Horribly bloated shelter kitten from neglectful diet. Need all the help I can get.

[SoftAries]

Hello there!

I just adopted two shelter kittens (my heart kitty passed in 2020 at 17 years of age, took a while to feel ready again). Both are for completely different shelters. One is doing amazing, but unfortunately the other one that we have, seems to be having some issues with bloating.

The one with the bloating is a tiny, runty little 3-month-old. And after noticing the fact she was bloated as well as farting out some pretty heinous little toots, I decided to inquire on what kind of food the shelter was feeding her, seeing as they never told me nor sent me home with any food for her. Which the other shelter did for us.

Turns out she was being fed a complete medley of whatever is donated that week to them. Which upsets the hell out of me as they refused to let me take her for 2 weeks because they have an absolutely ridiculous rule that you can't take a kitten until it's 2 lb of weight. And if they are under 2 lb, you have to enter a draw/raffle to even "win" the kitten. I would have much rather had her in my care where I could have properly given her the nutrition she needed. They even mentioned to me when I picked her up that they had a hard time putting weight on her, like gee... wonder why.... couldn't be the diet and the fact she was in a giant room with 6 other kittens that no one monitored. I guess it being a city run high kill shelter has something to do with it.

It took her a half day and night to finally poop. And when she did, it was quite a lot. But that was only after we panic took her to the vet the next morning to grab her some probiotics, get her dewormed and checked (still waiting on results from parasite check) and get kitten specific wet food.

That was yesterday, and I woke up today to her looking normal/not bloated this morning and a lot more active. However that quickly changed after she ate. She's right back to being bloated again (maybe I'm giving her too much to eat at one time???), she also puked 3 times, but only little bits. But I'm betting the horrible bloat is to blame. Peed once, but no poop again. (Compared to my healthy girl, who pees quite often as well as poops, it's concerning).
I'm also getting the suspicion that she may be eating way too fast. When I think about the fact she was probably competing for food, it makes a lot of sense.

Energy wise she's very up and down. She was quite the pillow princess at the shelter, and proceeded to be a little lazy when she got here. But again I'm assuming it's all of this bloat issue.

Anyways I know this is quite a lot of info. But I feel like other cat lovers would be able to help me figure out what to do for this poor baby.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Not much can be done about the mixed food fed to the animals at the shelter due to money being tight. At home, it's a good idea to have your kitten get used to eating a wider variety of foods. It will keep her from developing the tendency to eat only one thing, then not eating at all because she's bored with the only thing she'll eat. It also prevents your kitten fromdeveloping a food allergy.

It's not fair to be slinging mud at a kill shelter. No Kill shelter often pull shenanigans to maintain their "No Kill" status, such as refusing to take in elderly or sick cats.

If your kitten (a real cutie, judging by the photos) is eating too much at once, give her smaller portions. Of course that means you might have to feed her more often, but she needs you to help her get healthy.

If her system is stoppered, she's going to get bloated and have a hard time passing stools. Get her back to the vet to be checked out.

Stay calm. Your kitten is looking to you for cues as to what's going on in her world. If you panic, she's going to wonder what the danger is and go into fight or flight mode. When you're calm, it will help keep your kitten calm and she get healthy quicker.

What did you name your new kittens? Photos of your other kitten? You can't just leave us hanging like this!

 

[SoftAries]

Not much can be done about the mixed food fed to the animals at the shelter due to money being tight. At home, it's a good idea to have your kitten get used to eating a wider variety of foods. It will keep her from developing the tendency to eat only one thing, then not eating at all because she's bored with the only thing she'll eat. It also prevents your kitten fromdeveloping a food allergy.

It's not fair to be slinging mud at a kill shelter. No Kill shelter often pull shenanigans to maintain their "No Kill" status, such as refusing to take in elderly or sick cats.

If your kitten (a real cutie, judging by the photos) is eating too much at once, give her smaller portions. Of course that means you might have to feed her more often, but she needs you to help her get healthy.

If her system is stoppered, she's going to get bloated and have a hard time passing stools. Get her back to the vet to be checked out.

Stay calm. Your kitten is looking to you for cues as to what's going on in her world. If you panic, she's going to wonder what the danger is and go into fight or flight mode. When you're calm, it will help keep your kitten calm and she get healthy quicker.

What did you name your new kittens? Photos of your other kitten? You can't just leave us hanging like this!

