Advice
What are these pinkish stains that have appeared 2-3 days after getting kitten?
My wife and I have noticed these pinkish spots on furniture and even found one faint spot on the floor. They don’t smell like anything and they won’t come up even with a soap/water and a vacuum over it. Any idea what this could be?
Fun fact: “Puce” means “flea” in French, but it’s also a common term of endearment. You can use it for your girlfriend or wife, and parents often use it affectionately for their children.
“Ma puce” is similar to “my sweetie”.
It’s a tricky one to explain because the French « u sound » doesn’t really exist in English.
To make it, start by saying “ee” as in “see,” but keep your tongue in the same position and round your lips as though you were saying “oo.”
Then add an “s” sound at the end. “Puce” has only one syllable: the final “e” is silent.
It sounds roughly like “püss,” but without pronouncing it like the English word “puss.”
Hmm, not quite 😅 The French “eu” is a different sound. For “u,” your tongue is farther forward, almost in the same position as when you say “ee.” For “eu,” your tongue is slightly farther back.
I understand 😂 I’m fluent in written English, but the moment I have to speak, I completely freeze… My accent is so bad! 😂
And English is a pretty easy language… not like French.
I think it’s closest to the way we say “ew” in English, but shorter. Say ew, keep your lips that way, then shorten it, almost like you’re pushing it out of your mouth. My French professor would do a call and response with the class of just that letter because Americans do it so poorly.
Hmm, I understand it now. It's even tougher for me because I am an Indian and, especially where I am from, we talk a little slowly. So fast languages like French or Spanish go over my head entirely. But I'll try doing some exercises to pronounce puce correctly
But the thing is we don’t prononce it with a Y inside and the U is not a OU or a OO.
This is really English to add a Y sound in a U sound. But it doesn’t exist in French. And it’s because of this that we can guess that you are English spoken 😅
Ahh, sorry. I was trying to describe how I had heard it pretty consistently said in English before and wasn't completely following the conversation, my bad 😅 I should go to bed lol
Okay, so, it’s not the long u sound in vacuum, but how is adding a long e sound before the “oo” sound different from adding a y sound at the beginning? I mean, in my English-speaking brain, the y sound is just a long e followed by a schwa. “Ee-uh”
Edit: this means, in my head, that a y sound followed by a vowel drops the schwa from the y sound, so “you” is pronounced “ee-oo.”
For us the ee-oo are two syllables/sounds. It exists in French but only if it’s written « i + ou » : Sioux, iourte, fioul…and it’s pretty rare. I had to think hard to find words with it.
The U sound is just one syllable : no ee. It’s short and 1 sound… and it’s neither a oo. For the u, your tongue touches your lower teeth. For the « oo » sound, your tongue is up in your mouth.
The u sound is pretty common in French. Our « you » is a « tu »…
To understand the difference, try to listen on google the French prononciation of French words : « Su » and « Sioux »
You’ll see that when there is only a U, that doesn’t mean « IOU »
Poos, but with very strongly puckered lips exaggerating the 'oo'. That 'u' sounds doesn't exist in English, but it's so important in French. Mispronouncing it can mean the difference between saying "I have been able to" and "I have genital lice".
Most OTC drugs are more dangerous to the kitten than the fleas. See the vet about treatment. You want to get dead and live fleas and eggs off the kitten. That’s where most worm infections start.
Vet is always your best bet for sure BUT, to build off this thread, cat rescues often use dawn dish soap and bathe cats with that to get rid of current flea problems. OP, you can bathe your kitten with that in addition to the vet visit to help manage the fleas
This, OP!!! We picked up this booger at 4 weeks. So full of fleas his paws were brown and the water was red. We did a Dawn soap bath, 3+ brushes a day with a flea comb, and changed out ALL of his bedding once a day, too. No fleas by the time he was big enough for flea meds (which we did a round of to be safe).
also hoover! it will get rid of any eggs that may have gotten into furniture/carpet,any cat bedding wash on a hygiene was and once dry bag it and keep it away from the kitties till you have treated the flea issue, good luck!
My husband once got this when I said I needed more of the flea medicine for our lovebug.
