How do you save Anemic cats?

Question

On July 18, my cat had 4 kittens. They immediately had fleas, as the mother had them too. Now over the past 3 days, 2 of them have died, as they were Anemic from the fleas. And the other two, I am fearing will share the same fate.I can tell that they are anemic because their gum's and tongue's are white, and I can not see the veins in their ears. I am feeding them "Hartz Milk replacement for kittens", powdered a little bit of "Hartz Ultra Guard Flea and tick Powder for cats" on them, and just keeping them warm and feeding them often. And I also put the powder on the mother. Can anyone else give me any suggestions as to keep them alive? This has dealt a great amount of stress on the family. I would greatly appreciate some responses. Thanks :).

Answer 1

It might also be dehydration (the white gums and tongues). If it's dehydration bottle-feeding (or tube-feeding, in extreme cases) them some pedialyte should help. Also, I've found that Hartz Milk Replacement isn't very healthy for kittens because it has WAY too much protein in it. It almost killed one of my litters (they were paralyzed by it). I haven't used any Hartz products since my bad experience, so I don't know about the flea powder, but maybe take a look at this site;

http://www.hartzvictims.org

Maybe try some alternatives to the Hartz products?

Here's a good site you can learn how to tube-feed if it comes to that;

http://www.purrinlot.com/tube.htm

Answer 2

I once had a cat suffering from fleabite anemia, and she nearly died of it - Her blood pressure was so low, the vet gave her subcutaneous fluids to pump up her BP. It was still a near-run thing.

If your kittens are that drained, they *need* to see a vet.

Answer 3

The only thing you can do is de-flea all of them so that there are no more fleas sucking the life out of them. I would recommend liquid flea control like Frontline or Advantage. The liquid spreads through the sebaceous glands faster and is a lot more effective than powder. The kittens may be too young for the Frontline though but house cleaning and keeping the mother flea free can be pretty effective.

Answer 4

Take them to the VET!!

Answer 5

Pale gums are definitely a sign of anemia. Do not feed or use products from over-the-counter, you are going to cause more harm than good. Only a vet can give you the proper flea medication for kittens that young and the mother too. If you don`t get them to a vet ASAP you are going to lose them too. I know more than one person who`s had problems using Hartz products on their pets.

Answer 6

It may not be anemia.  kittens and puppies tend to die from hypoglycemia (not sure if it's spelled right) it's low blood sugar.  My vet has told me before to rub honey or karo syrup on their tounge and gums.  It tends to get them to vive up a bit and eat more.  Kittens are very touchy.  I would call a vet and have them looked at ASAP!  They may need feeding tubes.

Answer 7

I'm going through the same thing. First you need to get rid of the fleas as fast as you can. My kittens are only two weeks old. I called the vet and the gave me some Capstar flea pills. I can not treat the kittens with it until they are at least two pounds but they got it through thier mom's milk and it helped.  Your kittens should be big enough.  I fed the pill to the mom and dead fleas were just falling off of her within an hour after. They were dropping off the kitten as well. It kills the fleas fast and then the kittens will have a better chance. Call the vet if they don't start to show improvement soon.