4 week old kitten with diarrhea

Hello, brand new here. My roommate has adopted a 4 week old Maine coon, out of impulse and as more of an accessory/convenience, so I have ended up taking care of it and getting it what it needs. Now to make a long story short: kitten was taken from his momma at 4 weeks, and was supposedly being fed dry food. The second day he was with us, my roommate left for the day so I did some research, and with some help from a friend got the little guy some KMR, GNC calorie supplement, and Royal Canin baby cat canned food. I started mixing some KMR with mashed up canned food for him, feeding him 3-4 times a day. He developed diarrhea late the next evening, and I Read that liquid KMR especially can be a culprit. I tried him on just the canned food and he gobbles it up. So for the past 2 days he has been strictly on canned food with a pea-sized dab of the calorie supplement. But the diarrhea has not subsided. It's not super liquidy, more of a sludge. I can see no trace of blood in it, and it's a uniform dark brown color.

I worry about him getting dehydrated, but he always drinks water and pees as much as he poops. And he is extremely active and playful and always has a big appetite. Is this something that I should take him to the vet immediately for? Or should i wait it out a little while longer?

Hello,
You're doing a great job! I have raised a lot of kittens from one week and up. It's a good sign that the poop is a dark brown color. Pale stools mean a trip to the vet is needed ASAP. I once took a 4 week old kitten to the vet for diarrhea and going outside the litter box. He put her on antibiotic ( I think it was Amoxicillin) and it cleared right up and she returned to her litter box faithfully. I can tell you that in that instance, her poop was not only sludgy, it STUNK! I would just try leaving out the GNC calorie supplement and see how that works. The RC Babycat is great! (Should be at that price). I never had a problem with KMR causing diarrhea, but once when I was caring for some very sick kittens, when they got to 4 weeks, the vet said forget the formula and just give them canned kitten food. I also like the Fancy Feast kitten food as it is grain free.

He pooped on my bed last night, but I think part of that was due to him still being new, and being unfamiliar with my bedroom in relation to his litterbox in the living room. It's only a 2 bedroom apartment so I suppose I just made the mistake of him locating the litterbox. But other than that he does excellent with the box. I haven't given him any calorie supplement since around noon. I'll keep him off it all day tomorrow and see if it helps.

heres a couple pictures of the little guy. My roommate never got him a bed so he chills in his bucket with a t shirt in the bottom when he's with me

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W willfrench

I agree that his poop may not be a problem right now. He's probably adjusting to his new diet. He'll need to eat about 6 wet meals a day. Leaving the dry food out 24/7 is recommended.

I never recommend the liquid KMR. Powdered is much better. The liquid always seems to cause problems in kittens.

If you see yellow, green, or white poop you've got a problem that needs a vet.

I don't understand folks who separate kittens from their moms at 4 weeks old. That's too young.

What a beautiful kitten though! Sounds like you are getting attached! Thanks for looking after it though. Kittens really need attention. [emoji]128571[/emoji]

He hasn't eaten any dry food since we got him. My friend who fosters baby kittens told
Me he's probably a little too young for it still, and that I should start mixing a little into his wet food around 6 weeks or so (he's 4 and a half now). And I agree, much too young. The Maine coon I grew up with we didn't get until he was 8 or 9 weeks old.

Very cute kitten.  Small kittens have small bladders and a small attention span.  You need to have small litter boxes around the apartment - it may be small to you but very large to a tiny kitten.When he has an accident clean it up and put it in the litter box so it has his scent in it.  You should also be using non-clumping litter.  Kittens taste everything and the clumping litter can block his intestines.  You can use cut down cardboard boxes or disposable cake pans until he is begger and only needs one or two boxes.

He does very good with his one litter box so far aside from the one accident. When I go to sleep I bring his litter box and water bowl into the room with me. Other than that he knows right where it is. I did not know that about the clumping litter. I'll have to get some non clumping stuff and use the disposable pans like you suggested.

