Stray Kitten

I had a stray kitten show up after a big storm (from Hurricane Matthew). I was finally able to get her (I think) to trust me enough so that I could get ahold of her. She is an orange Tabby with orange eys. I don't know how old she is, but she is small and malnourished. She doesn't have all of her teeth yet. We saw her eating my Mother-in-laws cats food. I was able to bring her up to my house and bring her inside. She has eaten some dry cat food and drank a little bit of water. But she hasn't pottied yet and I've had her for almost 24 hours. Her stomach is real round and some what hard. And she cries and wiggles around alot. I figured she was old enough to potty on her own, but she hasn't. I've tried stimulating her and she just wiggles and lays down then sits up. I'm at a loss as to what to do for her. Any suggestions is appreciated. 

Sounds like she's constipated. Try feeding her wet food with a little olive oil mixed in. The oil should help her eliminate.

Thank you so much. I will definitely try that. I've had 2 other kittens in the past that I've had to stimulate and it worked with no issues, so I just didn't know what to do for this little one. Again, thank you so much!

FYI, most orange cats are male.

Yes I understand that.  About 80% are male and female orange cats are rare. But I do know how to tell the difference in male/female cats. I've got 4 already. 

Does she have teeth? If not, she's not old enough for solids and will need to be stimulated to potty. If she does have teeth, she should be able to go on her own. Since she ate some kibble I would assume she has teeth. So either she was starving for awhile and so her body hasn't created enough waste for her to have to go, or she really is constipated. I'd give her a little longer---make sure she gets a lot of water---before trying anything for constipation. If you decide she is constipated and needs intervention, try adding some oil to her food/milk, or, if that doesn't work, you can use a sliver of a baby glycerin suppository. I wouldn't use a fiber source like pumpkin at this point, because fiber draws water out of the surrounding tissues. If she's a little dehydrated it can make things worse. But once she's healthy you can mix a bit of canned pumpkin or baby food squash into her canned food to keep things moving, if necessary.

I'd recommend giving her canned cat food mixed with kitten formula for at least a month or 2, along with free access to dry kitten food. That will ensure she gets the proper nutrition that she missed out on in her early life. Fancy Feast makes a good canned kitten food, it has more calories/fat than regular cat food. But an all-life-stages canned food like Friskies is fine too, if Fancy Feast is out of your price range.

Willowy gave you good advice! Please post a picture so we can see her size/age. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Tina Hutto said:

Yes I understand that.  About 80% are male and female orange cats are rare. But I do know how to tell the difference in male/female cats. I've got 4 already. 

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I only mentioned it because you said she's a female (I think).

Yes Willowy, she has teeth, she just doesn't have all of them, but she was eating dry food. She drank a lot of water last night and today and I took  Raina21's advice and gave her some canned cat food with a little olive oil in it and that did the trick.  Now we just need to work on the proper potty place. I will post the pics I took of her last night. I am not going to be able to keep her after she is back to where she needs to be health wise. My 2 older males do not like her and I think the feeling is mutual. So after she is healthy, I will be looking for her a forever home. Thanks for the advice also Willowy. It is greatly appreciated. 

Oh she's a big kitty! 2 months old at least. No worries about her being too young . And she's not terribly skinny. I'd probably still add a little kitten milk to her food but it's not as pressing as I thought it was

Thats what I was thinking 2-3 months when I first saw her, but now actually interacting with her and looking at her teeth and such, I told my husband last night I doubted she was older than 2 months. She's doing good today, ate all her food last night and drank all her water. And she figured out what the litter box was for...happy for that....  

Thanks all for the advice.