Kitten still having constipation problems

Background
Over the weekend, my wife and I picked up two new kittens from our local humane society. One is doing just fine and loves attention.

The other one just stole our hearts when we saw her, but she is pretty sick. There was a huge glob of poop stuck to her at the humane society, and her anal area and rear legs are extremely irritated and raw.

We took her to the vet and she has a URI and a minor bacteria infection. We initially thought she was only 3 weeks old or so, but the vet told us she's closer to 5-6 weeks old.

We have been giving her medication since Monday for the infections and she seems to be improving daily. Initially, she was very lethargic, but appears to be getting more lively. The vet also recommended applying "Little Noses" (a children's decongestant) and it's made a huge difference in her eating habits. This morning, she is finally eating soft food on her own, which is a relief. We are also cleaning the rear end area several times a day and applying a cream per the vet's instructions.

The thing I'm concerned about, though, is she hasn't defecated in several days. In fact, I don't think I've seen her do it at all since we've had her (maybe my wife has, though). Granted, the first few days she wouldn't eat anything and we had to force feed her with a dropper.

Now that she's getting more food in her, I would expect the situation to improve, although with the condition of her anal area, I don't know if she can.

I did a search for this topic and found that sometimes kittens have to be stimulated manually. Her urinating habits seem fine and she pees several times a day. I would think that cleaning the anal area with soft, moist tissue would provide the stimulation needed to prod her into pooping, but no luck yet.

I've placed a call into the Vet to get her thoughts, but she hasn't called me back yet.

Sorry for the long post, but I felt like all the information was necessary. Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Jeremy, welcome to TCS. Kudos to you for taking in two kittens from the shelter, especially one that is sick.

She is most likely holding on because her anal area is so sore and raw at the moment. You can try adding a little canned pumpkin to her wet food, this often helps kittens that are a bit constipated. Also, because she's had a lot of upheaval in the past few days, it may be taking that little bit longer for her digestion to settle down.

Also, this page is designed for orphaned and abandoned kittens but it addresses ways to gently treat constipated kittens: http://www.kitten-rescue.com/vomitti...stipation.html

One more thing (lol). Kitten glop would be great for these two:

Home-made kitten formula (Kitten Glop)

8 ounces water (boiled then cooled)
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
8 ounces whole evaporated milk (not skim)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (not low fat)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (not low fat)
1 large or 2 small eggs yolks (raw)
1 teaspoon clear Karo syrup
* 1-3 drops liquid pet vitamins
* 1 capsule acidophilus
* 1 drop Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)

* Optional, though very beneficial.

Boil the water, add the gelatin and mix well. Add the following ingredients in order, mixing well after each addition:

1/2 of the canned milk
Mayonnaise and Yogurt
Rest of the milk
All other ingredients

You can substitute canned goat's milk for the canned evaporated milk, if you prefer it. This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to four days. It is jello-like in consistency in the fridge so you can just scoop out as much as you need and warm. It can also be frozen in ice cube trays and defrosted as needed. You can find pet vitamins at a pet store or your vet, and acidophilus and GSE in the liquid form at a good health food store.

Kumbulu:

Thanks for the quick replies and welcome.

I'll definately give the canned pumpkin a try, as hopefully it will help to soften her stool and make it a little easier on her to pass. In fact, I just got off the phone with the Vet and she recommended the same thing.

Well, she has continued to eat even more today compared to yesterday....yet, still no stools. As recommended, I mixed in canned pumpkin with her soft food and she seems to like it.

Poor thing...her butt is extremely sore and swollen. I'm starting to get really concerned about this.

However, I did talk to my wife (who is out of town) and she confirmed that she did take a poop on Saturday or Sunday. So, it seems it's possible for her.

Hopefully, it's just due to the lack of food. She basically started eating well last (Tuesday) night, so maybe it's just around the corner.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be thrilled to wake up tomorrow morning and see some poopy.

Sounds like the kitten is improving. I'm hoping you find a poopy tommorow from the kitty!

Sydney has gotten much better since then, altough she has always had a problem pooping since we've had her (2 months).

We gave her pumpkin the first week and all was well for a few days. Even now, she is still unable to poop correctly. It would just come out about halfway even though she was straining. We just assumed it was because of her painful rear (see the original post above) and figured once her butt was healed, everything would be OK. Eventually, the "poo nuggets" (as we call them ) would eventually fall out, but at least she was going to the bathroom.

We've been to the Vet 3 times and today will be the 4th. She is still getting antibiotics everyday and her rear end has healed, but it's still a little red. The last time we were at the Vet, she prescribed some cream to apply to her rear that should help her bowel movements.

Well, she hasn't pooped in 3-4 days as far as we can tell. She's eating and playing just fine, though.

I'm concerned about her weight though. She was extremely frail and undernourished when we got her, and she's grown a lot. However, she's just doesn't appear to be filling out like she should.

We are really at a loss here. We are both afraid that something else is the cause of her problems, although, she doesn't really exhibit any of the main symptons of the more life-threating feline problems.

Hopefully, todays Vet trip will shed some light on the problem, but I just don't know. 2 weeks ago, the Vet mentioned doing a biopsy if her rear hasn't healed....but it's gotten much better in the past 2 weeks.

The hairball remedies are laxatives, Laxatone, Laxa-stat. Ask your vet if it is safe to use for the kitten.

Have you tried a little bit of very gentle downward stroking and massage along her lower back and tummy? I'm thinking that might help stimulate the nerves that control peristalsis...

Try and stimulate her with a wet cloth like her mother would with licking..

I appreciate all the advice in this thread, but unfortunately the problem is a much bigger issue.

Basically, we found out yesterday from the Vet that Sydney doesn't have a completely developed anal opening (birth defect), also know as imperforate anus. As such, she has no way for the feces to come out and that has been her problem all this time.

Apparently, the only opening back there is the open wound we've been treating this entire time. So that explains why she's been practically unable to poop very much.

Our local vet said she's never seen this before and believes the only way to fix it is through surgery. Even then, she doesn't know if surgery is even an option. She is going to talk to some specialists and the local university Vet school.

If surgery isn't feasible, we don't see any other way but to have her put to sleep.

Have you ever heard of a cat having a problem similar to this, and do you think it's fixable through surgery?

Originally Posted by JeremyDS

I appreciate all the advice in this thread, but unfortunately the problem is a much bigger issue.

Basically, we found out yesterday from the Vet that Sydney doesn't have a completely developed anal opening (birth defect), also know as imperforate anus. As such, she has no way for the feces to come out and that has been her problem all this time.

Apparently, the only opening back there is the open wound we've been treating this entire time. So that explains why she's been practically unable to poop very much.

Our local vet said she's never seen this before and believes the only way to fix it is through surgery. Even then, she doesn't know if surgery is even an option. She is going to talk to some specialists and the local university Vet school.

If surgery isn't feasible, we don't see any other way but to have her put to sleep.

Have you ever heard of a cat having a problem similar to this, and do you think it's fixable through surgery?

Click to expand...

You're going to have to find the right person. Do some research and call the best specialists for this type of thing, (even if they are out of town or state, they may have insight that can be communicated to the surgeon nearby) and get 2nd opinions.