New Kitten, Getting Worried

Hi All,

This is my first post and I hope I can get some advice. Let me say in advance that I will be contacting my vet tomorrow morning.

Last Sunday (August 2nd) we found a kitten and took him in. We purchased some KMR and a bottle and started feeding him that way. On Tuesday (August 4th) we took him to our vet who has handled our animals for almost 20 years. He took a look at him and said he was about 3 weeks old, stated he looked good, and said we were doing everything right and gave him a little bit of wormer. This is where our problems started, I believe.

Since we took him to the vet and he received the wormer, he has had irregular bowel movements. Let me add that before we took him to the vet, I rubbed his tummy and genital/anal area and he had a good bowel movement. So he started having bad diarrhea where he had no control over it what-so-ever. I checked to make sure he was hydrated and continued to feed him the KMR. I thought after a couple days and after reading some information on raising orphaned kittens that maybe the KMR was too rich for him. Yesterday (August 8th) I decided to dilute the KMR a bit to see if that would help. Yesterday and today has been good as far as him being able to some what control his bowel movements. Since the vet, every time I would get him out of his box there would be poop everywhere. Today and yesterday there was no poop in his box but when I would rub his tummy area he would poop but it's loose stool.

I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or if there is something wrong with him. His stool is yellow which I have read could be several things including overfeeding but I don't know if that's really what's going on.

We have been feeding him every 4 hours 1-1 1/2 teaspoons of KMR. This is all he will eat at each feeding. I do not know how much he weighs so I do not know if this is right but he eats it fine and isn't really wanting more afterward. He is growing though, eats fine, and is not dehydrated.

If anyone has any advice or has been in this position before, it is greatly appreciated. I love this little guy more than anything now and I would hate for anything to happen to him. It's the loose, yellowish stool that really concerns me.

Thanks!

Welcome to TCS. Bless you for taking in this kitten. Do you have any other cats?

I don't know what the effect of the wormer is on such a young kitten. Someone else with more experience will probably be along soon.

As far a the correct formula and amount of feeding, check out www.rescue-kitten.com. There is a lot of good information there.

My vet says not to worm kittens until 4 weeks (if they are nursing from their mother), or else bottle babies wait until 6 weeks. Dewormer can cause loose stools, so I would suspect that is your problem.

However - it is not uncommon for cats/kittens to have giardia or coccidia. It might not be a bad idea to have a stool sample run, to eliminate anything like that.

Bless you for taking care of this little guy. I bottle fed two orphaned kittens and one was doing fine on the KMR but then developed loose stools. I ended up switching to another brand called "Just Born" and his digestive system settled down. His brother had no problems on KMR. I don't know if it was something in the KMR but he did improve after the switch. The vet even suggested an association with the milk

Have you looked on this site www.kitten-rescue.com ? There is a wealth of info there.

You are doing a great job. Post this question also in the Pregnant cats and kitten care section. There are many that have experience that might offer suggestions there.

Hang in there.

Thanks for the reply's so far.

I do not have any other cats and have never done this before. I am a worrier in general but this little guy has really melted my heart and I would feel horrible if anything happened to him.

He looks really good and is eating great, like I said, in the week we've had him he has grown. But like I said the loose, yellow stool is really concerning me.

We think that the mama was in the middle of moving the kittens but we couldn't take the chance if that wasn't the case and something happened to her. I don't think he's in pain or sick but could develop into something bad if I don't take care of it.

Pretty much for the past 7 days he has become my world. =) I just want to make sure I am covering all my basis and giving him the best care possible.

I will also take your advice Skimble and post in the other thread. =)

Can I post a picture of him? He's so adorable!

If he is gaining weight, and is not dehydrated, so he is doing OK. Especielly as this spontaneus pooping is over since a couple of days.
As I understand, the crisis is over now.
1,5 teaspoons every 4 times seems hardly to be too much. Perhaps sooner too little. But as he is gaining although loose poop... He is a marvel. And so are you!
To weigh them every day is the standard way to know if they really gain weigh, and thus, thriwing.