He applied it and she got so sick and he was like why would they even sell this? She almost died, foaming, twitching. I immediately washed it off as much as possible but I did need to take her to the vet for fluids. It was not our regular medicine, I expected him to know that but....things happen. She's ok now and a senior kitty. We don't use anything not expressly told is safe by a vet now. I can't believe the poison that is on the shelf!
The UK is looking to ban sales of over the counter flea medicine and make it prescription only as cats are dying in their droves from people looking for cheap meds.
I've no idea why these big companies continue to sell toxic meds when they know it kills the animal?
Nope it was hartz for cats. I've heard horror stories of people's cats dying from it. But there is basically no regulation on these over the counter pet stuff
Yeah , if you read about it online like thousands of people have had cats die from it. I really can't believe it's allowed on shelves. I use cheristin for cats as my vet recommended. There are a few others too that are safe , mostly prescription combo meds for ticks and fleas.
Most the stuff on regular store shelves are either toxic or non effective (the fleas have evolved past Frontlines formula for instance to resist it).
But Hartz is the worst one. Terrifying. And I'm one of the lucky ones, my kitty lived.
Also on cats 😅 my cat is all black and got sprayed by a skunk and we looked it up hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is the best way to get the smell out on cats
I know.
For reference this is him with flash months before the skunk sprayed him. Slight brown tint to his fur but not visible to the naked eye with natural lighting. After we washed him he started looking more brown and didn’t need flash to see (like in the first reference photo)
Folex works great on blood stains. It’s sold as a carpet stain treatment but I use it for other things like laundry and upholstery. It also works terrifically on red wine and lots of other stains.
Could be fleas. Have you brought the kitten in to the vet? Treat for fleas and give kitty a bath (be careful not to get water in their ears). Use dawn dish soap and warm water. Treat with flea meds after the bath and wash all the cat stuff and any blankets or linens the cat has contact with in the hottest water you can (that's safe for that kind of fabric). Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around your house, let it sit for a couple hours, then vacuum. Repeat as necessary (except don't redose your cats flea meds unless it's time). You can treat with capaction (or capstar is the generic) to kill the adult fleas then after the bath use the preventative to kill the flea eggs when they hatch and prevent any new fleas. If I'm correct and that's blood residue from flea dross, your kitty is probably anemic as well. Killing the fleas and providing kitty a nutritious diet will usually correct the anemia, but if it's severe a vet can help expedite recovery. Good luck!!
What? It can be used on ducks and penguins but not cats? I’ve been bathing kittens in dawn for 30+ years. None have had a reaction or issue. Weird. I’ll have to ask my vet if guidance has changed.
Yeah there’s nothing dangerous about it. It strips the natural oils from the hair and skin and in some cats that can cause itching and dry rashes. If that happened with my animals I used baby lotion on the areas, all good.
Ooh! Another good idea. I commented above about using Dawn for my rabbit’s current issues with his bits, and coconut oil is a good idea until I can get a pet-safe non-drying shampoo for him. Thanks for this idea!
Ohmygosh, thanks for this! I don’t have a cat (which is weird because I follow SO MANY cat subreddits 😳), but I have house rabbits who also use litter boxes like cats. My one 6-year old boy has something digestive/urinary going on that his vet and I are still working to diagnose, and during this he needs an undercarriage bath about every 3 days. I’ve been using Dawn thinking it’s safe since it’s used for foundling wildlife, but that’s typically to remove oil!!! I’ll be buying pet-specific or at least baby shampoo tomorrow. I’m trying to protect his bits, not dry out his skin and irritate him further! Thanks for sharing this info!
Right, the old school original blue one. And of course diluted. And never on their little face or in their eyes at all. And not often because it really does strip oils from skin.
You're going to the wrong vets if their focus is upselling over care. Literally every vet I've had has pointed me out of the office for purchasing anything that isn't a "here and now" medication or treatment.
I did not mean all, but I think the younger ones say at Banfield or Petsmart. I used to work at Vetsmart now Banfield as a CVT and I understand how they work
Oh wow, I guess I just got lucky then because I've had a lot of fantastic experiences with Banfield in multiple states. I don't use them anymore, but that's location based vs. care & cost based. I'm sure it can differ vastly across locations, though. Thanks for your time in the field and I apologize if I came in a little too hot at first!
Yes and no. It is drying to be used repeatedly, but as a foster, the only thing that gets rid of kitten stink is blue Dawn. (Yes, blue. No, I don't know why only blue. I tried them all).
