinary care. They have the knowledge & equipment to properly diagnose & prescribe safe treatment.

[HydrogenBond]

I have had many cats growing up and have been around them all my life and the doom and gloom is way over rated. Most of the problems are due to pet owners chosing form over function, i.e, overbred versus diverse genes. The whole industry is a brain washing to make people lose their common sense and let others think for them. Once the dependance is complete the money flows easily.

 

Milk comes from a mother and now this is evil. What kind of bull is this. I was not suggesting a perpetual diet of milk. Only enough to get the kitten over the hump. Then one can then buy kitten food that is designed with the neurotic needs of the modern pet owner in mind.

 

There was a news program about pet food, but with dogs. The dogs would always go after the most putried smelling stuff. The owners preferred something that smells nice. What does Fido get for dinner, putried tasting stuff that smells good to the owner.

 

If one ever watch a professional flea dip it is just like I outlined but with the addition of a toxic chemical that can only be purchased by pro's. If one can give the kitten a bath and avoid toxic exposure, it is worth a shot. One can have the kitten professionally toxify as a last ditch solution.

[Racoon]

Ick, I was afraid of that... But she doesn't drag her bottom on the ground. I thought that was the number One sign for worms... Is "de-wormification" medicine expensive?

 

 

Actuall dragging their butt, or "scooting" is most likely impacted anal glands.

It sounds like worms, but may also be the impacted anal glands. not uncommon.

 

The Vet can manually "express" the glands to empty its odorifous contents ;)

ahhh, the Glamour of being a Vet.

 

Either way, Its an uncomfortable situation apparently for your kitten.

 

as for fleas there are many potent commercial brands of topical solutions.. usually squeezed between the shoulder blades.

 

And while at the Vet, they will have plenty of flea options available.

 

It won't be terribly expensive for either of these procedures & treatments.

I'd guess for exam and medication(de-worming if thats the case), flea stuff ~ $100

 

But then you should have the cat spayed or neutured, and its vaccinations. another ~$120 ish...

 

But then your Kitten will grow into a happy, healthy adult; and you will have a friend who will want you to feed it and change the litterbox! :rant:

 

A small price to pay for loyal companionship.

 

http://www.animalhealthcare.ca/contents/content.asp?id=35&cat=cats

[Turtle]

Milk comes from a mother and now this is evil. What kind of bull is this.

 

This is the scientific Bull that trumps your unsupported ramblings. I gave a link which answers the "milk is bad for cats" question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...=1006052809377

 

Illucid best describes your replies here.;)

[cwes99_03]

Turtle, I too have to say that I've never heard of this before. I grew up on a farm and nursed quite a few little kittens abandoned by their mother when they were just barely big enough to crawl around.

They all drank milk, and we graduated them all by softening adult cat food in milk, and they all turned out healthy.

 

The link higher up is working

[Turtle]

Turtle, I too have to say that I've never heard of this before. I grew up on a farm and nursed quite a few little kittens abandoned by their mother when they were just barely big enough to crawl around.

They all drank milk, and we graduated them all by softening adult cat food in milk, and they all turned out healthy.

 

Oh, that and your link isn't working.

 

So I see (that the link isn't working;) ).

Web Search ResultsResults 1 - 10 of about 319,000 for "milk is bad for cats"

It appears many have heard of it.:shrug:

[cwes99_03]

So I see (that the link isn't working;) ).

Web Search ResultsResults 1 - 10 of about 319,000 for "milk is bad for cats"

It appears many have heard of it.:shrug:

 

 

319,000 is small compared to the billions of websites out there. I just did a search

 

"milk bad for kittens" without the quotes and came up with 739,000, and only the first one pointed towards your site, the next one talked about cats peeing on house plants, and milk being the best growth material for houseplants. If that is the second best result by relevance, then I'd say there aren't a lot of good sites. Come on Turtle, I know you are better than that.

[cwes99_03]

MYNAME

 

Try this website, it seems to be pretty knowledgable and actually appeared as a subsite to that ask yahoo site Turtle posted.

 

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

 

I did find another site that suggested most cats are lactose intolerant. Most likely though I think people assume this because overfeeding of milk results in diarhea, which could be confused with lactose intolerance.

 

http://www.kittenrescue.org/handbook.htm

The above site suggests that cow's milk is not nutritious enough for kittens, and other sites have said that young kittens less than 4 weeks don't have a strong enough imune system and that they get their immunity from their mother (which is true in humans). Cows would have different antibodies in their milk that wouldn't aid the cats in fighting off disease. A bit of diluted borax wiped around their nose and over cursty eyes helps with this.

[Turtle]

319,000 is small compared to the billions of websites out there. I just did a search

 

"milk bad for kittens" without the quotes and came up with 739,000, and only the first one pointed towards your site, the next one talked about cats peeing on house plants, and milk being the best growth material for houseplants. If that is the second best result by relevance, then I'd say there aren't a lot of good sites. Come on Turtle, I know you are better than that.