I think I would have to blast the name of the shelter to drag it through the mud. Having an opinion however, is not hurting anybody. I will mention that this is a notoriously negatively rated shelter that has had many issues. My other kitten is also from a high kill shelter with good reviews, and the kittens I've fostered there have also been healthy.
Anyways, sorry but I don't want to get into a debate about the shelter, that's not at all what this post is about and I really don't want it derailed into something about that.

I just want as much advice on how to help this kitten get better as I can get. The vet here has already helped us. She gave us probiotics, antibiotics, dewormed her, gave us wet kitten food, tested her and told us to return if she doesn't poop or stops eating. Not much else to do now. And I'm hoping somebody else has dealt with similar and can give guidance that the vet didn't give

Thanks for your advice by the way, I definitely will try giving her smaller amounts

Also her name is Keaton! The other, who is a brown tabby, is Kaiya

 

[iPappy]

Hi!
Did the shelter give you vet records stating that this kitten has been wormed before the vet did it? How long ago was she wormed at the vets, did the vet give you a time line on how long to wait if she doesn't respond to treatment? It can sometimes take a little time, and maybe a few rounds of de-worming to get the entire load out of their system. When the wormer is working, the litter box will let you know.
As far as the shelter goes, it's frustrating that kittens are fed what is donated but sometimes it's all the shelter can do, but the whole "raffle" thing is kind of....weird.

 

[Cat McCannon]

I think I would have to blast the name of the shelter to drag it through the mud. Having an opinion however, is not hurting anybody. I will mention that this is a notoriously negatively rated shelter that has had many issues. My other kitten is also from a high kill shelter with good reviews, and the kittens I've fostered there have also been healthy.
Anyways, sorry but I don't want to get into a debate about the shelter, that's not at all what this post is about and I really don't want it derailed into something about that.

All is well. I don't mean to convince you of anything other than to take a breath and maybe look at things from another angle and most importantly, lower your stress level. Your kitten needs you to be clear headed.

I just want as much advice on how to help this kitten get better as I can get. The vet here has already helped us. She gave us probiotics, antibiotics, dewormed her, gave us wet kitten food, tested her and told us to return if she doesn't poop or stops eating. Not much else to do now. And I'm hoping somebody else has dealt with similar and can give guidance that the vet didn't give

You're working with the vet and observing what happens. Your kittens couldn't be in better care.

Thanks for your advice by the way, I definitely will try giving her smaller amounts

You're welcome. I'm glad I was helpful

Also her name is Keaton! The other, who is a brown tabby, is Kaiya

Wonderful names for such cuties! You and your kittens are blessed to have one another

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree that you should feed smaller amounts of kitten wet food more often — up to 6 times a day. See that dry kitten food and water are available 24/7, and then just give her time. A kitten in her high stress situation (at the shelter) and being fed various foods, might need a few weeks to “get normal.”

I recall taking in a pregnant stray some years back who clearly had not been wormed or had a steady diet of decent food, and her gas and poops were just awful. It took a good while of vet care and good steady food to even her out, plus she gave birth during this period. I’d say after about 3 months she was normal, and I would guess your kitten might take less time since she’s young and not pregnant.

Be patient! You’re doing all the right things for her. She’s just lovely! Keep us posted!

 

[SoftAries]

Hi!
Did the shelter give you vet records stating that this kitten has been wormed before the vet did it? How long ago was she wormed at the vets, did the vet give you a time line on how long to wait if she doesn't respond to treatment? It can sometimes take a little time, and maybe a few rounds of de-worming to get the entire load out of their system. When the wormer is working, the litter box will let you know.
As far as the shelter goes, it's frustrating that kittens are fed what is donated but sometimes it's all the shelter can do, but the whole "raffle" thing is kind of....weird.

I wish I had better records, but I'll attach what they gave me. However from what I'm seeing it doesn't seem that they only gave her what looks like a vaccine?

She was given wormer on Friday, but the vet didn't give much info (we usually go to a much better one but she's around an hour away from us and it was a bit of emergency).

I checked her poop today and while it was quite large and hard, I didn't see any worms in it. We also didn't get the call back from the vet office. They had said after they took her fecal sample they would call us if they find anything. So I guess that's good news.

Keets looks less bloated again this morning by the way, I'm hoping the probiotics are helping. I'm thinking of giving her some miralax for that hard poop though.

But yeah, I definitely can appreciate that they give what they can get when they run off donations. I didn't give them a hard time about it when they told me, but I definitely don't feel the greatest about the raffle either, many reviewers feel the same it looks like. The other shelter lets you foster to adopt if they are too young. I'm grateful I won though, there's something special about her.

