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Why is my kitten sick and lethargic after a dish soap flea bath?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 3 months and 19 days old

Hello , my 4 month old kitten started acting weird yesterday after i gave her a bath, i used meijer brand dish soap (i didnt have dawn) she was covered in fleas, i got most of them off of her but later that night and today she has been really tired and quite, not playing not following me around like usual, she pooped on the floor for the first time ever... will hardly eat anything , i dont have money to take her to a vet till next week.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr Stafford, BVetMed, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on August 20th, 2017

Poor Shadow! She is very young to be fully immersed in water, it is incredibly stressful and dangerous for young animals. Moreover, dish soap is very bad for their skin and coat and not even a truly effective way of killing fleas, when the eggs hatch there will be no residual activity. In future it would be much kinder and more effective to buy a spot on flea treatment such as frontline.
Now as for why she is so poorly: best case scenario is that she has gotten very cold and stressed and her body is temporarily reacting to it. But on the same hand she may have got water in her lungs ( her lungs are tiny so it doesn't take much) and this will make her incredibly sick and is potentially life threatening.
You need to get her to a vet asap because if something serious is going on it needs to be treated quickly. Hopefully it is just that she is in a bit of shock.
In the mean time keep her warm and comfortable.
In future if you need any advice regarding pet care please ask your vet or ask us, we will always help.
Best of luck.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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