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If your kitten is with its mother and has not been outdoors, you do not need to bathe it for the first several weeks, as its mother should take care of that with licking and by about 4 weeks old the kittens should start to clean themselves. If your kitten is an orphan and is 1-2 weeks old you should bathe him/her immediately once checked by a veterinarian, as it likely has fleas and other bugs that need to be picked off it's skin and fur. To bathe an infant kitten (1-4 weeks) you can use either specialty kitten shampoo from the vet or a pet store. If you don't have these, you can use a small amount of Joy dishwashing liquid in a basin of lukewarm water. A few bubbles are okay, but not too many so the kitten won't ingest them. Only make the water high enough to just cover their bellies sitting upright. PREPARING THE BASINBefore placing your kitten into the basin, first take some kitten shampoo/Joy and a little water and make a thick soapy ring all around its neck. Fleas tend to migrate up to the head in a bath, and this will help lessen the amount that make it to your kittens eyes/nose/etc. While stroking their head/backs, gently place the kitten in the basin and begin splashing the soap water gently on their bodies. If they have fleas you will see them start to emerge. Use a flea comb and your fingers to pick off the fleas and put them in the basin (they will quickly drown). VERY IMPORTANT!!! Temperature is critical for your kitten. The water should not be too hot, but needs to stay warm enough to prevent their going into hypothermia. Kittens can't regulate their body temp yet, but for the first few weeks their temperature should not be lower than 97 degrees, so you need to regulate it for them. Replace water as it gets cooler for new warm soapy water, and keep most of the kitten's body in your hands so your body heat helps warm them. FLEAS If this is a rescued orphan kitten who was found outdoors, be prepared to spend at least an hour picking off the fleas and flea eggs. Even the smallest kittens can come in with 100s of fleas on them, and each one needs to be removed. Keeping the kittens bottom in the water for a while will help drown the attached fleas, so they just need to be picked off. When you think you have removed all the fleas (and dirt, etc) finish by rinsing them off with clean warm water. DRYING YOUR KITTEN This needs to be done quickly after removal from the last rinse of water, and needs to be done with gradual heating. First use paper towels to rub and blot the moisture from the kitten's fur. You can use a hair blow dryer on low heat, but you need to keep the dryer back about a foot from the kitten's body, constantly move the dryer, and avoid blowing hot air into the kitten's face. Wrap the kitten in a warm cloth/blanket and place in a very warm place to assure that they do not lose body heat.

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