2 week old kitten help!

Hello all,

I have had this sweet little grey kitten for 17 days now and he was maybe 1-3 days old when i got him. He was found alone underneath my mother in laws sisters home. on the first day i had him he let out a big brown healthy poo but after that he was always constipated and i would have to give him water enemas to get him going and he would squeeze out hard yellow poos. Then he started goin on his own just two days ago but it was orange and mucousy in texture, then brown mucousy now orange again ( and he goes quite often, almost everytime after he eats).
I took him to the vet and they tested his poo and said there were trace amounts of blood in his poo and the mucous is b/c his colon is inflamed and irritated. He said since his tummy is bloated he suspects something wrong with his colon, maybe it is underdeveloped and cant push on its own.We cant be for sure unless we do alot of testing, x rays, and some invasive procedures costing about $1500 which i just cant do. He said kittens can grow out of it sometimes we just have to see. So right now hes drinking KMR and antibiotics from the vet and I just bought nutri cal with taurine as suggested from a pet store employee who seemed knowledgable on orphaned kittens.
Now i read some things on feline colitis and it soiunds similar to him but cant find anything about it for kittens.Everywhere i read says orange poo means kitty will die, i hope this is not true. Has anyone gone through anytrhing similar or know what could possibly be wrong and what i can do to help him? He is honestly the smartest, sweetest kitty i have rescued and purrs, plays and licks himself so other than this he is healthy. Please help, I would do anything thats possible to make sure he survives and is healthy. HELP!

First I'd like to say welcome to our site

I personally have limited experience with kittens that young, but we have some very knowledgeable members on this site that I'm sure will be along shortly that can provide some information for you!.

Have you switched brands of milk to see if that helped?

When my kittens were young I got the oddest color stool 3 did die(2 at less then a week and 1 at 2 weeks but I expected them to pass as there was alot of issues with the litter and especially them).
First few days hardly anything from them(6 babies and then it regulated itself. Hes still young to be pushing on his own-thats the reason the mom keeps stimulating them for so long. What do you use to rub him? I know they say cotton and water but when my one had a bloody but I went to a tiny bit of oil and my finger. that calmed the irratation down.

Also I would be very nervous using antibiotics if nothing is given to supplement all the good bacteria its body has lost. Alot for something so little and vulnerable.

thanks for your response,

no i havent tried swiching milk since the vet said to keep him on kmr im nervous. I wet a papertowel and use that to wipe him otherwise with a cotton ball poo will get everywhere. i was also worried about the loss of good bacteria and asked the doctor about it but he said at the correct amount of antibiotics he shouls be fine if i keep feeding kmr. I would like to give him bene bac or something to replenish the bacteria b/c it cant hurt to but i want it fast and none of the stores have it it seems like. what color was the oddly colored poo? and did any of the kittens survive it?

Check out Kitten Rescue. There is a lot of good information about feeding and caring for very young kittens.

Myself, Im a little bewildered by your description of the pooo... what you saw, and what you did read.

Small kitten poo is of course very seldom seen - the mother does usually eats it up, so it is almost only orphan kitten rescuers who do see it.

But as far as I know, it is usually yellowish (the exact nuance of yellow may be different). Consistence like toothpaste, thay say.
Healthy, big brown poo with a newborn... sounds bewildering, as said...

And thus - why yellowish = death doom - I dont understand either...


As mentioned by my collegue - this kitten-rescue site is good.


Welcome to the Forums, tx for helping this little one, and
good luck!

PLEASE don't give your baby enemas. This should only be done under dire circumstances by a professional (vet) Enemas are hard enough on older cats, kittens can die if you give them an enema and something is wrong and they can't pass the water. Is the poop orange or does it look like mustard? Does it smell bad?

As the owner of kitten-rescue, I will tell you that orange poo isn't death- it just means kitty has bile in his system- the kitty likely has either coccidia or giardia. Black is panic, black indicates internal bleeding. Coccidia and or giardia they don't always show up in a fecal smear.

Dilute your formula with more water or try adding a bit of canned pumpkin to his formula (puree these together in a blender) Do a gentle massage on the kitten before you feed and then again after. I tossed out cotton balls, wet paper towels etc years ago, and I just use my finger. Yes, you get poop all over yourself, but it washes off pretty quickly.

But a two week old kitten you are giving enemas to? Please don't- They aren't going to poop after every meal- their system is still adjusting and KMR has cow's milk in it and that can constipate pretty easily.