The normal small kitten poop is yellowish and rather loose. They call it often as mustard-coloured, and preferably of tooth-paste consistency. But the colour can vary. and may be somewhat looser too.

Deworming at 3 weeks is rather young I think. Unless they are full of worms. Perhaps he was?

Btw, did you phoned the vet and asked about these loosed stols following the medication? It is common to ask vets question on following theirs treatment. It "should" be for free, or at least, cheaper.


Lets hope a experienced small kitten care taker will answer too.


Good luck!


ps Welcome to the Forums!

I am going to phone the vet today and just ask.

He didn't have worms and from what I recall the vet said it's precautionary because he stated it's easy for kittens that young to get worms.

He is such a playful kitten but I have been cleaning towels like none other and I have to watch because he has pooped on me twice already. lol.

I am glad I found this forum as I have never really had a cat before so I will definitely need advice in the future. =)

Just an update.

I contacted the vet and he said everything was okay for now. Stated to keep doing what I was doing and in a week bring him in to get wormed again.

The vet said as long as he's active and has a healthy appetite he's fine. =) Guess I'm just a worry wart mommy.

From what I understand his stool is not abnormal for a kitten.

All vets are used to worry-wart mommas and poppas - and if they're not patient with questions, time to get a new vet!!! Honestly, better safe than sorry - and, at least at my practice, they've constantly reassured me that they'd rather have one 'really didn't need to call' question than miss a really important symptom.

Bless you for helping this baby - they do grab your heart, don't they?

I just saw your message now but I was going to tell you not to worry. I just went through this myself with three 3 week old kittens that I rescued. I was told that Goats milk was great to use and many breeders use this and won't touch KMR. But even when the goats milk was diluted the kittens had terrible diarrhea. We switched to KMR and they were fine. We also de-wormed at 3 weeks. With Panacur you are suppose to de-worm at 10 days old once a day for three days!!! And then again at 30 days (or around there) to ensure all of the adults and eggs have been killed.

There is a great kitten food called Royal Canin Baby kitten especially made for kittens BEFORE weaning. At 4 weeks the kittens were rescued started eating this. The kibble is SUPER TINY. You can buy that at any pet store really. As well, incase you are not, it would be a smart idea to introduce wet kitten food. Kittens start to eat wet food almost as soon as their eyes are open and they are walking around. OR you can soak the Royal Canin Baby Kitten in the KMR too. I was also mixing a small amount of Organic Probiotic yogurt into the kittens food (which they loved) and this helps keep their bowels "regular" and actually helps stop diarrhea. I buy this in the Organic section at Sobeys.

btw, I know that kittens can become very dirty and sticky from the KMR and wet food. If you will be bathing them a good things to use is baby wash because it is NO TEAR and gentle on the skin. Make sure to dry your little guy completely so he doesn't become ill.

Good luck with your baby!!!

Should I still dilute the KMR? It seems to be helping with his accidents but I'm afraid by diluting it he's not getting enough of the essentials he needs.

I purchased some kitten food by Science Diet but my vet told me to wait until he's about 6 weeks to start weaning him off the KMR.

I have never been so tired in my life but he is so worth it. =) He has decided he likes to lay on his back and play with my finger's and bat them around. I wondered if he would play with toys?

After talking with the vet I feel so much better and definitely not as worried.

Originally Posted by Skimble

You are doing a great job. Post this question also in the Pregnant cats and kitten care section. There are many that have experience that might offer suggestions there.

Click to expand...

Just a note about this -

We don't allow duplicate threads, so the two threads have been merged.

He never was weak but his poop was a major concern. I'm still a little concerned but I will wait it out. In the mean time I'm monitoring his hydration and he doesn't really have diarrhea anymore, just loose stool.

