caring for orphaned kittens [first timer]

Ok,well it's morning now. Any more blood in the night?

I'd give the vet a call. Anytime there is blood, that is a good rule. Maybe because she is so little yet and her insides are so new, any change in consistancy may irritate her.

Don't stress. There will be times when you panic and it is usually nothing.

Let us know, we will be waiting.

Called the vets, she's not in today but the tech said it sounds like it's from straining and as long as it's not in her poop and she's eating and acting okay to just keep an eye on her and to call first thing in the morning when the vet is in and double check with her in case she wants me to bring her in.

She's eating and acting normal but there was a bit of dried blood around her butt that wasn't there 4 hrs before when I'd fed her so it must have happened after. There was no poop though.

I'm having a hard time getting it [and when there was poop on her last night] off her her tail especially because she screams when she gets wet at all and I don't wanna rub any part of her too much. Any hints or tips?

Any other thoughts about this, I'm still insanely worried.

EDIT:
She did poop earlier today. It was a little thicker than toothpaste consistency and it was brownish yellow [darker than mustard though] and there was a tiny bit of blood around her but and on the end and beginning of the poop but i used a toothpick to cut the poop up and there was no blood in it.

Please don't worry too much. You have been so successful. The vet tech didn't seem to concerned, so please don't get upset.

She sounds like she is doing just fine. I would just say keep with the warm water and try using a q tip, to clean her up. Might be a bit less abrasive.

Hopefully, the vet can put your fears to rest. I know once in a while there is a little blood in the box from one of my cats, and it's usually from straining.

So enjoy the little one, and let us know tomorrow what the vet says. Finsterheads babies just started eating kitten food today!! She keeps sending me texts of them eating. She is so excited!!

I took Sugar back to the vet today and they looked at her stool sample and said there wasn't anything wrong with it and no blood in it. They said her butt was probably irritated from her diet/straining to poop/having more solid stools, and possibly passing a few parasites that are small. She gave me a little something [I forget the name] to put a little of in her formula to sooth her stomach and make it easier to digest the formula, and gave me a little ointment to put on her butt after cleaning/stimulating etc. I hope that it'll clear up soon. She hasn't had a bowel movement since yesterday morning and while people say this is normal it would just make me feel better personally.

Good news.

Don't stress about it. Trust the vet. Sounds like all is under control here.

Just for good measure, have you or Finsterhead had to deal with the blood issue before or know anyone who has? The doctor didn't really say when they expected it would clear up or get better.

Going to the vet is supposed to put you at ease :x

Actually, I have not...don't know about FH. She has been so busy with her kids lately, but I am sure she will be on today.

I think you may notice it more because Sugar is white. I could have had a problem, but the only kittens I had were black and white...not as obvious.

Trust the vet. It makes sense to me. I would think as she gets older, this will solve itself.

She has been pooping more, mostly on her own and it's not as solid as it was. She tends to do it in her box so that it gets in her fur and I have to clean it. The blood is still there, sometimes not much, sometimes a little more, but not IN the poop still so I'm hoping that i'll get better.

Now I'm just wondering if this is going to have any impact on when she'll be able to start litter box training. What age do they normally do that at? She's not near being able to do that yet, in my opinion.

How old is she now? At about 4 weeks I think you can start to see some interest in using the box. That is about when FH kittens showed an interest.
Make sure you use clay litter, no clumping. Kittens sometimes try to eat the litter and you don't want a big clump in her belly.

FH never showed them how to use the box, they just come by it naturally.

Sugar turned 3 wks old today :]
She's been pooping on her own for the most part but it's in the box when she's in there before or after feedings and it gets in her fur etc. Usually everytime I take her out of the box for a feeding or to change bedding/reheat bags/play-cuddle with her etc there is either poop on her butt or blood. Usually not at the same time, which makes me feel a little better.

I am pretty sure her poop is back to being the mustardy color and maybe a little thicker but it usually has a chance to dry a bit/harden a bit before I get to her to clean her up since she's doing it on her own and I'm not right there stimulating her - but I did see a bit coming out right after I took her out of the box earlier and it was the mustardy color.

Her butt was completely clean when I put her in the box and I'm just betting when I take her out next it'll be poopy or bloody. :x

Three weeks old is still younger than most kittens use the litter box. Mom would be cleaning them up, still. So your kitten isn't doing anything too unusual.

Yesterday Sugar pooped a couple of times and there wasn't too much blood but today she hasn't pooped and her butt was bloody again. This does lead me to believe its from straining to poop. I just don't know how to fix that.

Originally Posted by A&As Mommy

Yesterday Sugar pooped a couple of times and there wasn't too much blood but today she hasn't pooped and her butt was bloody again. This does lead me to believe its from straining to poop. I just don't know how to fix that.

Click to expand...

You can try putting a little vegetable oil in her milk to try to losen things up.

I put a drop of the veg. oil in her formula this time, so when I take her out to reheat rice bags I'll see if it helped her go to the bathroom.

