4 Week Old Kitten with Bad Diarrhea :( Advice/Experience please

Hi guys. I'm so worried about my new little guy **skip to the bottom of you want a summary of little guy's problems and not the whole sob story

A girl I know had a stray cat in her neighborhood give birth, and she found mom dead the other day so she took the kittens in and has been finding them homes. I took one of them. She said she thinks they're about 4 weeks old. He is so tiny! She told me that he was doing well with dry food mixed with water, so that if I wanted to do that instead of bottle feeding him that it would be fine. 

I brought him home with me yesterday and he was very sweet. He mewed the whole way home and was immediately attached to me. He loves climbing up onto my chest into a ball - its so sweet. My other two cats (they are about 7 months) aren't too thrilled but no big deal. 

I am concerned that since I brought him home yesterday afternoon, all of his bowel movements are diarrhea, and he will go poop like immediately after he takes his last bite. It just squirts out. Yesterday when I brought him home it was complete liquid, like water, and a dark brown color with a few teeny tiny drops of red. I was so terrified he was dehydrated. I could not sleep last night. So this morning (and after reading tons of things online) I run to the store and buy a more natural cat food and dilute it with water - that didn't help. After he ate he was straining so hard to get his poop out - he looked like he was in so much pain. So I took him to the vet.They said his heart rate/temp was fine. They checked him for some weird thing that I can't remember as well as FIV, Leukemia, and I think she said they did a fecal test??? I can't remember - she talked so fast. She said that every test they ran on him came back negative. Basically, she said he seemed fine and gave me a prescription for a diet wet cat food and instructed me to add lots of water to it and make it as mushy as possible. She also gave me probiotic packets to add to his food twice a day. She told me to keep feeding him regularly (every few hours) even if he has diarrhea immediately afterwards. Oh! And she also gave me this huge bottle of some medicine that I have to give him that will harden his stool. He hates it! Its near impossible to get him to injest it. So after we came home from the vet I gave him the new food diluted with water and I made it nice and mushy and I added the probiotic. This time he lasted about an hour before he went poop - but it was still diarrhea. I will say though, that it was more mushy consistency than pure liquid. I'm just so concerned for the little guy! He's so sweet and I'm afraid that he is in pain or will not make it does anyone have experience with this? Is this normal???

IN SHORT :

The bad news:

Constant diarrhea. Has not had one normal BM

Strains and wines when he poops - almost as if he's passing a large poop but its liquid??

Kind of waddles around with his tail tucked between his legs while he squirts it out

He can't control the diarrhea ( he pooped ALL OVER my poor boyfriend)

Seems tired after he goes

The good news:

All tests vets ran were negative

He is still playful and cuddly for the most part (he is currently climbing all over me/the couch)

Its only after he eats - not randomly

Has good appetite. Devours the food when I put it in front of him

The poop is a medium/dark brown color - not a crazy color

Yesterday is was straight up liquid - today a little more mushy as well as liquid

Does not cry or whine when he's not pooping (unless hungry)

So IS THIS NORMAL and I'm just freaking out? I've read so many things online about kitten diarrhea being life threatening and my heart stops. He's the sweetest little guy. I really REALLY hope its just his tummy adjusting to the new food/his new environment Do any of you have advise or experience with this? The vet said they would call me in a few days to see how he is doing.

How old is he? It may just be a change in diet... maybe try some canned pumpkin (not the pie mix pure pumpkin) and that may help. If he keeps having it; take him back to the vet as diarrhea can cause dehydration so you need to make sure he's getting enough fluids.

BrittanyA said:

 
Hi guys. I'm so worried about my new little guy **skip to the bottom of you want a summary of little guy's problems and not the whole sob story

A girl I know had a stray cat in her neighborhood give birth, and she found mom dead the other day so she took the kittens in and has been finding them homes. I took one of them. She said she thinks they're about 4 weeks old. He is so tiny! She told me that he was doing well with dry food mixed with water, so that if I wanted to do that instead of bottle feeding him that it would be fine. 

