Can I put flea treatment on a nursing mama cat?

[FLmom]

I have some cheap topical from Walmart. She's a stray that just had babies.

 

[Saemma]

no idea, however I'd ask a vet.

 

[Ziggymon]

No - there's a good likelihood that the kittens could ingest some from her fur, even without the concern about it getting into her milk. And the cheap topicals from Walmart are more dangerous (even to healthy cats who aren't nursing) than they are effective.

Try a flea comb, with a container of warm soapy water at the ready to drown the fleas. Bathing in warm soapy water (using original formula Dawn) is also safe for small kittens and nursing mothers.

 

[sweet francis]

Absolutely nothing with pyrethrums is safe for cats at all, and a lot of that OTC stuff is made with pyrethrums. Advantage is safe for kittens that are 8 weeks and up and advantage is pretty darn safe (it's used on produce and many people probably ingest it annually with no adverse effects). I personally would not use anything on a nursing mama with very young kittens. I think the bath and comb route is your safest bet. Kittens can also become anemic very easily from flea infestation so you want to try and get them off the babies too.

 

[cosmolove]

Please do not use the cheap stuff on ANY animal. More often than not it doesn't even work and then on top of that its so common to have health complications over it. I do know for a fact it says do not use on puppies or kittens tho, those medications have some NASTY chemicals in them.

I would look into other flea treatments like advantage or something and see if there's anything that's safe to use on a nursing mother cat. It should say on it.

 

[Ziggymon]

Please do not use the cheap stuff on ANY animal. More often than not it doesn't even work and then on top of that its so common to have health complications over it.

Yes indeed.

 

[Milo]

You should contact a vet and ask. Also, stay far, far away from the cheap stuff. No idea why crap like hartz is still allowed to be sold :/

 

[FLmom]

Ok that's why I asked. I give my dogs comfortis. Just wasn't sure how it worked for cats. My mom always used that Walmart stuff on her cat so thats where i got it. Anyway I'd never do anything to harm that mama and her sweet babies. Ill call my dogs vet and ask them if they make comfortis for cats an if its safe.

 

[Milo]

They do make it for cats, unsure about the safety for moms though. I am glad you're trying to help!

 

[cosmolove]

I'm wondering if maybe a collar is going to be the best bet for mama, but I'm not sure what you can do for the babies. I know my vet now sells a collar that's safe on puppies and since its sold through the vet it will be much safer than a walmart collar. Maybe see if your vet sells something like that?

 

[cosmolove]

On the Comfortis website

[h=3]Q: Is it safe to give my dog or cat Comfortis?[/h]Comfortis has been demonstrated to be safe in healthy dogs and cats when used according to label directions. Use only for dogs and puppies 14 weeks of age and older and 3.3 pounds of body weight or greater and for cats and kittens 14 weeks of age or older and 2 pounds of body weight or greater. The safe use of Comfortis in breeding, pregnant, or lactating cats and dogs has not been evaluated.

 

[Glowbird]

Some cats are sensitive even to Advantage. A friend had a cat go into a seizure right after she put it on him. She had to give him a quick bath to get all trace of it off of him. With babies, I would go with a flea comb.

 

[HowlsOfAngels]

Try a flea comb, with a container of warm soapy water at the ready to drown the fleas. Bathing in warm soapy water (using original formula Dawn) is also safe for small kittens and nursing mothers.

+1 To the above.

And you may even use Capstar on Mama kitty, babies have to wait a little longer before they can be dosed.

From: Welcome to the CAPSTAR Homepage - Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

3. Is CAPSTAR safe?

Yes, CAPSTAR® (nitenpyram) is safe for puppies and kittens 4 weeks and older, weighing 2 pounds or more as well as for pregnant or nursing dogs and cats.

 

[sweet francis]

Some cats are sensitive even to Advantage. A friend had a cat go into a seizure right after she put it on him. She had to give him a quick bath to get all trace of it off of him. With babies, I would go with a flea comb.

I was an LVT for 11 years and saw hundreds upon hundreds of animals have advantage applied with no reactions whatsoever so I would say this was an extremely rare case. Pyrethrums, however, can very commonly cause seizures and death in cats. This is the chemical used in many OTC advantage knock-offs and all other cheap flea treatments including collars. It is often marketed as "all natural" because it is actually a derivative of the chrysanthemum flower.

 

[sweet francis]

+1 To the above.

And you may even use Capstar on Mama kitty, babies have to wait a little longer before they can be dosed.

From: Welcome to the CAPSTAR Homepage - Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

3. Is CAPSTAR safe?

Yes, CAPSTAR® (nitenpyram) is safe for puppies and kittens 4 weeks and older, weighing 2 pounds or more as well as for pregnant or nursing dogs and cats.

I forgot about capstar! Great suggestion. I do believe that it is used to quickly get the fleas that are present off and it is meant to be used in conjunction with a treatment program such as frontline or advantage.