Need help with abandoned kittens...

Hey guys! A stray cat that i adopted ended up having kittens- well she got mastitis really bad and ended up giving me her kittens. I have been taking care of 7 kittens. They all seem pretty well except today they had runny stool and it got all over them!(they are about 23days old) Ive tried cleaning them with a slighty damp warm rag and a small amount of baby shampoo. It didnt help at all. Since they are so young i cant bathe them. What can i do to get the poop off of them?

The question is sooner, how do you stop this diarreheatic poo?  If it isnt something very temporary, it wont be better by itself, may even get worse.

Had you recently any changes in their food?  what kmr are you using?

If you dont find easy solution here,  I would strongly advice to talk with your vet.  It may be something they got from their ferale mom.  Coccodia or similiar.  Or at least, common roundworms.

Also, having much runny poo, they lose water and electrolytes.  Make also sure they do have it warm enough.  The sick ones are always freezing, no?

Two receipts on home made pedialyte, both used in such circumstances for humans, with excellent results:

1. 1,5-2 soupspoons (=15-18grammes)  of  dextrose (=glucose sugar).   If you cant get it, you may try with honey or white caro syrup.

2. 1 teaspoon (3grammes)  with kitchen salt.  Best if you can get the so called minerale salt, with K, Na, Mg, Ca, Na, Cl,

but if you cant, common NaCl kitchen salt is OK.

3.  A trifle bikarbonate (=baking soda) if you have, but dont necessary.

You solve this all in 1 litre of water.  boil  up.

Use, dont spare too long, better to make new.

Second recipe:

1.   Water from well cooked rice.  Such a water contains much dextrose.  

Well cooked rice is often used in many home remedies against diarrhea.

2.  Salt as above.

3.  Water, till it becomes 1 litre.  As above.

If you cant bathe them?   Probably you can, as one tip for helping to stimulate them is to held their rear end under warm running water, and tap with free forefinger on their behind..  The very experienced Catwoman707 recommends this trick.

The key is of course, you do it where it is warm and no draugh, the water is warm (not hot, but little more than lukewarm for you), you are sure you dry them off afterwards,   and put them back in a draught free, nicely warm place....

A couple of links:   www.kitten-rescue.com

http://www.kittenrescue.org/index.php/cat-care/kitten-care-handbook/

http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm   kitten-glop (goatmilk instead of evaporated milk is good).the whole site is about kitten-care, by a Bengalbreeder..

Good luck!

Wow thank you so much for the respone! Ive just put them on 2nd step kmr by petag ive been following the directions. So since i changed it,that might have been what caused it. Also they tried eating some shredded chicken from earthbound should i attempt to give it to them? The mother has gotten better and actually helped me clean them last night(i doubt she is still producing milk.) But she also let tgem suckle.

Oh another question do abandoned cats take longer to grow? My kittens seem to be growing at a slower rate. They all feel warm to touch, they sleep well, they are very active(they love climbing up me. ) their teeth are coming in nicely as well. They just seem to be small in stature still.

One odd thing we have seen in rescue is that the LIQUID KMR you buy almost always gives kittens diarrhea, whereas if you buy the powdered and mix it yourself, they do not get the diarrhea.  We have spoken to the company about it and they say it shouldn't be the case, but it IS the case.  I havealso  seen the second step KMR give kittens diarrhea also and will not use it.  I will ONLY use the powdered KMR or a homemade formula. Since you can't lick their little butts like a mama cat, running them under warm water and using a cotton ball with a little mild baby shampoo on it works well.  You have to do this every time they have diarrhea or they will get diaper rash.  I DO bathe orphan  kittens daily under a running faucet, then rub them well with a soft washcloth and comb them lightly with a flea comb in front of a hair dryer set on low, because if there is no mama to wash them, they get all kinds of milk residue on them. They are dry and toasty within a few minutes and they never even shiver.

To begin eat solids now is a little early. Probably too early, Although I cant say if it is this THE reason.

Sooner two completely different foods at the same time, stage 2 AND this chicken, becoming too much...

Can you get goat milk?  Goat milk is renown for being mild, if you want to test something different, try with this.

Try to make changes just stepwise.

bacterias from moms mastitis?  Not impossible, but we had at least one case of a heroic mother who did nursed her kittens both with a severe mastitis, and also immediately after the mastitis got better after skillful treatment by rescuer and the vets who helped.

Good luck!

Yeah i will try that out. Its only sometimes that the kittens seem to get runny stool. Mom cat is being good now but she refuses to go in my house since i have 2 other female cats. Ive tried locking her in my room she just growls non stop and refuses to give the kittens attention. =_= the local whole foods should have goat milk. Ill look for it there! Thanks again guys for answering and helping this newbie. =)

Momma will start lactating again if she allows the kittens to continue to nurse. If you can, encourage her to lay with them as mothers milk is best.  I wouldn't introduce solids food til they are at least 3 weeks old.

Yes i do encourage her. I give her a treat when she goes to them. Shes been helping again which makes me happy. Shes a great cat. =) the vet said shes about 1 and a half. So shes still is still young herself.