Very pregnant cat has diarreah

[kysand7]

Hello all, I'm new here but I've been lurking around the forums for about a week now.


A little bit of a back story:
I moved into the 4-plea last January and noticed this grey and white cat who seemed very skittish and figured she was a stray. I mentioned it to my neighbors and said that I was going to get her fixed. My neighbors told me that she was their cat but she was mean so they through her outside. They also told me that she was fixed. I had been putting out cat food for her, but then they got mad at me for it so when I ran out I just let them feed her.

Well fast forward to the summer, she has a litter of kittens, but they all die. They were spread out on the lawn. No idea why they died but I think it was because I don't think they fed her very well. In September they were evicted and left her behind. I started putting out food again and Diva claimed my porch as her own. I was planning on getting her fixed as soon as u could catch her, but she was still very skittish. She would come up to be pet, but then would turn around and vote for no known reason.

In October she started coming in my house and refusing to leave. By then i had realized that she was already pregnant again. I took her to the vet a few weeks ago and they said that she was due within one to two weeks.

She is huge, her nipples have white crust on them and black dots and now she is having diarreah and I've seen her scootong her bum accross the floor.

She also is very needy and has to be in the same room as me at all times. Her eating has slowed down but she still drinks a lot of water and all she does all day is lay on her side.

When I took her to the vet they said she was very healthy, she doesn't have feline leukemia, no worms, no fleas, no ear mites and they gave her her rabies shot cuz she does bite people(and scratch).

I'm just wondering, is the diarreah a part of being so close to being due? She's had it since Sunday night now.

Thanks!!

 

[StefanZ]

I'm just wondering, is the diarreah a part of being so close to being due? She's had it since Sunday night now.
 

It could be - but it lasts quite long now.

I mean, its not uncommon they have diarrhea the last day before delivery, natures way of emptying before delivery.

Make sure she has a lot to drink - preferably some sort of pedialyte.  Homemade or bough.

A good pedialyte is also by itself  a diarrhea stopper in some degree.

You can surely phone this vet and ask - you are after all his paying patient.

I send also some links, you will perhaps find some of the useful.

Good luck!

Most of these links have been readied by our forumist  Red Top Rescue:

We have a good collection of articles in the Cat Health section which you can access by scrolling up to the brown bar, clicking on Articles,and then choosing the Cat Health section and scrolling through the choices.  To make this super easy for you, I am copying the links regarding birth, delivery and newborns for you here.  After reading this information, let us know if you have any more questions.  And good luck with your approaching new arrivals.

 Birth, Delivery and Newborns

How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant?

Cat Pregnancy

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth

Help! My Cat is Having Kittens!

Premature Kittens

Post-Birth Complications in Cats

And also:

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens     ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  

Fleece or flannel good to use in the bedding for kittens.

 

[kysand7]

I called and talked to the vet and they said she sounded fine. They weren't concerned that she had diarrhea just so long as she was still eating and drinking which she is.

I'm just anxious,y awaiting the kittens. I keep telling her that she should just pop them out already. Lol.
She still hasn't nested yet though. She mainly just lays in the window or on the ground right next to me bed. I have three different nesting boxes set up in my room but she couldn't care less about them.

 

[kysand7]

image.jpg

• kysand7
• Oct 21, 2014

 

[catwoman707]

Oh she is very cute !!

Looks small, but big tummy!  I bet she's got at least 5 in there.

I hope she was given flea treatment because it's a real pain when the babies come and the fleas start eating them alive, literally.

Did the vet do a fecal exam on her poop at all? This would indicate if there are intestinal parasites or not.

If the diarrhea just started, then it's likely being caused by her preparing to deliver.

The other reason would be food, you don't want to switch up her food now at all.

She will need lots and lots of fresh water all the time now as she is about to be producing milk, and they drink alot more than they normally would.

Be sure to give her canned food as well, and have some on hand for during her delivery/after.

Sometimes it goes fast, other times it doesn't, but she will appreciate some wet food during if slow, and after if it's moving right along. She will be exhausted.

 

[kysand7]

The vet said that she didn't have fleas, but she also didn't check her poo. She just checked her for leukemia and gave her a rabies shot. Said she didn't have ear mites or fleas and looked very healthy.

I started giving her kitten food mixed in the other day... Could that be it? I mean I only have mixed in a little, the regular food is still the most prominent. And I give her wet food but it's not always by the same people. Sometimes it's friskies, sometimes its Sheba and sometimes its fancy cat. She never had any problems before though...

I think I might call the vet again today. All she does is poo. I have to change the litter box every morning now because she poos so much it's not funny. And it spurts on my walls and floor. It's nasty. I just keep cleaning it up and hoping it gets better. She's still drinking a lot even thouh she's not eating as much as she used to. She used to easily down three bowls of food, for the last few days she only gets through one. This is my first feline pregnancy (and last hopefully unless God sends me anoth35 pregnant stray) so I'm kinda nervous for her. I've read and read but no one ever talks about diarrhea or scraping their bums across the floor.