Suggest you order Kittens for Dummies by Dusty Rainbolt. Gives you everything you need to know about kittens and their care.

thank you for your detailed response

I have no longer been giving enemas, ( i did about 3 of them and it was maybe 3 ml of water each time) as he passed a hard yellow poo and then orange mucous like poo spilled out and has been ever since. I read online on a kitten forum about a woman wit similar problems saying orange poo meant death and this was reconfirmed on another similar website so naturally i panicked a little. I will dilute his formula with some pedialite and see what happens. Thank you for the website and also the names of what it could be. i appreciate it very much and will keep posted on his health.

How is the kitten doing? Any change/improvement?

I have fostered kittens with a variety of issues..In regard to constipation trouble, I have stimulated with a warm wash cloth (rubbing gently on/around the anus area) which helped. I cannot say I have seen orange stool. Sometimes kittens can have digestion problems and the stool is light brownish or yellowish. Like other people have said, he is not getting the stimulation that he would naturally get from his mom. Kittens separated from their mom's at such a young age miss out on the "necessities" so to speak.

I have heard, read, and been advised about the "pumpkin" option but it has never worked for any of my foster kittens. Perhaps adding a small amount with each feeding...couldn't hurt to try.

For the irriated anus area, I have used a little vaseline or A&D ointment. It's soothing.

I don't agree with your vet's suggestion in regard to an underdeveloped colon. That sounds like speculation..Hopefully the kitten, with your assistance, will get better without any invasive vet procedures.

kittyboo you are from my old stomping grounds- (born and raised in Westminster). Try contacting these folks to guide you with this kitten

http://www.catcare.com/index.htm

I appreciate everybody's concern for my little guy,

he so far has been pretty stable, i just bought pedialite and am adding a little of that in his kmr and seeing if that helps him out. I think maybe the antibiotics might be getting him a little drowsy because hes not as active as before. His poo used to be yellow but then changed to orange but now is starting to turn a little brownish, maybe this is good? Im wondering why it changed from yellow in the first place, even the consistency changed. Does anyone know if antibiotics are harmful as they wipe out good bacteria from the stomach, i still am not sure whether to give him kitty probiotics. And if orange poo means there is too much bile, how can i remedy that, or is it even possible? Thank you hissy for that cat clinic, i will call them tomorrow for sure! Im lucky you are familiar with so cal! thank you all again, this site and everyone on it ( at least that i have met so far) have been so nice and generous with their time, it is greatly appreciated! hope to hear from you all soon!

It is best to let an expert see them because their little bodies are so fragile

Please keep us updated on what the vet said

When I work with bottle babies, I don't even breathe again until they reach the 6 month mark. Then I know they have a chance. Always work along with a vet any time you are medicating one so young. They cannot tolerate the meds in your medicine cabinet, or ones you find on feed store shelves. Even the pet shampoos can harm them because their bodies are adapting and changing and most of them have low immune systems. I hope you will call the Cat Clinic, they are well worth the cost of going there because their one priority is your cat. It is a wonderful, caring facillity and they always go the extra mile to answer any questions you might have.

You should only use water to dilute the KMR- the pedialyte now on the market contains more minerals then they used to. Some of these minerals can be harsh to kitty's system. Great for kids- but not so much for kitties anymore.


Best of luck to you and this little one-

I started a new thread bc for some reason when i was try to reply on the old " 2 week old kitten help" thread , it was not letting me submit a reply and just keep taking me to the first page. so im sorry if this inconveniences or confuses anyone.
Anyways, thank you everyone for your support! keep him in your prayers ! I called hissy's cat clinic and they informed me it would be $90 for a 2nd opinion and gave me a list of places i can call for info and maybe donations to help with the cost. I am trying to get a 2nd opinion bc he is not improving,, his poo is orange brown now and more ruuny than it is mucous like. If anyone knows of how i can raise some money or get donations to help him with medical costs and gethim to the cat clinic please let me know.

Being a college student maybe im not the ideal caretaker of this kitty from a monetary point of view but im pouring so much love onto this kitty, I hope he knows how much im rooting for him...

Originally Posted by kittyboo

I started a new thread bc for some reason when i was try to reply on the old " 2 week old kitten help" thread , it was not letting me submit a reply and just keep taking me to the first page. so im sorry if this inconveniences or confuses anyone.

Click to expand...

That's odd. I've merged the threads. If you still have problems replying to this one, let me know.

How's he doing?
The only thing that I can think of off the top of m yhead is to go to your local shelter and ask for assistance. They may not be able to cover your vet bills, but maybe they'll be able to give you some KMR and supplies, which can get quite pricy.
WHen you take him to the vet, explain your situation to the vet. Tell them that you really don't have much money to spend because of school, but that you really want to be able to help this kitten, and hopefully they'll be able to give you a discount.
Good luck!