A Bad Day For The Kittens - Suggestions?

[tigersdad70]

...yesterday was a GREAT day for the kittens. Both my male and female who are starting week 6 today had gotten the hang of eating soft food from a bowl. The female has 100% litter-pan accuracy, the male about 60%.

They ate a soft food meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner and a small bottle (1 TBS) before bedtime. They had gained to 13 ounces and are now on the lower-level of "normal". They were seriously malnourished after their mother left them sometime during week 2 or 3.

This morning, they soiled the nest in a HUGE way. I can't believe all of that diarrhea came out of 2 tiny kittens. They were de-wormed last week and were making solid stools at this point.

They ate soft food for breakfast, and again at lunch. Dinner time, they were not interested in eating. They climbed up my lap and each one took turns getting down and squirting into the litter pan. Each one "went" about 3 times each in within that 1 1/2 hour time period. They just layed in my lap, clearly uncomfortable.

They have perked up a little in the hours since and were wrestling in the nest. But, they haven't left the nest all day.

I weighed them and they had each lost 1/2 ounce since last night.

I offer water in a bowl and in a "hamster water bottle". I've never seen either of them drink in the 3 weeks since I found them.

Should I give a bottle tonight? Should I go back to the bottle in the morning or keep on with the soft food?

 

[cutekittenkat]

Oh, that's hard. I'd say give them some water from the botlle, but try to keep them going on solid food. Weaning can take time, but it sounds like they're doing pretty good. I remember one of my bottle babies, and I can remember going in and seeing her soiled nest right when I thought she was litter trained...I seriously made me want to cry since I had NOT had a good day, but in the end, when they're bigger, it is all SO worth it

. If they haven't ate by the morning give them some milk.

 

[ms cat love]

I have 2, 7 week old kittens. I started them eating 2 weeks ago from a little plastic lid with a tiny bit of water and couple kibbles of kitten chow.. Now they are eating the kitten chow without the water mixed in and they are drinking water from a tiny water bowl.. Only one had diarrhea once...

 

[StefanZ]

If they have so much diarrea, they are loosing not only water, but also electrolytes / salts.

So some form of pedialyte is good, instead of common water.

If you can get pedialyte for apothece /drug store or the vet, good. Otherwise

The simplest home made pedialyte is to have some kitchen salt in it.

1 tea spoon salt in 1 litre water.

Or even better, 1 tea spoon salt, 1 soup spoon dextrose sugar (or honey) in a litre water.

Cook up, let it be cooler...


Good luck!



Such a rather basic pedialyte = kitchen salt + dextrose sugar, IS the main weapon against the great manslaugterer cholera. Alone taking down the death rate from 70-80% down into the more feasible 10%.
Or something like that.

 

[tigersdad70]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I fed a small ammount of soft food last night and gave some water via bottle. They didn't really drink it, but did lap if off nose and paw. Licked some off my fingers. I'm going to get some Pedialyte to keep on hand as well.

The night went better with no soiled nest. During the night, someone made a "really good solid poo" ALMOST in the litter pan. Someone else formed a "not quite so loose poo" in the litter pan. Both went #1 in the pan.

This morning, they ate about 1/2 can each of the soft food from the saucer and they are now resting in the nest. Both seemed playful this morning.

They are down about 1/2 ounce from yesterday mornings weight, though.

Yesterday was their first whole day with no bottle - maybe their system was reacting to soft-food only diet.

...where else on the net could you find posts discussing the consistency of kitten poo! LOL