Thanks for replying!

 

[StefanZ]

If she is diarrheaing so much, so loses electrolytes too.  Ie salts.   You can use a good mineral water, but let the gas bubbles out.  Or have some minerale kitchen salt in her drinking water. Just a trifle, but it will give her some of the salts back.   If you add glucose to these waters, you get a home made pedialyte - which helps even in severe diarrheas.

A version may be to cook rice twice or thrice the usual in lotsa water, and use water from it (contains glucose) and add some salt - this minerale kitchen salt or common kitchen salt...

This cant harm, but can help.  And contact your vet yes.  Do both parallelly.

Good luck!

 

[catwoman707]

Ah yes, adding canned food recently would certainly cause her system upset.

Key thing is to stick with one brand basically, at least for now, and pate only. Do not use the shredded/sliced/etc.

I do think if she didn't have diarrhea before but does now, there is your answer on why.

But of course you want to address it asap, as the babies will be coming anytime, and quite the mess if it's not cleared up, at least partially by then.

Add canned pumpkin, about a teaspoon to the canned each time. Pure, not pumpkin pie filling.

You can also dilute the canned with white rice and water from it too as stefanz mentions the water.

OR, stop the canned completely, and give chicken or turkey only baby food in place of the canned. Lightly diluted with water.

Then after a few days her system will have settled down a bit, then can SLOWLY bring back pate canned, just small amts at a time, and not too often.

Suddenly adding canned that she is not used to getting is just as unsettling to her system as it would be to switch her dry food suddenly without a gradual change to allow her to adjust.

 

[kysand7]

Talked to the vet again today, they did a fecal test and said that she doesn't have any parasites but that she does have some kind of intestinal infection so they prescribed amoxicillin. Now I get to figure out how to give a semi-feral cat a syringe of medicine twice a day. Fun fun. Still no kittens either. :doh3:

 

[catwoman707]

It's easier when caged, since she would have noplace to run and hide.

I do highly suggest getting another pair of hands though.

Put a pair of gloves on and hold her by her scruff, pushing down towards the floor. The person with gloves on will hold a good amt of scruff, rendering her pretty helpless. Scruff pullad back to raise her head, then other person open mouth and syringe it as far back as possible, otherwise she will spit alot of it back out.

Nature works in mysterious ways, babies not born yet due to the infected intestines, giving you a chance to help get her well.....

You don't want any infection to be given to the babies via her milk.

 

[kysand7]

Well giving her medicine was easier than I thought, but now I'm pretty sure that she has fleas. Ugh!!!!!!

How do I get rid of fleas on a pregnant cat? And whee the heck did she get them? I mean the vet checked her a few weeks ago and she hasn't been outside much since then. Argh!!!!??

 

[catwoman707]

I had asked about her being given flea meds in an earlier post because the fleas are rampid now and best to treat prior to having her babies of course.

She can be flea treated with a topical flea med, my preference is Advantage 11. (the 11 is the newest formula that also kills eggs and larvae)

Some people like capstar, but it would only be beneficial if she hadn't already been all over the house, as it will only get rid of the fleas currently on her, and is gone after 24 hours. This means any eggs/larvae or live fleas she has brought to your home will just find her again.

It only takes one time outside to pick up fleas, they are everywhere right now.

Advantage 11 applied will  continue to protect her. 

Glad to hear the med wasn't hard to give afterall!! That sure does help!

 

[kysand7]

I think this might be it guys! She keeps walking around the house meowing at me begging for my attention, she even almost climbed into my lap which she never does. She has been walking around restlessly until I follow her into my closet which is where her nesting box is and then she climbs inside. I'm so excited!!:lol3::lol3:

 

[melon86]

Yay that's awesome! In hoping my kitty goes soon too because she definitely looks ready!

 

[kysand7]

Well now we are back to nothing. She's back up in the window, not making any noise again. Do cats get Braxton hicks I'm wondering? Maybe that was it?

 

[melon86]

I have no idea about false contractions. This is my first time with a pregnant cat.. Looks like we are both excited and tired of this waiting game.

 

[catwoman707]

She's likely getting ready, the cervix has to dilate just as in humans. It's probably very close.

You might be thinking she's back to nothing but wake up tmrw and have babies!

 

[kysand7]

I hope so! I'm ready for kittens! Lol

 

[kysand7]

Kitten number one was born while I was asleep, but kitten number two is here now as well. Kitten 1 keeps climbing underneath mom. Mom hasn't fed kitten 1 yet but kitten 2 is feeding. I'm worried about kitten 1.

 

[kysand7]

I believe that she just had her third. They are all eating now.