 

Without the quotes is the correct procedure; I added them to show my exact phrase. Moreover, your search in quotes is not mine, as you left out the word "is". The point is, I am correct that the information is out there that milk is conditionally bad for kittens. The further point I mean to emphasize is that there is no excuse for not taking the kitten to the vet. Whether it is not taken because of cost or ignorance, or lack of conern for a pet, it is irresponsible in my humble opinion.:shrug:

[HydrogenBond]

If one has even been on a farm up north, after a winter eating hay, the cows are placed in the field to eat the new spring grass. This change of diet will give them the trots until their body adapts. If a scientist was conducting his experiment at the wrong time of the year they may also conclude that most cows are grass intolerant, especially in the spring.

 

Cows milk may not have everything a kitten needs, but this was only suggested as part of its diet. This was suggested for that particular kitten to help loosen it up internally, i.e, trots, since he seemed a little bound by his hi-tech diet.

 

I had an indoor-outdoor cat (play and crap outside) when I was young that lived to about 18. He ate the cheapest food with supplimental treats from the kitchen table by all the children, and critters it would catch outside. Milk was given a few times a week. It never went to the vet except for its original shots and was vigorous right up to the end. It even recovered by itself from a bad dog bite to its hindend. The day it died, it became a kitten again and hunted a bird. It left its catch at the door step and then laid down for its final sleep.

[CraigD]

I have had many cats growing up and have been around them all my life and the doom and gloom is way over rated.

I’ve also kept several cats from cradle to grave without a vet visit. The main difficulty I encountered was controlling their mating, since I wasn’t brave and dispassionate enough to attempt neutering my own pet, given my very limited experience with animal surgery.

 

In the past decades, I’ve had enough money that an occasional vet visit was no burden. My most recent cats have been my longest lived (approaching 18 years old), and have been very healthy and happy.

Milk comes from a mother and now this is evil. What kind of bull is this.

As Turtle has argued, it’s not bull.

 

All mammal milk contains lactose, which most adult animals are unable to metabolize. For this reason, most adult mammals, including cats, experience adverse reactions to milk, commonly diarrhea. Though it’s possible to retain lactose tolerance through regularly including milk in a cat’s diet, it doesn’t appear to be of much value, and doesn’t always work.

 

Human beings are among the few animals who commonly remain lactose tolerant their entire lives. Some evolutionary biologists believe we selected for this trait. Cat’s, it appears, have not.

 

Milk, either pasteurized, but expecially unpasturized, also contains trace amounts of many proteins of uncertain function. These proteins appear to play an important role in the development of an infant’s immune and perhaps other systems, but also appear to be very specific – it’s possible that being nursed by other than a moderately close relative may cause dangerous abreactions, and known, molecularly, that the milk of another species contains potential allergens. The practice of giving cow’s milk to kittens is of little health benefit, and may be harmful.

 

Fortunately, kittens acquire the most important immune-system related proteins from their mother’s milk in their first days, and are able to begin eating semisolid and solid food as early as 4 weeks. In my experiences, most momcats will nurse for 6 to 12 weeks, but this appears to be as much for emotional as nutritional reasons.

 

Oddly enough, most kittens can be easily weaned by feeding them very liquidy, body-temparature, cooked oatmeal, which they appear to think is milk. It can be mixed into any easy-to-chew catfood, allowing a smooth transition to an adult diet.

If one ever watch a professional flea dip it is just like I outlined but with the addition of a toxic chemical that can only be purchased by pro's.

The idea that an animal can be defleaed by drowning or manually removing all the adult fleas is wrong. Because some of the adult fleas that start an infestation may lay eggs only a few minutes, while others may wait weeks, after their arrival, by the time one notices the infestation, the fur and skin of an infested animal usually contains fleas in the egg (“nit”), larval, and adult forms. While it’s possible to remove all 3 forms, it’s very difficult, particularly the larvae, which, in their tiny cocoons, are hard to distinguish from skin. The larvae also thrive away from the animal, and, unless all areas where a pet goes is very thoroughly cleaned (the only completely effective way to kill all 3 forms is freezing – which actually is a good technique to use on bedding, carpets, etc), will reattach themselves to the pet when they reach adult form, and start the cycle over.

 

Oral flea medicines are non-toxic to the pet, but are 100% fatal to fleas by disrupt the formation of larvae. They don’t kill adult fleas, but assure that the next generation never reaches adulthood.

 

All that said, H-bond is right to recommend removing adult fleas from kittens, especially newborns. I recommend against the bath technique he describes, especially for very young kittens, because they chill easily, and bathing sometimes makes the momcat refuse to nurse them. For kittens that have begun moving around well, I think it’s OK

 

For infant kittens, the only safe way I know to remove adult fleas is with fingers and a fine comb – a nearby dish containing water and dishwashing liquid is a convenient way to kill the fleas, and is faster and requires less skill than cracking them between your fingernails or with something hard. Although killing the adults won’t end the kittens’ infestation, it will give them time to grow and get stronger. If you don’t do anything about a severe infestation, the many bites of the adult fleas will usually kill the kittens.

 

Unless you deflea the momcat and all of her surroundings, you’ll need to repeatedly remove fleas from the kittens, as new adults emerge from their cocoons and jump on the kittens.

 

On a bright note, cat fleas can’t infest humans – or dogs – though they can bite you! Flea species have specialized to the point where they can only reproduce by drinking the blood of the species their parent drank.

[Mercedes Benzene]

I know cats that do not have any negative reaction to eating dairy products. In fact one cat eats ice cream on a regular basis. Apparently the vet saw no problem with it. The cat is now 17.