I took her for her initial vet check on Tuesday, it started that night, so I took her on Thursday with a stool sample and the vet didn't find anything in the stool and didn't seem to concerned, gave me the creme for her butt and some stuff to put in her bottle to help soothe her stomach but it hasn't really gotten better - the blood issue. It's never in the poop just around her butt. It mostly happens when she's in the box after eating. I've never really seen her butt bleeding but she's always clean when I put her in after feeding and when I take her out the next time, there is dried blood around her butt / on the tail where it laid against her butt. The vet didn't seem concerned and said it could be from parasites passing from the dewormer she was given or solid stool/straining etc.

She doesn't act any different and is still eating fine, and up until today she's pooped at least a little bit everyday but it just bothers me because it doesn't seem right that it's been so many days and it's not getting and better and her poop is not getting any more regular.

Maybe I am just worrying for nothing and maybe I sound dumb, but should I try to take her to the vet again, or a diff vet somewhere else or is this normal? It's really bothering me even tho it doesn't seem to be bothering her at this point in time. She's only 3 weeks old [3 weeks, 1 day].

I think you have a right to be concerned, I would be too. Its scary whenever a cat is bleeding and having loose stool, let alone a kitten so little. It could be from parasites passing through, as the vet said, but there is no harm in getting a second opinion. Depending on the vet ,I have noticed that some are more flippant and shoo away everything, as if its not a big deal. Human doctors can be like this too. But I think that as with our own health, if you are in tune with your pet's or foster's needs, you know when something just doesn't feel right.

Without reading all the way back, what formula are you using? Maybe try switching that? Not because there is necessarily anything wrong with it, but sometimes certain foods just don't agree with certain animals. Also, as soon as they start eating real food, I would suggest doing as much research as possible and feeding raw. I have heard miracle stories about kittens that get onto raw; totally clears up loose stool, stool doesn't smell anymore and isn't in as big of quantities, they just get generally happy and healthier. I am actually going to try that myself with this litter I am fostering. I have all of the kittens in a small spare room so anything to lessen the poo-machines, the better!

Her stool isn't really loose, its not hard but it comes out in a turd form and not super mushy. Its a bit darker than mustard colored and she still isn't regular with it. It doesn't smell either. She did go today after I stimulated her. Not a lot but better than nothing. Haven't checked her yet since, but before the poop today everytime I took her out of the box to feed/play etc there was blood around her butt. That's more what I'm concerned about because the vet [and everyone else] seems to think that not pooping everyday is normal at this age. The blood is my concern.

I am giving her Nuturall-C liquid KMR formula. She was doing fine on it the first few days so I'm not really sure what changed if that is the problem. She drinks it wonderfully, and like I said before, her behavior and disposition really hasn't changed, nor has her appetite. She's been drinking a little more now that she's a bit bigger, but she eats regularly and acts fine.

You can tell by the color and consistency of the blood that it's external/superficial, I'm assuming from her rectum but you can't see anything wrong with her butt itself. Looks normal. But when left alone when she's in the box sleeping or exploring, that's when it seems the blood comes out. I don't know if she's straining to go or what. I am hoping that since she pooped a bit when I stimulated her this time today that maybe it won't be as bad.

This seems to happen VERY often with bottle-fed kittens- it's happened to me too both times I've done it. There a quite a few remedies you can try.
I'd suggest going to the search bar here on TCS and searching "rescue kitten constipation"- I'm sure you'll get quite a few matches.

I ended up taking Sugar to the vet this afternoon. I originally had made an appointment for tomorrow morning at our vet office but her butt didn't look good so they squeezed her in in the nearby town's office [that is in conjunction with ours].

I didn't really learn much different from what the other vet said. The doctor checked her stool and once again said everything looked good. Said she had gained weight. She was .66 last time and this time she was a little over .9. Checked her breathing, ears/eyes/teeth, and looked at her butt which looked normal.

The doctor really does seem to think it's from being somewhat constipated which she said could be caused by a number of things. She did the tests for giardia and coccidia [spelling?] and said they came back normal in her stool but just in case there was any disturbing her rectal walls she went ahead and gave her a very low dose of Albon for it. She also gave her a little Lactulose to help soften her stool, and different ointment for her butt. She told me I'm doing great and doing everything I can and that she doesn't act different so that was good.

Please keep Sugar in your thoughts and prayers because I know seeing as she's so young there is still a chance to lose her. Positive vibes and thoughts.

lots of for little Sugar

Yesterday was a good day, there was hardly any blood - unfortunately there was hardly any poop. I'm giving her the lactulose like the vet said and she's still eating and acting normally. She crawls all over when I get her out to feed her etc.

Today there was a bit of blood 2 times again, and like one tinnnny little piece of poop but it was still more solid than I figured it'd be because of the lactulose.

The vet told me to call her and update her and see how things were going so I did and she said I could give her the lactulose and put the panalog creme on her 3 times a day instead of 2 to see if that would help. She said the blood today could be because the lactulose is kicking in and she's getting ready to poop but I don't know.

Just trying what I can.