Caring For Two 5 Week Old Not So Healthy Kittens

[Andrea Oliveira]

Finish the prescription. I find it odd advice not to.

Clear pee means the kittens are well hydrated.

They will get better at using the litter box and grooming themselves as they mature.

Her belly is big and she is having such hard poops! Like 5 cm long, dark brown. If you cover it with litter and then uncover it only some gets litter stuck on it. She’s only eating wet food and KMR, she is fine and so so playful (more than ever) she hasn’t lost her appetite or anything. I did the Skin Turgor test and it bounced right back so she doesn’t seem dehydrated, I don’t know what’s causing this hard dry poop but I feel so bad for her. She is pushing so hard

 

[StefanZ]

You ARE adding some oil alike mentioned earlier?
Mineral oils are even more potent, but where to find one of food grade?
Although I know its possible to find liquid paraffine oil. This is potent, and fine if you find a grade equivalent to veteriary liquid paraffine oil.

Another idea is to get such glycerine con as for constipation in humans. Take off a thin slice of it - and put into her rear end. Its absorbed inside, and softens up the poo.
I would propose this trick as next step, if the foodoil doesnt helps.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

You ARE adding some oil alike mentioned earlier?
Mineral oils are even more potent, but where to find one of food grade?
Although I know its possible to find liquid paraffine oil. This is potent, and fine if you find a grade equivalent to veteriary liquid paraffine oil.

Another idea is to get such glycerine con as for constipation in humans. Take off a thin slice of it - and put into her rear end. Its absorbed inside, and softens up the poo.
I would propose this trick as next step, if the foodoil doesnt helps.

It’s very hard for me to find supplies here and angola, some things that are pretty common in the US and other countries are very rare here.
I am adding just two or three drops of olive oil to one or two of her meals. Should I add more and moreno often ? What i find weird also is that many websites talk about small balls of poop as a sign of constipation but hers it’s a longish one (comes out together, doesn’t really separate) about 5 cm long. Some of the litter does stick to it but it doesn’t cover the entire poop.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes every meal. The oil is a decent nourishment in itself so it wont hurt.

The consistency as such sounds good but as she is straining she must get help making it more rare.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Yes every meal. The oil is a decent nourishment in itself so it wont hurt.

The consistency as such sounds good but as she is straining she must get help making it more rare.

I’ll try to do every meal and see if it gets better.
To be quite honest i don’t know how straining really works. I am used to them having a softer stool so I don’t know if the strength she is applying when she’s going is normal just because her poo is harder than what she is used to.
And also, now with the KMR she has evolved so much, she plays so much more, so I wonder if her trips to the litter box could be fewer than I’m used to because now she’s spending more energy and thus has less waste. Could that also be the case? Cause when she wasn’t active she used to poop like 4 to 5 times a day. Today she only went twice ou may be three times (I found a poop in the box that i didn’t know if it was hers or her sisters) but the amount also decreased being now those 5cm long poops i mentioned. When she wasn’t active her poop was softer and she had more frequent poops and longer as well

 

[StefanZ]

It sounds alike quite much pooping. How come I dont know.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

It sounds alike quite much pooping. How come I dont know.

So do you reckon it’s just her adjusting to a new “lifestyle” ?

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

It sounds alike quite much pooping. How come I dont know.

And also do you think from the photo her belly is big enough to worry?

 

[StefanZ]

And also do you think from the photo her belly is big enough to worry?

Now that is difficult to say much. Yes, it may be worrying. But big bellies its not unusual. Some dont make it, most do make it if there are not too much of other difficulties.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Otherwise she is fine, I can even say she is thriving. Last week she lost weight, now she is gaining rapidly and is actually much more active and playful. I don’t believe she has any other thing going on

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

UPDATE:
We have her a glycerine based anal laxative and she went right away. The first few pieces were small, dark and dry but after she managed to let out some soft poop.
Her belly is still big (I’m starting to assume it really is just from them being kittens) i weighed her before the laxative and after and she lost about 10gr so that is a lot of poop.
On Monday she was weighing 270 gr and now she is at 390. I am very pleased with her weight gain and I can start to see that little fat beneath the skin forming. I can no longer feel her spine so much.
The vet told me to force feed her water, just to be safe but she is peeing a lot (like 6 to 7 times a day) colorless and odorless, só I’m not too worried about her nor drinking water she is probable getting it from the wet food and KMR. But since the vet told me to give her water I am. I’m just not sure exactly what amount I should be giving her.
As to her weight gain, a part of me is a little worried that it is “false gain” just because her belly is so big. She has been dewormed, but in the case that she were to still have worms, would she have been able to gain 120 gr in a week?
She is eating, active, playful and they have not been sleeping all afternoon as when they first came home with me.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Glad to hear she is improving. I agree that you are giving her more water than needed, and that you shouldn’t be forcing anything.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Glad to hear she is improving. I agree that you are giving her more water than needed, and that you shouldn’t be forcing anything.

