Help!! my kitten is constipated but has really good appetite and is playful as always. Should I be concerned?

[chewchew's mommy]

Hi everyone. So I've had my baby girl Chewchew for 2 weeks now. She is a loving and active 2-month British shorthair kitten. When she first came, her anus was sticking out a lot and the breeder said it shouldn't be anything to worry about. On her first night here she had diarrhea everywhere... I started adding probiotics and pumpkin puree to her meals and she went from diarrhea to constipation... She stained a lot in the litter box and was only able to poop tiny bits, she also always had dry poop clumps stuck in her anus and I wasn't able to get it out so I took her to the vet (3 times to be exact). The vets told me that I shouldn't worry too much about her anus and put her on lactulose to soften up the poop. It worked!! Her anus got less swollen and she was able to poop out bigger healthier poop. I asked the vet if I should stop giving her lactulose and they let me finish the dose. So she began to have diarrhea for 5 days straight... everywhere, all the time, liquid poop would just come out of her anytime, even when she was sleeping. I didn't worry because I assumed it was the lactulose so I stopped giving her it because her diarrhea got really bad. After the lactulose stopped, her diarrhea stopped!! I was so happy until I realized she's constipated again. It's been 2 days since she last pooped (which was diarrhea), she goes to the litter box to pee normally, but she still seems to strain a lot just to poop a tiny tiny bit out (maybe the size of one single rice), and sometimes, nothing at all. However, her anus appears a lot more healthy and normal, and there's no poop stuck in it like last time. I asked my breeder (who is also a vet), and he said to not worry as long as she had good appetite and plays like normal, which she does.
I'm still a bit worried, which is why I'm writing this thread. Would you guys please give me some opinions and what to do with her constipation. Should I just leave it? The breeder said there's no need for vet visit because there's nothing they can do. She already had an enema last week by the way.
A little info on her diet: she eats 1/4 cup of dry food daily which I just refill every morning. I also feed her wet food 2/3 times which is baby food chicken/turkey/ham puree with pumpkin puree, a little probiotics and a little honey water.

Thank you all so much!!!!!!

 

[chewchew's mommy]

BTW, the dry food I feed her is blue buffalo kitten kibble. She drinks water a lot too so I think she's not dehydrated? her tiny poop bits from today is also squishy and not dry. So I have no clue why she's constipated... UGH

 

[kittenmittens84]

I know people said this last time but I’m going to say it again - please feed your cat wet food meant for cats, not baby food purées. They are not formulated to give cats all the nutrients they need, while canned cat food is. You can still add a bit of pumpkin to the wet food for constipation if that’s still an issue.

 

[jefferd18]

I think you are doing a little too much with her in terms of her diet. I have never heard of healthy kitten her age being put through so much with enemas, stool softeners, probiotics etc...

If she is bouncing back and forth between constipation and diarrhea then the cause has to be the food she is eating. She needs can cat food with some kibble to munch on through the day. Wet cat food should give her the proper amount of hydration along with the nutrients she needs.

 

[molly92]

So a kitten from a breeder should not have parasites, but also 6 weeks I think is too early to take a kitten away from mom, so I'm a little suspect of this breeder and would not rule out parasites, which are a super common cause of diarrhea in kittens. I know you said the breeder was a vet, but still... Parasites can also cause diarrhea in flare ups and waves. It'd probably be a good idea for your vet to check a stool sample next time you go in. Kittens with their delicate immune systems are really susceptible.

Fiber is a double edged sword. It can provide more structure, but it can also add bulk, and bulky stool could very possibly be too big for her tiny colon to pass. When this happens, sometimes the more liquidy stool will squeeze out around the obstruction, so what appears to be diarrhea can actually be a symptom of constipation. I would ease off the pumpkin and see if that helps. If you get diarrhea from eliminating pumpkin, then you should ask your vet about medications that fight parasites and/or soothe the intestines.

Kitten bowel movements can be irregular, so I wouldn't trust time between them as a good warning sign, but you definitely DO want to get her to the vet if she stops eating, acts lethargic, has a fever, or starts throwing up.

Canned food is best. I agree that baby food should be reserved for a treat, hiding medicine, or cats that have lost their appetite. Any canned food that is labeled "kitten" or "all life stages" will give her the right nutrients. If you're able to feed as much canned food as she wants you don't need to supplement with dry, although I realize that's not always feasible. She will always get more hydration from canned food than dry plus water that she drinks, even if it seems like she's drinking a lot.

And...if you must feed dry, I recommend picking something other than blue buffalo. It's way too expensive for what it is, the company has a terrible history of recalls smoothed over by lots of advertising. Most brands take shortcuts here and there, but blue is one of the worst offenders. And they also do this weird thing where they put 2 different types of kibble in a bag, and one type has specific important vitamins that the other doesn't. So if your bag isn't shaken up well and one kind has settled, or if your cat likes one of the types more than the other, then they're not eating a balanced diet each meal, which is especially concerning for a growing kitten.