At what age can I bath kittens in blue Dawn dish soap? Do they need to be at least a week old or a month old?
You should definitely use something natural on kittens. Dawn is usually when they have fleas.
According to the cat site, you can use Dawn. Just be careful to keep the kitten warm. The younger the kitten is, the more susceptible they are to chilling.
You do not say if the reason you wish to give the kitten a bath is due to fleas or just for general information. Generally kittens are cared for by their mother and do not need a bath until they are at least a month old.
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Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can I use normal dishwashing detergent to get rid of the fleas on my kitten instead of using Dawn detergent?
By l.t
OMG, please do not use anything right now, especially any detergent as your kitty's skin can be damaged and result in real and lasting pain. Please take your kitty to your vet for immediate help re the fleas!!!
Unfortunately, the flea problem is huge and requires constant cleaning of your house. See the information and website below for an explanation on cat fleas and how to control fleas in your house. As you will see, the flea has a special life and you and your pet are invited!
My husband is an entomologist so I speak with first hand knowlege and experience.
Flea eggs do not stay on your pet, they quickly drop or roll off as they do not stick to anything. The fleas you find in your house are from the flea eggs that fell off of your pet. Flea eggs are opaque white or almost colorless. What you may see on your cat are immature fleas from eggs on the floor or outside that hatch into fleas and jump back onto your cat. You will also see (many!) small black dots on your cat but these are only flea poop.
The flea eggs in your home and outside are the real problem. Just one female flea can produce 40-50 eggs per day so you will have thousands of flea eggs in your house on a regular basis. The eggs fall off and into your house or outside so, either way, your cat will then again attract the immature and adult fleas from their flea parents that may still be living on your cat.
Any dish detergent bath may kill the fleas on your cat, however, you can seriously dry the skin and may cause skin rashes, cause an allergic reaction, etc. and you are not addressing the real problem. The thousands of flea eggs that are still in your house and outside hatch and jump back onto your cat (and you!). So, you and your cat are locked into an everlasting cycle in the life of fleas.
A search online for how to kill fleas brings up many ideas for bathing, natural and awful sprays, etc., but these only address your pet. Rarely do they address the bigger problem as a whole. You can check this site for answers that address your pet, your home and the outside. As you can see, flea prevention is a much larger problem than just giving your cat a bath. Please take your cat to your vet immediately to help end your kitten's misery.
Can I use Dawn dish soap on my cat? He is an 8 year old tuxedo.
By debra from Parmus, NJ
Most definitely, Dawn Dishwashing liquid is perfect for shampooing your cat or dog. As far as I know, only the original blue liquid Dawn has the flea-killing formula, but maybe all Dawn liquids do. I only use the original blue. You can even bathe small kittens with Dawn if they are ridden with fleas, just be careful not to get it in their little eyes. I'd wait until they are about 6 weeks old if possible.
My cat didn't seem to mind it at all, but I've not had to bathe him in about 5 years now. Only once did he ever have fleas, and we bathed him, then dusted the entire house with food-grade diatomaceous earth, never had another flea.
Hope this helps you.
Pookarina
I'm certain this would be perfectly safe. During the oil crisis in the Gulf, the original blue Dawn was used to clean all the poor animals that were full of the sludge water. Our vet for our shih tzu recommended the original Dawn to bathe her in. She was allergic to all the flea/tic removal products. It worked out very well.
My son got dish soap in our kitten's eye. It is now swollen and half closed. I can't afford a vet bill. Does any body have any suggestions?