I brought him home with me yesterday and he was very sweet. He mewed the whole way home and was immediately attached to me. He loves climbing up onto my chest into a ball - its so sweet. My other two cats (they are about 7 months) aren't too thrilled but no big deal. 

I am concerned that since I brought him home yesterday afternoon, all of his bowel movements are diarrhea, and he will go poop like immediately after he takes his last bite. It just squirts out. Yesterday when I brought him home it was complete liquid, like water, and a dark brown color with a few teeny tiny drops of red. I was so terrified he was dehydrated. I could not sleep last night. So this morning (and after reading tons of things online) I run to the store and buy a more natural cat food and dilute it with water - that didn't help. After he ate he was straining so hard to get his poop out - he looked like he was in so much pain. So I took him to the vet.They said his heart rate/temp was fine. They checked him for some weird thing that I can't remember as well as FIV, Leukemia, and I think she said they did a fecal test??? I can't remember - she talked so fast. She said that every test they ran on him came back negative. Basically, she said he seemed fine and gave me a prescription for a diet wet cat food and instructed me to add lots of water to it and make it as mushy as possible. She also gave me probiotic packets to add to his food twice a day. She told me to keep feeding him regularly (every few hours) even if he has diarrhea immediately afterwards. Oh! And she also gave me this huge bottle of some medicine that I have to give him that will harden his stool. He hates it! Its near impossible to get him to injest it. So after we came home from the vet I gave him the new food diluted with water and I made it nice and mushy and I added the probiotic. This time he lasted about an hour before he went poop - but it was still diarrhea. I will say though, that it was more mushy consistency than pure liquid. I'm just so concerned for the little guy! He's so sweet and I'm afraid that he is in pain or will not make it does anyone have experience with this? Is this normal???

IN SHORT :

The bad news:

Constant diarrhea. Has not had one normal BM

Strains and wines when he poops - almost as if he's passing a large poop but its liquid??

Kind of waddles around with his tail tucked between his legs while he squirts it out

He can't control the diarrhea ( he pooped ALL OVER my poor boyfriend)

Seems tired after he goes

The good news:

All tests vets ran were negative

He is still playful and cuddly for the most part (he is currently climbing all over me/the couch)

Its only after he eats - not randomly

Has good appetite. Devours the food when I put it in front of him

The poop is a medium/dark brown color - not a crazy color

Yesterday is was straight up liquid - today a little more mushy as well as liquid

Does not cry or whine when he's not pooping (unless hungry)

So IS THIS NORMAL and I'm just freaking out? I've read so many things online about kitten diarrhea being life threatening and my heart stops. He's the sweetest little guy. I really REALLY hope its just his tummy adjusting to the new food/his new environment Do any of you have advise or experience with this? The vet said they would call me in a few days to see how he is doing.

Click to expand...

My advices arent strictly medical, but they are on the conservative home remedy side.

1. With that much diarrheas, he has massive losses of salts and electrolytes.  You must compensate for this.  Im a little suprised the vet didnt mention it.

So, as water give him pedialyte!  If its bough, baby clear flavorless pedialyte is best.

If its home made,  I would suggest mineral water - you see on the label if it contains lotsa of different salts.   You can blend it with some common cooked water.  Add some glucose sugar - for example honey -  about half a spoon in a 330 ml bottle - stir, have it at body temp -  and voilá!  you have a terrific home made pedialyte.

Begin with this ASAP on the double.  If you dont have the gears at home, you can begin with using some common kitchen salt and a little honey.

2.  As already said, lotsa fluids as he loses them. Make sure the better part of it is these pedialyte.

3. Probiotic is good, as is the tip about having some plain crushed pumpkin.  Normally our advice for this pumpkin is for somewhat older kittens and cats, but we had forumists whom managed with really small kittens.

Do you know what brand of probiotic it is??

4.  Re the food as such.  I would suggest "back to basic"  if possible, to temporize and calm down the things.  If you can find raw goat milk, its best here.

Preferably as fresh as possible, but frozen is good too.   Cartooned, bottled or powdered goats milk are also OK, but not the same potential edge as raw.

No funny processed low fat diet variations, shall be around 3% or even more. 2,8% is  minimum.

