Postpartum Farts

nes

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We did just change her food, but hubby has been complaining since Peaches' had the kitten she's been farting up a stinky storm. I couldn't really smell it until 5 minutes ago & then realized she is why I keep thinking one of the dogs has pooped in the house (then I can't find anything).

She had her kittens a week and a half ago, I only changed her food over a few days ago, so the farting has been since the kittens.

Has anyone had experience with this before?

(other then human...
)
 

jack31

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I'm not sure that Ginger really had gas--she was outside so it would have been hard to tell but her poop was drastically different and stinky after the babies. I guess when you consume the outgoings of your children all day long, it can't do great things for your own system.

Grin and bear it
 

sarahp

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Well she did eat the amniotic sacs they were in, and she is also consuming their waste, so you can't really blame her can you?


It will get better as the kittens get bigger, so just hang in there.

What sort of food are you giving her?
 

clixpix

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Yeah, nothing smells worse than nursing mama cat poo!
Like Sarah said, she is consuming all the kittens waste (urine and feces).


Once they start eating kitten food (at around 4 weeks) and start pooping in the litter tray, mama should start to smell better.
 
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nes

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Peaches is sort of room-clearing but it was more hubby that was getting upset then me
. I think hes been picking her up by her back-end a little too much because apparently she farts in his face everytime he picks her up to pet her
.

We got a free bag of purina kitten so she's eating that, we'll get her back on the good stuff once this bag is done
.
 

angelyco

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Frenchie had her kittens about a week ago, and she has Peaches's problem
My last pregnant cat didn't fart like this girl does! Whew!
 

3catsn1dog

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Geez my girl didnt even have babies!! And she can clear a room faster than any human Ive ever had the "luxury" of being around when passing gas!!! LOL..I just grin and bear it when it happens because she seems to like farting around everyone else but me!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Nes

I think hes been picking her up by her back-end a little too much because apparently she farts in his face everytime he picks her up to pet her
.
I love it when my DH has that happen to him. Its funny and I think he deserves it.


You might try giving her some probiotics. Because she's consuming all of their waste it could be affecting her gut flora a bit - actually it would have to be to be causing that gas. There's current threads on probiotics, so take a peek at them.
 
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nes

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Oh that wouldn't be a bad idea at all! She LOVES milk (she was born on a dairy farm) so maybe I'll try a little yogurt since her system handles it well.

I went into our bedroom this morning to get some laundry and she was sleeping on the bed, I got half-way in and had to leave! Man she STINKS!!!
 
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nes

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Turns out she's also spewing some VERY stinky diarrhoea
so I served up some pumpkin this morning & we're definitely going for the probiotics. It never stops around here
.

I tell you guys, I have half a mind to start putting dye in everyone's food so I can tell who's poo is who's!! Of course then I'd have to make sure they each ate their own food, another problem, or they'd all end up rainbow coloured
Nope, that's not going to work.

 

strange_wings

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That would make for some odd litter box scooping.
I have four house cats, and I can usually tell who's made what. Sherman's looks like a small dog wandered into my litter boxes.
Tomas's are the smallest, Sho's are in the middle and almost always fit the description of "normal" stools in consistency, and Siri's are a bit too firm - her's look almost like a goat's.
They all have their own peeing habits, too. The odd and useless info stuck in my head...


I wouldn't try the yogurt, honestly. If her GI is upset things that she normally handles fine may not work. I've had GI issues for years and have noticed this pattern in myself - sometimes I can eat cheese, other days when my GI issues are already acting up it's a terrible idea.

See if you can find some bene-bac or look at the closed expert forum. I believe one of the past experts mentioned that some human probiotics are safe - provided that they don't have any bad fillers.

Maybe the food she's getting isn't agreeing with her, either? Purina isn't it? Make sure she drinks plenty, with all the kittens she needs to be well hydrated to provide for them.
 

carolina

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I am sorry, I have nothing to add, but every time I read the title of this post I giggle... I don't know why! I am just silly! Sorry
 
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nes

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Yeah we got a free bag of kitten chow, so she's eating it till it's gone :S (unless I can deteremine that's definitely the problem, then I'll give it to the other cats).

I wouldn't normally give her yogurt but she grew up just drinking raw cow milk so she's got lots of enzymes. If it doesn't work I'll try a human probiotic for sure though
you may be right and it may just upset her tummy more.

Thanks for admiting that carolina
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Nes

I wouldn't normally give her yogurt but she grew up just drinking raw cow milk so she's got lots of enzymes.
One cat's lifetime doesn't undue thousands of years of cat evolution. The ability to break down lactose simply shuts off in almost all mammals after weaning. There's varying degrees of intolerance, and rarely mutations, but nothing else. You can't suddenly switch that back on, not in yourself, myself, or your cat.


Besides most yogurts do not have that many live bacteria in them and certainly nowhere near the amount a probiotic supplement will contain.
 
