So we brought our kitten home today-- Charlie. And I have fallen in love. I believe it's something that goes along with watching him fall asleep in my purple suede ballet flat... absolutely adorable. I think the only thing that beats it is him falling asleep on ME 
Bad news? Baby has fleas. Didn't notice til we got him home, though it wouldn't have mattered. He's got 'em. A good deal of his fur is white, so they're easy to spot. I'm happy I read up on it on the internet, as I assumed you could just put topical flea treatments on kittens, but as it turns out... no.
I took the advice I found, which was bathing him in Dawn dish liquid. He did really well for it being his first time in the environment and BAM. Bath time! He fought, of course, but I finished with minimal scratches. We pulled about 12 adult fleas off of him with the flea comb. When I stopped finding them, I finally let him go and got him with the blow dryer on low. Little guy was shivering a storm, even though he had been partially wrapped in a towel for the entire process.
I've seen a couple on him since, and tried to snag them with the comb, but those buggers are a pain and he was fidgeting. Doesn't make for easy removal. I dont want to give him another bath too soon. I'm thinking in the middle of the week.
We're taking him camping next weekend, so there was a good chance he could have contracted something in the woods regardless, but I still dont want him to be miserable or contract anything from them.
So any tips on getting rid of the pests? I'm going to continue combing him, and I'm taking him to the vet right after labor day. I'm worried about bathing him too frequently, but I dont want the little guy to suffer until he's old enough to get frontline. He's about 7-8 weeks now.
Well, aside from Charlie, there is no real financial news. Went grocery shopping. Nothing crazy. Still had a lot of stuff from last week that we never cooked, so it was really just the essentials.
Finally grabbed that check from my old house, so I'll deposit it tomorrow and make a big payment on the CC. It'll be paid off so soon!
That's about it. Looking to have a low spending week. This past week was a bit much. Went out too much is all, really. Fun times, but a bit exhausting-- both to my person and my wallet!
Hope everyone has a great night!
Kitten is home! But has fleas... :/
August 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
August 30th, 2010 at 02:32 am 1283135534
August 30th, 2010 at 02:26 pm 1283178377
August 30th, 2010 at 05:04 pm 1283187889
Number 1: keep him as an indoor cat. Forever. This is not as easy as you think, and if you let him out anymore, he is going to beg and beg and beg to be let out in the future. Save yourself the heartache! Don't do it!! I've gone through this with 3 or 4 cats. It might be hard now, but you will thank yourself a thousand times in the future.
Number 2: after you have decided to not let him out anymore, do a flea powder treatment on your home. Read about the flea lifecycle, ie they have eggs which live in your carpet which hatch something like every 6 or 8 weeks (don't quote me on the exact numbers). A treatment breaks the cycle pretty easily and the eggs don't hatch.
It is highly absorbant stuff (usually diatomaceous earth or something similar) and very irritating to lungs. WEAR A MASK. You rub it into your carpets, and perhaps the cracks between hardwood. Leave for the recommended time, and vacuum. It is a hard job depending on the size of your house, but it works. I did it once and never had a problem after I kept the cats in.
Good luck and love it for the next 15 years!
August 30th, 2010 at 05:29 pm 1283189357
Is that some orange coloring I see around the ears? If it is, are you sure it's a boy?