If you can get any gots milk easily, try with some  good kmr - kitten mothermilk replacement.  PetAgs KMR in powder,  GNC or Royal Canins are three good brands.

Next step could be some broth from chickens or pidgeons.  The Yiddishe Mama is renown for saving her sick children with this broth, no? 

5.  Make sure he is warm and comfortable, including having access to a heat pad (or your chest).  The sick are always freezing and feeling miserable, no?

6. You can massage him with a toothbrush,  it feels alike momma washing and licking.

Yes, it was surely a fecal test, ie test of the poo.  The vet didnt found any worms nor parasites.  Which is very good.  He propably has some worms and perhaps even parasites anyway, they dont always show up immediately.  but at least we know this outburst isnt not caused by their open outburst...

Please continue to report and ask questions if there are any.

Tx for caring, and Good luck!

ps.  What is this huge bottle of medicine for his stool?  you have the bottle, what is on the label?

The bottle of medicine for his stool says K-Pectin Oral Solution Bottle. I've barely been able to give him this. He hates it - refuses and freaks out. I haven't been able to give him near the amount vet told me to. 

I just fed him and he ate ok. Not as much as normal but he still ate the food. His BM after was actually the mushiest I've seen it! Not pure liquid. But - still straining and whining when he goes bad. He's still walking with his tail between his legs. I think his poor butt is super sore

I will go get pedialite as soon as stores open (its 4 am here) and I will get pumpkin. Is the pumpkin completely in place of the cat food vet gave me? Or should I mix it in?

He still seems tired. Kinda disinterested when I walk in the room and also he's walking kind of wobbling - the way I'd walk if I were dizzy. But he still is showing signs of playfulness when he does get up and purrs and cuddles. 

BrittanyA said:

 
The bottle of medicine for his stool says K-Pectin Oral Solution Bottle. I've barely been able to give him this. He hates it - refuses and freaks out. I haven't been able to give him near the amount vet told me to. 

I just fed him and he ate ok. Not as much as normal but he still ate the food. His BM after was actually the mushiest I've seen it! Not pure liquid. But - still straining and whining when he goes bad. He's still walking with his tail between his legs. I think his poor butt is super sore

I will go get pedialite as soon as stores open (its 4 am here) and I will get pumpkin. Is the pumpkin completely in place of the cat food vet gave me? Or should I mix it in?

He still seems tired. Kinda disinterested when I walk in the room and also he's walking kind of wobbling - the way I'd walk if I were dizzy. But he still is showing signs of playfulness when he does get up and purrs and cuddles. 

Click to expand...

This may easily be caused by the lack of salts and some deydration.   So begin with giving him water with some kitchen cooking salt, and preferably a little honey in too.

Honey gives also quick energy.   If in a pinch you can smear thick hoeny water on his lips and gum.  Or Karo syrup if you have. Whichever.   Do it asap.

Give immediately, he may collapse of sheer exhaustation even if he begins to be somewhat better..

As said before, if you can get goats milk or kmr, do try with this...  Easy digestible.

You prefreably mix in the pumphin with wet food or similiar.  Or with this milk I talk about.

B brittanya

He sounds dehydrated. You need to get him back to the vet asap. He needs sub-q fluids, and possibly an antibiotic for irritation in his digestive system. You may want to see a different vet.

The k-pectin is an anti-diarrheal medicine.

I am concerned that he may have Giardia, which is a parasite that can cause bad diarrhea. They probably did not test for that, but he should be treated for it.

He needs to be seen right away. His bottom sounds sore, so you can put olive oul or cocanut oil on it for relief.

I got the pedialyte and pumpkin and mixed it in his food. Put a good amount of pedialyte in there. He scarfed it down! His energy level seems to be pretty good today. He hasn't really pooped since I fed him at 8 am this morning though. We'll see if he does after the food I just gave him.

That's great he ate it! I hope his poop is more formed. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I fed him at around 4 pm and I'd say at 6 pm he went to the bathroom and his poop is much more formed! Not liquid at all. I'm so relieved. Thanks guys for all the advice. 