My gut feeling also tells me she doesn’t need it and the vet did tell me this over the phone so she didn’t really see her. She just told me it’s normal for kittens on KMR and wet food to pee a lot and for the pee to be clear and odorless.

I’m just dead scared of dehydration. Even though she gained weight she is still pretty tiny for her age.

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Glad to hear she is improving. I agree that you are giving her more water than needed, and that you shouldn’t be forcing anything.

Please give me an opinion on the belly size situation at this point. It is soft not hard, when they eat it becomes hard. But I feel like it’s smaller than the first photo of her belly I posted on this thread

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Oh and after pooing out everything with the help of the laxative she still dragged her butt on the litter. Is it normal ?

 

[StefanZ]

Yes belly is visibly smaller.

Dragging on the litter? Its perhaps itching her. You can put on some olive or cocoa nut oil on the anus....

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

I think so too. I actually think they are just big bellied kittens. As long as they are soft and they don’t complain when I squeeze them I think I can be happy

Yes belly is visibly smaller.

Dragging on the litter? Its perhaps itching her. You can put on some olive or cocoa nut oil on the anus....

nk

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

UPDATE
my girls are doing well, they are pooping again (never in my life did I think I’d be so excited to see poop)
On orders of the vet I started mixing dry kibble on their wet food. She didn’t want me to just leave it out because they might experience diarrhea so she told me the best option would be to introduce it slowly by step by step increasing the kibble and reducing the canned until they are used to both and then i can just mix their diet up however I see fit.
Anyways. Today I started mixing and I got the impression that they are eating a little less than normal. When i serve them their bowls they attack it like usual but then leave so soon after compared to how long they used to stay and eat just the wet food.
My question is: could this be a matter of the kibble just filling them up quicker or might they really not like it?
At first I didn’t think that was the problem because they really do attack the food and eat half like they are enjoying but then just kind of look the other way and go about their day playing and bouncing.

 

[Willowy]

Cats don't need dry food (though vets are fond of recommending it :/), and as long as there's a possibility of dehydration or constipation I'd recommend skipping it. I wouldn't start any dry food at least until 10 or 12 weeks, if they're doing well. If you want to (since dry food is cheaper), you can grind up the kibbles and add water to make a paste, but I wouldn't give dry kibbles yet.

If she eats enough wet food and KMR she won't be dehydrated at all; there's plenty of moisture in wet food to care for a cat's moisture needs. Don't force water any more; every time you do it there's a chance of aspiration, so it should only be done when strictly necessary.

Have they been de-wormed? I didn't read back to see if they were. In most countries you can get pyrantel pamoate suspension at the pharmacy, as it's given to children for hookworms. If you can find it, post here and we'll help you find dosage instructions.

They look like they're doing great! Keep up the good work!

 

[Andrea Oliveira]

Cats don't need dry food (though vets are fond of recommending it :/), and as long as there's a possibility of dehydration or constipation I'd recommend skipping it. I wouldn't start any dry food at least until 10 or 12 weeks, if they're doing well. If you want to (since dry food is cheaper), you can grind up the kibbles and add water to make a paste, but I wouldn't give dry kibbles yet.

If she eats enough wet food and KMR she won't be dehydrated at all; there's plenty of moisture in wet food to care for a cat's moisture needs. Don't force water any more; every time you do it there's a chance of aspiration, so it should only be done when strictly necessary.

Have they been de-wormed? I didn't read back to see if they were. In most countries you can get pyrantel pamoate suspension at the pharmacy, as it's given to children for hookworms. If you can find it, post here and we'll help you find dosage instructions.

They look like they're doing great! Keep up the good work!

Hello
They have been dewormed, two weeks ago. I inspected their poop these two weeks and nothing came out