Another question I have is does anyone know how you can tell if a kitten is getting KMR in his lungs?

I may just be worrying but it seems like after he eats he makes weird sounds but then it goes away. I'm worried that this might be the liquid going into his lungs. Do kittens get hiccups?

Also my kitten is now becoming really playful but he is biting and I really did know he would ever start doing that.. lol.. Is this going to be a problem in the future? If so, how do I curb this now?

I don't know if anyone can answer this but my kitten's stool is still a little loose and last night he pooped and I went to clean his butt and there was a little blood on it. Now he's bottom area has been irritated from what I can only assume was the little bout of diarrhea he had so I wondered if that had anythign to do with it? There has not been any blood in his actual stool.

Thanks for all your guy's help.

To answer your question about the KMR getting in his lungs - make sure he takes the bottle by lying on his tummy - just like he would if he were nursing. It's easier for them to inhale formula on their backs.

To answer you question about him playing with your fingers - best to stop that now. Use a toy. If he goes for your fingers, withdraw them. There's nothing worse than a full-grown cat biting your fingers because he never learned not to when he was a cute baby.

It sounds like he's doing fine, though. Keep up the good work

The bleeding is most likely from his sore bottom. A little desitin dabbed on the area could help. It's used for diaper rash in human babies and everything I've read says it's safe for kittens.

The noise he's making could be hiccups or burping. It is possible to get the formula in his lungs, but it's not likely that it's happening every time. He wouldn't have survived it more than once or twice. Make sure you hold him with his tummy down while you're feeding him, not on his back like a baby.

You'll want to discourage the biting now. It may not hurt while he's little, but that will change as he grows. When he bites, stop whatever you're doing immediately, blow in his face, and say a firm, "No!" Then redirect his attention to a toy. Positive reinforcement works better than punishment for cats (and dogs, and people ).

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

The bleeding is most likely from his sore bottom. A little desitin dabbed on the area could help. It's used for diaper rash in human babies and everything I've read says it's safe for kittens.

The noise he's making could be hiccups or burping. It is possible to get the formula in his lungs, but it's not likely that it's happening every time. He wouldn't have survived it more than once or twice. Make sure you hold him with his tummy down while you're feeding him, not on his back like a baby.

You'll want to discourage the biting now. It may not hurt while he's little, but that will change as he grows. When he bites, stop whatever you're doing immediately, blow in his face, and say a firm, "No!" Then redirect his attention to a toy. Positive reinforcement works better than punishment for cats (and dogs, and people

).

Click to expand...

When we first got him we were feeding him on his back because we thought it was cute but then we read it was not good so we stopped that immediately.

I am going to get him some toys because like you said I don't want to have a grown cat biting. He doesn't have big teeth but when he caught my lip it did hurt! =)

I am going to try to post some pictures tonight if I can. I am probably biased but he's the cutest thing!

For anyone who reads this..

I was overfeeding him and didn't realize it. That I think may contribute to his loose stool. I think he's ready to start the litter box though.

The little bottle I have I thought measured in teaspoons (i'm so dumb!) but it's actually tablespoons.

So when I have been telling yall that he's only been eating 1-2 teaspoons, it's actually 3-6 teaspoons. My mother showed me that last night and I felt so stupid. I have corrected it and now am feeding him about 4 teaspoons and he is alright afterward no big pot belly like before! lol

He has went from 9 ounces Monday night to 9.5 ounces last night. Is this a good thing? I know it's good that he's gaining weight but should he be gaining more?

I wanted to share a couple pictures of the little guy who stole my heart, Tiberius. These pictures were taken a couple days ago.

Oh, my gosh, he is just the cutest baby!!!! And how lucky is he to have found you. You know, I wonder if you'd be interested in reading Dan10101's postings in this forum - he and his wife also did a terrific job with raising a teeny tiny little one.

Best of luck to you - and I think you've got a friend for life there!