This is good to hear! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

The strangest thing happened. He was sleeping on me and then started whining so I picked him up and carried him to the bathroom so he can go. He pooped normal, and then immediately afterward started heaving and vomited. It was mostly clear with a few specks of food (but he ate 3 hours ago??).

Should I be worried? I don't think it was because of his food because he ate hours ago. Could he possible have an obstruction or something?

To me it sounds like he may be allergic to something in the food so I might go back to something like goat milk from the grocery store or if you can afford it cat formula in a bowl and then I would go with making him food it might sound weird but they usually do good with stuff in a blender like poached chicken breast or chicken livers (they stink) and then I use brown rice or oatmeal or something... just a couple things so that you can rule things out easily NEVER any onion or garlic because that can kill the cat but it could be anything from a simple food allergy too many other things... I would look up how to make homemade Pedialyte and change his water to that - last time I made it it was like baking soda, salt and water mixed and for my little ones when I bottle-fed I added a little bit of sugar also not too much so they don't get sticky but a little bit and... I also got capsules of fiber from Walmart instead of the pumpkin because the pumpkin you need to get a lot in and if you go with mixing in half a capsule of the people fiber in the food you're going to get more fiber day with less of his stomach capasity going to fiber. I would also feed him as many small meals as frequently as possible instead of bigger meals less often because that alone can cause diarrhea... You are not (I forgot whatever you said to be worried about it) because diarrhea in kittens can go from diarrhea and a active cat to something that you cannot come back from quickly... You can also use yogurt preferably vanilla or plain but you want goats because cow's milk is not good for cats and that alone can cause diarrhea... do you know how to check for dehydration?? You need to pinch wear the mom would pick the kitten up by the scruff and if it doesn't snapback very quickly then the kitten is dehydrated and you can do something simple like going to your local grocery store pharmacy and asking them for some free oral syringes and using that same homemade Pedialyte and giving him 2 teaspoons pretty frequently (slowly because you dont want him to asperate) to help and I would also mix the food with homemade Pedialyte because it has extra electrolytes to replace what he's losing through diarrhea and that is one of the most important parts. He also just needs to be wormed if he has not already been and that's usually a three-step process with a couple weeks in between each turn just to make sure that that's not the problem they don't usually get worms from their mom with the first few weeks but after that they do start to grow...

BrittanyA said:

 
The strangest thing happened. He was sleeping on me and then started whining so I picked him up and carried him to the bathroom so he can go. He pooped normal, and then immediately afterward started heaving and vomited. It was mostly clear with a few specks of food (but he ate 3 hours ago??).

Should I be worried? I don't think it was because of his food because he ate hours ago. Could he possible have an obstruction or something?

Click to expand...

Lets hope this was an occasional vomit - they MAY happen and do happen now and then.

The specks of undigested food hints perhaps the digestation isnt 100%, so make sure he gets easy to digest food, at least till everything has stabilized for good, and you can start anew with cat foods with him healthy and sound.

I forgot a couple things... Kittents are super body temp dependent. If they eat food thats cool/cold it makes some puke, some diarrhea and some (mine) wont eat his canned unless its from the fridge but he is abnormal, but since I believe your kitten was weaned early he may need help keeping warm (things like pooping, eating, digesting do take alot out of a baby), feed food that is room temp or a bit warmer, room temp water, get a favorite bed (my baby's was in a basket with toys hanging from the handle and I have 2 fleece blankets in it still, under 1 or 2 layers I had a heating pad (on low) under ONLY HALF of the whole bottom so the kitten could roll if to warm, but I had it all the time-when potty was controlled I had 1 blanket layer (not whole blanket) and 1 "puppy pad" layer for easier clean up because really young kittens need to be warm AND have food/water to be warm in order to digest and function prolerly (good sign temp was ok at vet, but temps go up with stress, like vet that smells funny and like many threats, but it can change througbout the day too - so its another "easy" that can't hurt!) so another more simple solution is providing extra heat - not above 101 tops from the heated part of the bed/basket/kennel/box (whatever). Also young kittenes cannot digest or potty without stimulation - that is a rough tounge licking prodominatly the tummy and bottom - it aids with digestion, the 4-5 week mark is a bit old for it to be needed, but it cant hurt! Rub with a warm wash cloth in a clockwise direction, do it gently and for several minutes particularly after eating and it helps them digest their food it increases blood flow and it helps with things like that it is definitely needed in the eyes closed stage prior to weaning it's a must but I don't see how it could hurt now!