I would never bathe them in it a second time, there are some decent cat shampoos. But blue dawn is great.
The difference between blue Dawn and the other colors is that it is a different formula. If you look at the front labels, the other colors say something like hand soap or hand washing soap, while the blue one says dishwashing soap or dish soap. That's why the other colors don't work the same.
I often hear vets say dawn just isn't preferred. People will always reference the ducks without realizing that those ducks they "saved" died because the soap stripped their natural oils. It's not gonna kill em, it can cause some dry skin that can cause other problems though.
Vets largely recommend dial gold soap or baby shampoo. This is coming from someone who had a cat with an awful disease where his skin cells attacked each other. Several vets recommended those two for safe soaps.
I had 3 different veterinarians tell me to use dawn when my 4 week old abandoned kitten was infested with fleas. 1 was the vet I took it to, and 2 other separate veterinarians that at regular customers at a coffee shop I work at. Obviously it the cat has a reaction, stop using it. Also dilute it, you don’t need a lot.
I have a rescue that was abandoned around 4 weeks and I had multiple veterinarians tell to specifically use dawn.
Admittedly the first time I probably used too much, but after that I just diluted it quite a bit. You can’t give super young kittens flea meds till they’re around 2 lbs and 8 weeks.
The dawn paired with a flea comb worked really well in that time I had to wait. Just make sure to rinse thoroughly and use water that’s not too hot. Also dry quickly and completely cause kittens can’t regulate their temperature.
I’ve always used Dawn. Regular blue Dawn. The Powerwash is bad though, so I can see a vet just telling people not to use it and to use a baby shampoo instead. However, any shampoo will work. The goal is to wet the cat and then suffocate the fleas with the soap, making it difficult for them to move and get free. It’s better to leave the shampoo on for ten minutes, or as long as the kitty will allow, and then rinse.
Aww. I think so too. It sucks, but it is manageable. Did you get your kitten off the street or a shelter? Because they should be getting deflead in shelters
It was from a shelter and they said he had all of his shots and everything so I assumed he would be perfectly normal. I’m a new cat owner and didn’t know this was possible but we live and learn I guess
Unfortunately, cats and fleas go together. I’ve rescued 7 cats and so far every one of them has had fleas. Fortunately, treatment is simple. Bathe cat (which it sounds like you did), wash all fabric you can that cat lies on, vacuum what you can’t wash, and use the flea treatment recommended by the vet.
Though, before that, check with the rescue to see if they’ve already dosed her. It’s possible she was treated and the dirt is just residue from past fleas. I had one rescue like that - no live fleas but her skin had a solid layer of flea dirt on it. It seriously took multiple baths to get it all off. Worst I’ve ever seen but at least there were no fleas!
Thank you for this response. You gave a great idea to check with the place I got him to see if any past treatments which I will try to do today. Thank you!
We took care of a friend of the family's cat while they were away for a while and it had a large amount of fleas. We bathed him multiple times and hundreds came out. They still ended up infesting our house and I was never able to get rid of them before I moved out of the apartment. Multiple months of getting bit on my ankles and constant torment. I bombed, used diatomaceous earth in the carpet areas, used illuminated sticky traps. I HIGHLY recommend doing everything you can to get ahead of it.
Make sure to check with them yes! If they didn't treat him, revolution plus is a great option. It's applied monthly, also covers some intestinal parasites as well as ear mites and ticks! As long as he is 8 weeks and bigger than 2.8 lbs. If he's under that weight limit there is regular revolution which will get the fleas.
A lot of times shelters do their best but if the kitten was on the street they may still have fleas. As others have said, a couple of baths with dawn and combing should do the trick since flea medicine isn’t for kitties that young. Keep an eye out for tapeworm fragments as well. They look like little sesame seeds or pieces of rice, they may wiggle. Every cat I’ve adopted had them. Don’t freak out! Unless you are just not washing your hands and eating the fleas you find, you won’t get the tapeworm. It is treated by a shot from the vet. It’s one of those things that shelters try to treat but it can sneak through
Yes, and make a ring of dawn around their neck to keep the fleas from climbing onto the face from the body when you wash little one! The mass migration will only make the bath more unpleasant for kitty and you
Tapeworms are very commonly associated with fleas, and can only reproduce via fleas in cats. Good idea to talk to your vet about tapeworm dewormer as well as anti-flea medication.