I hope the poop on the bed was just a one time thing, but if it happens again the cat is either telling you "I need medical attention" or " my litter box is dirty and you better march in there and clean it right now!" I doubt it's a case of dirty box since with it in your bedroom you would know that for sure, but just some info for future reference. The pic of kitty in the bucket is awful cute but....get a cat carrier, and always triple check it to make sure all the closures are secure. I see ads posted all the time by people who are searching for their cat because it became lost during a trip to or from the vet. Often while being taken from the office to the car. Vet techs should take more precaution to see that the carriers are secure for pet owners who are often distraught at the time. But...this is all for another thread. Hope all is well with cutie!

Yeah when he pooped on the bed, I didn't have his box in there with me, I had my door partially open and assumed he knew where he was since he's always been so good about going straight to his box in the living room. I brought it into the room with me last night and had no problem. And yeah he does need a carrier. Another thing my roommate probably won't ever get him.... It's frustrating

Update: he just pooped for the first time in over 28 hours (previously 4 times a day or more), much more than normal, has some form to it. Went from sludge to looking like toothpaste squeezed out of the tube. I haven't given him any calorie supplement today, but other than that feelings have been the same. This is a good sign

Stinks to high heaven too. Previously did not at all

Im copying in a post about Pedialyte, not because its necessary for you at this moment, but because I have it handy, it may be useful in the future:

Re homemade pedialyte, Im reusing a couple of my older posts.  If it seems lenghy, the most important recipe is at the end.

Pedialyte:

Now, as the sugar source, I use always glucose sugar (dextrose).  Its easy to get in Sweden, most well equipped food shops do carry the powder.    There are also flavored sweeties, heavily used by students and  wanna be sportsmen,  made of glucose sugar.   

So for me its no big deal to use the proper ingredient, instead of using emergency replacements.

For american forumites whom have difficulties to find glucose sugar proper, there is always white caro syrup, or even honey - honey does contain some glucose, and white caro syrup contains much glucose sugar.  In some brands its perhaps even essentially liquid glucose sugar.

Common sugar works too, but much slower, as it must be digested..  While glucose doesnt need to be digested, it goes into blood directly from the stomach, yes, even from the lips and mouth.

These whom tried both, are astonished how quickly glucose works, practically instantly.

As salt source, I use  minerale salt.  Also common in shops here in Sweden.  This salt contains  several different minerales, not just the NaCl in the usual kitchen salt. Including this potassium K salt.

A nice base for salt sources is simple a bottle of good minerale water.   These do typically contain a lotsa of different salts, in suitable concentration. Look at the label!

Let the gas out, add the glucose sugar source, and voilá!  you got a terrific home made pedialyte...

Common kitchen salt is OK if you dont have anything else, but its too "poverty"  if you use the pedialyte more than occasionally.

A third recipe is,  you use water from well cooked rice.   In practice its heavily over cooked.

And add  salt to it, preferably  such a minerale salt mentioned above...

This rice water contains lotsa of glucose sugar.   This variation of  pedialyte probably extra useful in some types of diarrhea, as water from overcooked rice is in itself  one of the remedies against diarrhea.  At least, the emergency doc gave us the recipe when I was a child and sick in diarrhea...  

A nice combination should be,  a  homemade pedialyte on such an overboilded rice, in water of mineral water.

Here we get both natural glucose sugar, lotsa of good mineral salts, and the rests from rice whom are good when having a diarrhea.  After all, such rice water is a classical home remedy for humans with diarrhea...

There is of course bought pedialyte, which can be used too.  Some of the brands have too much funny ingredients, though.  But if desperate, can be used.

My recommendation for bough pedialyte is, flavorless pedialyte for babies.   This is OK for cats.

Last, not least: diluting powder kmr with some pedialyte instead of just water, is often useful with diarrhea kittens, as reported by our forumists.

Does your roommate spend much time with the kitten? Have you pointed out that the kitten needs certain things, like a pet carrier?