If you run out of vet probiotics the goat yougurt has it or you can get caps of something like acidophilus which is a probiotic. If the prescription food I think you said it was dry or maybe you didn't say but they make one for babies that are having a hard time eating or a lack of a drive to eat or have failure to therive called A&D it is for dogs and cats and it is several kinds of liver that are cooked up and blended together and it is a good prescription diet even if a cat or dog is just you and isn't excited and willing to eat from something like a cold later - it's very attractive because of the nasty smells of the liver, well I guess nasty isn't a good way to describe it but this strong smells of the liver that draws them in and then it has a ton of good nutrients for them and rather than pay over $2 for like 5 ounces I made my own and then blended it with my homemade Pedialyte and I put it in Ice Cube containers that I got at the dollar store or somewhere, because I'm not going to eat people food in it after that ass but it freezes it in portions (put plastic wrap flat on it, it will keep goat milk or canned kitten formula good for longer too) so that you don't have to make it every day and it's all ready to go and it's significantly less expensive and then you can put the ice cubes in a ziplock bag and just take one or two out as you need to and defrost in the fridge and warm in the microwave or however you would like to... It's definitely all help the baby!

Write me if you like, I found 4 feral abbondoned day old kittens and all lived, since tbey were my first its apparently rare even if you have done it many times to get everyone to live, so I have been told I am good at it.

Anyone involved with feral kittens needs to keep corn syrup/kayro syrup - its a subsitute for d50 used in hospitals for low sugar, many times they just need a bit of extra energy that they dont have to work hard to get or digest, so that basic sugar, free oral syringes in many sizes from most any Pharmacy whether it be stand alone or in a grocery store will typically give you to per trip for free and they come in a teeny tiny size I believe one cc and then 5 CC which is a teaspoon + 10 CC with just two teaspoons and you can get them bigger for larger animals sometimes you might have to pay like a dollar for that but it makes it super convenient you don't want to for Speed but you want to put it on this phone and let the cat or dog then eat it slowly but if you force it then you're more likely to give the cat pneumonia so it's always a slow process but it's more like encouraging feeding or encouraging drinking them for speeding or drinking which is dangerous but I keep all of those things along with all meat baby food that does not have garlic or onion in it and I keep a can of condensed goat milk since cow milk is not good for cats in a bucket at my house and also a bag of cheap litter since my cat is toilet trained just in case I need the stuff I have it here and don't have to run out and since I run a feral cat colony although all my cats are fixed I apparently have better food and so I have visitors that come from a couple blocks away and that sometimes need immediate care quickly and that's easier when you have an emergency kit at your house.

If your kitten gets to the point where he is sluggish and not moving much and anything like that that says hey I'm going downhill fast and I don't have energy to even mewo and tell you about it - the first thing the vet is going to do is give the syrup and you just start with a couple drops on the tongue and let them lick that down and then maybe a couple more drops depending on the size of the animal and stuff like that but you rather error on the side of a little too much than not enough because you want to keep the vital organs going and a lot of times is that combined with highly encouraging the consumption of store-bought or homemade Pedialyte and at least your body heat (use a towel to prevent poops and if small enough a wash cloth and in the bra is good!), but those alone will be enough to get a cat from the wrong side of the hill to the good side of the hill sometimes (- or to the vet at least) and/or it could save you a vet bill because it's just sugar and water and it frequently gets them over the hump that without getting over they will roll back down that hill very quickly so I always keep it!

