Pedialyte for kittens? Help!

As most of you already know, I adopted an abandonded kitty, Matilde. She's developing very healthy, but has had diarrhea for the last two days. Today she has not gone yet. The color of the poop is dark brown, but liquid. A vet assistant told me that I could give her Pedialyte original (no flavour), as the electrolytes are good for dihadration. But I need more feedback on this. I know there are many knowledgable people in this site. This afternoon I plan to take her to the PetSmart clinic, which I heard it is cheaper than regular clinic and the services are the same. But please give me your advice on this Pedialyte issue! Thanks in advance!

Pedialyte works well....but to be honest, sugar water, and gatoraid does the same thing. I have been fostering kittens for years and have seen a little bit of everything so i'm very familiar with your little matilde's symptoms. I recommend giving her 2 dropperfulls of sugar water or pedialyte 3-4 times a day until she is better to make sure that she is getting adequate electrolytes in her system and she is staying hydrated. Also, a good trick to make sure she is hydrated: pick her up by the scruff of her neck and then put her back down. If the scruff stays up after u let her down, she is dehydrated, and her skin is loosing elsaticity....so be sure to give her adequate fluids....also how old is ur kitten? I'm guessing she is small. Is she still on formula, or is she eating solids? If she's eating solids, you can boil a little bit of chicken and cut it up for her...that will help settle her stomach (plus cats usually love chicken...). Good luck with her. If you need any more help, just drop me a line and i'd be happy to help.

Also, if she is very little and u are dropper feeding her, be sure to stop if u see little bubbles comming out of her nose or mouth, you've fed her too much. It is a good idea to weigh her every feeding and record it so u can keep track of her development and that she is getting fed enough. If she is old enough to be eating solids, has she been dewormed yet?? Most kitties have a mild case of worms when they're little, and that can result in diarreah....so be sure to have your little kitten dewormed with Strongid ( at a vet's office or some cat rescues). and that should cure her right up after she passes the worms (if that is what she has).Good luck with her...and also, if her condition doesn't improve, please take her and have her examined by a professional and lisenced vet. The Cat Site is excellent for information and is very helpful (i love the website!) , but for a major medical issue, u want to always be sure to take her to a good vet. Good luck with her

Thanks, Nikki! Your advice is very helpful! Matilde is two-weeks old and apparently abandoned by her mom. I'm feeding her with KMR replacer in a small bottle. I did go to PetSmart and they couldn't see her today. But I spoke to my friend vet and he told me, she might have worms. He asked me to wait a little bit for the deworming, as she is too small.

I didn't know about the bubbles - thanks! I've been overfeeding her. I weigh her every other day at my local UPS Store. They love her there! She weighs now 11 ounces - cute little thing....

I will follow my friend's advice and will wait a little bit. She eats very well and if it was up to her she would eat more and more. I will keep in mind the Strongid.

Again, thank you for helping me!

I picked her up by the cruff of her neck and when I put her down, the skin went back to place, it has elasticity, so that's good!

You do not need to pick her up by the scruff of the neck of the neck to test for dehydration. The kitten or cat can simply be at rest.Leave the kitten on the floor, and lightly pinch the scruff. Hold for a few seconds and then release. The skin should not stay tented up, if it does, rush this kitten to the vet for it is dehydrated. Again, there is no need to lift a cat or kitten up for this test. You are just needing to watch the skin of the neck and how quickly it goes down.

Pedialyte is fine. Unflavored is best but any flavor would be fine. Just avoid orange since cats do not like citrus.

I would recommend against going to the vet at PETsMART since the quality of medicine practiced there is quite inconsistent and the price is not necessarily lower. Get the name of a good vet and go there instead. Better to pay more up front and have it done right than to have to keep going back, or worse.

home remedy pedialyte-like:

1 litre water
1 soupspoon dextrose
1 teaspoon kichensalt

good if you have in also a tiny little bikarbonate of sodium.

Mix up by heating, cool down.

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Im not sure about gatorade; mix it with water in this case. half each?

Even though Matilde doesn't have symptoms of dehydration, I already put 4 drops of Pedialyte in her milk, just in case. I don't know about Gatorade, as it is a flavoured drink. StefanZ, thanks for the home remedy. I will keep it handy for emergencies.

Lorelei, www.kitten-rescue.com is a good place to visit to get information on hand-raising little ones.

I would definitely not use Gatorade as the sugar content is much too high. Unflavored Pedialyte is sugar free and much more appropriate.

In this case, what I personally would do is feed KMR mixed from a powder and use Pedialyte instead of water to reconstitute it.

The dark brown stool, though, is different from the gray stool normally associated with overfeeding and possibly indicates that something else is going on. If she is at least 2 weeks old, then I would deworm her with Strongid. I would also recommend putting her on Clavamox or, if that is unavailable, Amoxicillin. Be aware that the vet may tell you that antibiotics will make the diarrhea worse - this information is correct for cats but incorrect for young kittens. You can also give her Bene-Bac or another intestinal flora supplement. Just be sure to give this as far apart from the antibiotic doses as possible.

Matilde has appointment with a vet tomorrow night. The vet asked a few questions over the phone. She's not dehydrated or anemic - thank God! The vet will give her Strongid tomorrow and will take a stool sample. Then we will go from there. Thanks for all the good advice! Will keep you posted!

Yogurt is great for kittens with diarrhea .. depends on the age of the kitten how much to give . look online .. not sure myself .. 

Grandma6 said:

Yogurt is great for kittens with diarrhea .. depends on the age of the kitten how much to give . look online .. not sure myself .. 

Click to expand...

That would be natural, unsweetened, live yoghurt... 

Hi, i have been rescuing for years and work with numerous animal rescues, recently a lady found a newborn under the wheel of a truck on the hot pavement, PetCo knows of me and called me. She wants to keep the kitten and i have been bottle feeding her now and caring for her for 4 weeks. 5 Days ago, i had to switch formulas because PetCo was out of the one i use. This poor kitten now has had diarrhea for 4 days, first i give her Pedialyte and Pumpkin wet food which is found at any feed store. Its in a can and also in dry form, it firmed up her poop and stopped the runny poop. Hope this helps!