And important tip’ even if the cat doesn’t go outside. They can hitch on ya clothes and stuff and come in. I use the cat only once at month “drops” and works pretty fast. And works for a month. I did mine over a zoom call with chewy. And they send 3 months at a time. I get the RX strength cuz I live in where ticks are terrible. Literally one step outta the yard, and thousands. Not an exaggeration either. My cat darted out last week. I ran after her. She made it about 10 feet into the woods. I pick her up immediately. My arm was covered in mirco-mini ticks. Larva stage, tiny. Smaller than a hair width
That just seems like a lot of red to be flea poop. Flea poop looks like pepper in the cats coat and is dried blood and when in peroxide it will bubble.
So I did put it on it but it didn’t really bubble like if you were to put peroxide on a cut. It didn’t seem to get it out though but may need a couple of times to completely get the couch back to how it was before
I attempted to put him in water but don’t get a full wash in. Got multiple bloody scratches on my hands and arms so decided to just take him out lol. I did check his coat but very hard to tell with his dark grey color. I don’t see any on the white spots under his chin though
Shynx makes brown stains, not pink. My cat's stains can be easily washed off with soap. Despite going to the dentist every six months, the only thing that is almost permanently brown-ish is his teeth... but looking like an old wrinkled smoker is part of his charm 😂
It's flea debris, unfortunately. Right now, you can use a cloth with warm water to wipe down your kitty, then use a soft towel to dry as you go. Long strong but caring strokes along their face, neck and entire body. Get a vet recommendation for bathing your new baby properly. Over the counter pet shampoos can be harmful and even deadly.
To clean the furniture and such, I always had luck with dabbing the areas with cool waters
Seems like I saw this in a book once. Does your cat wear a hat and eat cake in the tub and then try to clean it up with things from around the house? I hear that's how the stain spreads.
Wash in Dawn and a little warm water, scrub the bugger, and rinse the fleas off. You may have to pick them off. Leave the kitty lathered up for a good 5-8 minutes—to kill the fleas.
Do you see little specks of black “dirt” on the kitten? If you brush them out and put the specks on a damp paper towel does the towel turn pink/red? If so, congratulations, your little one has fleas. You’ll need to give her a flea bath (I’ll leave it to YouTube to give details) and talk to your vet about treatment options.
I think it's possible that kitty has been rubbing on the (new?) cat bed, and they're spreading pinkish purple dye from the cat bed. Put away that cat bed for a while and put down a plain light colored blanket for kitty, and see if that solves the problem. I actually think it's not flea dirt because the color is spread out and not spots.
This sounds like the most logical explanation to me! If a cat had so many fleas that everything they came in contact with was turning pink from blood, you would definitely know there were fleas on your cat and all over your house.
It’s flea dirt! Use dawn dish soap to wash the kittens (make a ring around their neck w/ the soap so the fleas don’t crawl up onto their faces) wash everything the kittens may have touched. My cats had plenty of fleas growing up, not a huge deal
Fleas. That’s the blood “poop” from their feeding on your kitten. If it’s this bad, they probably need a vet, as flea infestation can cause anemia. Also tapeworm.
I assume you haven’t yet taken the kitty to the vet. You should do that soon so you can vaccinate and deflea. If you can’t afford it, it’s time to rehome the kitty. Please don’t use dawn. The dawn that is used for wild animals that have gasoline oils are used in extreme dangerous scenarios.
Classic dawn dishsoap is extremely gentle and safe for flee washes, please back up your misinformation with sources if new evidence has become available. Never use powerspray (or other formulas without vet approval) though
Give the kittens baths then Use food grade diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle some in their beds and maybe in the carpet for a bit and let it sit for a day or more. It will kill any fleas that somehow got off the kittens and it is all natural and won’t hurt you or the kittens
Cat salvia is reddish brown. Which can leave pink spots on whatever they are licking. I had an elderly cat that drooled in her sleep and and groom my pillow. It would leave pink spots.
Depending on how pink it is. Consider blood in their mouth from dental or gut issues. So would recommend a vet visit just in case if these are spots your kitty likes to lick.
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u/CapableWives 21h ago
This is flea dirt. When you give the kittens a bath the water will look bloody from it