Always try mixing meds with meat babyfood if you cant get it down, get the free oral syringes from the pharmisist not the isles to try different things, wobbly isnt good or bad - yet, he is 4 weeks so it can be ok, i would use the sugar syrup, my brand here is kayro or close, its corn syrup, but doesnt have a chance of having different bad things like honey can for babies and its a tiny amount.... Dont use pumpkin instead of food, its just a safe fiber but so is capsuls not tables of fiber from the pharmacy section, i havent had any of mine or tbe foster cats say anything, i mix a half a cap (or so) in a day of food to start and it hasnt been noticed- hiding in food is good... Rub tummy, feed warm, you dont need to buy Pedialyte it's quite expensive and it spoils quite quickly so I always make my own and I sometimes mix in a little bit of chicken or beef baby food to give it some kind of flavored just a little bit at a time so that it still water and there is no reason not to completely exclude water and give Pedialyte for several days as long as you're checking how quickly the skin after it's pinched up in a tent goes back down to flat if that's happening fast you can give either one water or Pedialyte or homemade Pedialyte but if it is not snapping back to Flat quickly don't give water give the supplements.... something like 80% of cats puke sometime most of the time it's due to something irritating your stomach like hair which is where the term hairball comes from although I have never seen one look like a ball I've had them look like a roll of Dimes I've had them look like a few pieces of hair on the floor that look like throw up was just placed over but since I knew there wasn't hair on the floor prior I knew it was from the stomach and stuff like that or they can get into string or dental floss or paper toilet paper kitty litter there's so much stuff that can irritate their stomach and make them throw up it's just not always a big deal your problem is that with it coming out both ends the risk of dehydration increases buy double so just keep an eye on it but don't freak out too much because it is pretty common my cat vomits even with hairball remedy a little more than once a month and that has been going on for 4 years and he is healthy sometimes he throws up several times in a day or in a couple of days and then we go to the Pedialyte butt I make it myself and that's all we need to do... It is not uncommon for kittens under 10 weeks to have soft stool either when I was raising my for abandoned kittens I eventually had help from my dogs with the licking and I started calling it the cat poop milkshake since that was more the consistency that the dog was after 5/6 weeks for all 4, some where more like poop sooner though... licking and eating which is normal to have done it's just normally the cat that's doing it well the cat's mom anyway that is doing it and it's not normally when the person is holding the cat and watching to make sure the cat is safe since the dog has played to death multiple litters not knowing that they were alive or not toys so that was part of our lessons....

So for the sore butt... First wash often, and clip if he doesn't freak out, then try something with NO ZINC...Some of the recommendations included:
- not in my preference order....
Vaseline
Neosporin (good too, I would see if + pain relief is safe, it's very late here so I can't remember off hand but it would be my first choice)
A&D ointment (good for me)
Cold compress
CVS brand wipes
Any human baby butt ointment
-ANY and all of these should be soothing, baby wipes with aloe or not could be good many times a day as long as nothing is sticking out, swollen is one thing, sticking out is different, but also cool compresses holding it on the hinny should help too, but with the delayed digestion (puke 3 hours after eating says I need more heat, fluid, maybe sugar,and something more like triple antibiotic ointment to help heal and relieve pain - if you can't use clippers try sissors and do tail too.

See what happens today. Let's hope it was just an upset tummy! Keep us posted!

I hope all is well... It just has come to my attention that I had confused your issue with the diarrhea and someone else's cat issue and so I thought I had given you more information than I have so I wanted to say I apologize that I didn't get every bit of information to you I am in the hospital so punctuating is difficult since my talk-to-text does not want to do that and I recommended cooking liver and chicken what will liver or chicken and boiling it and seeing as the cat has a allergy and that's what's causing the diarrhea but I cannot remember now if I said that this is a very short-term solution there are essential amino acids that are necessary to add into cat food and so it is something you can order online if it is working for you and then you can just keep adding it to what you're reading from the people food or you can look at other options but it should have let you figure out if it was something in the cat food already or not and I hope everything is going well for you one of the among all essential acids is called tanturine but I likely have it spelled wrong due to my current medical issues it is basically the difference between cat food and dog food and it is the cost difference between cat food and dog food and it is necessary long term for good kidney function good eyesight and things like that for cats that are not hunting and eating live Raw animals and their bones...

I hope things are going well for you and the kitty.