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nes

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No I understand that, but if you continue to give them milk they will continue to produce the enzymes to break down the lactose. We give her milk because she's always drank it.

The same goes for me sweet Riki (
) who drank small bowls of milk her entire life as a treat & it never upset her tummy.

My newly vegetarian sister says the same thing happens when you stop eating animal protein. Of course I belive her as far as I can throw her
, then again she is pretty light!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Nes

My newly vegetarian sister says the same thing happens when you stop eating animal protein. Of course I belive her as far as I can throw her
, then again she is pretty light!
Actually she's both wrong and right. Except humans are meant to eat meat and are able to digest it - just when it's not eaten that much or at all it has to be reintroduced slowly.

I'll try to make this simple, and it's good for everyone else reading to understand this, too, both for their pets and themselves.

Diarrhea can be caused by gastrointestinal viruses, inflammation, intolerances, and bacterial overgrowth. Parasites don't exactly cause the diarrhea themselves, they disrupt digestion and mess with the balance of bacteria. Again, antibiotics don't cause diarrhea, either, it's a side effect of the drugs indiscriminately killing bacteria.
When you have diarrhea caused by a bacterial problem it's because the balance of good to bad bacteria in the intestines are messed up. The good bacteria are not only there to keep things in check, they actually help the host digest food. Things that the animal or human could normally eat and digest may not be as digestible at the time of illness. Dairy products fall into this catagory as we (animals and humans) really rely on that bacteria to help us.
When it's not digested properly you get sugars that sit and ferment, in other words you get gas. This is also why indigestible grains give kitties problems.

Most store bought yogurts are not a good source of bacteria. They don't have a large amount of live cultures and they contain milk solids - the milk solids make the yogurt about as useful as straight milk. lol


Please understand I'm not trying to be mean or pushy here. But I would like everyone to understand this. In times of gastrointestinal illness, dairy is dairy and best avoided till the illness has passed. You can ask any GI doc this question if you like, and would get the same suggestion.



Direct suggestion for the momma kitty in question: probiotics, no treats, eventually slowly transition to a better food. Once all signs of diarrhea and gas are better she could have treats again.
 
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nes

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No you're making a very good point SW. I havn't given her anything yet as for some reason we actually don't have any yogurt (plus I don't normally buy that L-casie... I think it's a load).

Maybe I'll just head to the natural food store & talk to them. Although they already think I'm CRAZY after I went in there asking about DioEarth :p.

I'll think about the better food, my guys can always eat hers and she can have something better I guess. I'm just not sure what I'm going to give her. I didn't like what we had her on before.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Nes

Maybe I'll just head to the natural food store & talk to them. Although they already think I'm CRAZY after I went in there asking about DioEarth :p.

I'll think about the better food, my guys can always eat hers and she can have something better I guess. I'm just not sure what I'm going to give her. I didn't like what we had her on before.
Who cares what they think? You have a kitty to love and care for.
Right now, a lot of foods would be a step up - as always browse the nutrition section. About the only thing I'll really suggest in the way of food is that you don't get one of the "all natural" types that have a bunch of odd extra veggies and fruit. A healthy cat may be able to handle those, but they may just give her more gas.


Good luck with her. After years of GI issues myself I know how icky it can feel, and how much cramping it can cause.
 
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nes

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Our local pet store is really great with the real-food diets. They do allot of raw-meals for dogs too so they are pretty reliable.

The stink was really bad this morning which helped changed my mind, there are little bubbles of diarrhoea all over the kitten's blanket so obviously it IS more then her just feeling a little icky.

I liked the TOTW I gave to the other cats, do they make one for kittens? Peaches is still QUITE small, especially after the kittens & really needs the extra nutrients.

We only switched out the bags of cat food (from TOTW for the other cats) because for SOME reason hubby actually remembered we needed cat food & came home with a bag of "Agri-Cat" (don't ask) the same day I got good cat food
. So now our guys have a 20 kg bag to go through before they get good food again. It's actually not bad nutritionally, it's just cheap, but they REALLY like the taste & I know peaches has been sneaking quite a bit of it.
 

strange_wings

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Of course they love the taste of the cheap stuff. Those foods are sprayed with a fat coating (all dry foods are) to preserve them and to help the powder coating stick. The powder coating is where a lot of the smell and flavor are to lure pets into eating the food.


I don't know about TOTW. If the protein and fat are high enough it may work as an all stages food. Just my guess, but I bet that would be fine for kittens to eat - especially if you offered canned kitten foods meals daily with it.


I'd have sent the husband back to the store to return the food.
But then luckily mine knows better, he's had to help wash poopy cat butts - the best learning experience for a guy.


I'm sorry your poor girl is having really bad diarrhea.
Loose stools are bad enough but when it starts getting everywhere it's bad for both you and the cat (and the kittens).


There's so many diarrhea threads on here I wonder if it would ever be worth making a sticky of causes, things that can make it worse, and things that can help?
 
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