 

[SoftAries]

I agree that you should feed smaller amounts of kitten wet food more often — up to 6 times a day. See that dry kitten food and water are available 24/7, and then just give her time. A kitten in her high stress situation (at the shelter) and being fed various foods, might need a few weeks to “get normal.”

I recall taking in a pregnant stray some years back who clearly had not been wormed or had a steady diet of decent food, and her gas and poops were just awful. It took a good while of vet care and good steady food to even her out, plus she gave birth during this period. I’d say after about 3 months she was normal, and I would guess your kitten might take less time since she’s young and not pregnant.

Be patient! You’re doing all the right things for her. She’s just lovely! Keep us posted!

I'm so sorry this is in multiple posts, I'm not sure how to quote reply all at once

Thank you so much for your advice.

Yes I definitely feel like the smaller portions is a great piece of advice, thanks to Cat McCannon for the suggestion, she's looking better bloat wise already.
Thank you for the details!
Sheba portions are a bit tricky, do you know how I'd appropriately portion it for her? They say to give a whole portion of Sheba each serving, 7 times a day, but I don't think she can eat that much in one go, and that also seems like a lot?

And aww, poor momma cat! But I'm glad things do get better. I was semi prepared for this, so I'm up for the job of caring for and getting her regular.

 

[StefanZ]

You had got good advices, and good you were to the vet for deworming, looking for parasites, and getting her probitics....
That would be my suggestion too, btw.. What probiotics did you got?

BeneBac by PetAg has good reputation, but there are surely other too.
If being tight on budget, kefir or full fat youghurt works OK too.

Two advices.
You can try with simethicone, the same as is used for children with gas problems. (brand name may vary). 2-3 drops at a time.

Also, goats milk is always a good supplement, and easily digested... HERE I would recommend RAW goats milk, even if its pricey... Frozen raw goats milk is a little cheaper. Walmart may have it. Raw goats milk is sometimes used as remedy for problems with digestion...

 

[SoftAries]

You had got good advices, and good you were to the vet for deworming, looking for parasites, and getting her probitics....
That would be my suggestion too, btw.. What probiotics did you got?

BeneBac by PetAg has good reputation, but there are surely other too.
If being tight on budget, kefir or full fat youghurt works OK too.

Two advices.
You can try with simethicone, the same as is used for children with gas problems. (brand name may vary). 2-3 drops at a time.

Also, goats milk is always a good supplement, and easily digested... HERE I would recommend RAW goats milk, even if its pricey... Frozen raw goats milk is a little cheaper. Walmart may have it. Raw goats milk is sometimes used as remedy for problems with digestion...

Thank you so much! Lots of great information.

Unfortunately the vet didn't tell me what kind of probiotic it was, but I did order FotiFlora recently that I'm waiting on to be delivered currently.

I'm grateful that I have experience somewhat with kittens that are sick so I knew what to ask for queen I got there. I also have an elderly cat that I feed goat milk to daily that I get from walmart, so that's actually available in my fridge right now as well.

She's super active today, so I think everything is helping 🥹

 

[iPappy]

Thank you so much! Lots of great information.

Unfortunately the vet didn't tell me what kind of probiotic it was, but I did order FotiFlora recently that I'm waiting on to be delivered currently.

I'm grateful that I have experience somewhat with kittens that are sick so I knew what to ask for queen I got there. I also have an elderly cat that I feed goat milk to daily that I get from walmart, so that's actually available in my fridge right now as well.

She's super active today, so I think everything is helping 🥹

I'm glad she's being active!! Enjoy the kitten antics. I've had kitten fever forever!

 

[SoftAries]

Update on little bitsy Keetsie, she pooped again! Although it's some really large/dry stools. Regularity in the litter box could really improve, hopefully as time goes. Bloating is getting better, but comes and goes still.

I've got her on more frequent feeds of 1.32 oz Sheba portions 4 times a day now (I don't have a slow feeder, so I pick up her bowl every so often so she isn't scarfing the whole portion at the speed of sound ) along with extra kibbles in a puzzle feeder that's out as free feed, thankfully her adoptie sister is a little less interested in them than her so there is often something to free feed on. It turns out she's quite the eater! Which is good, especially as summer started so hot, they need all the wet they can get.

She's also improved activity wise leaps and bounds. Quite a hyper little girl now definitely gives tabby girl Kaiya a run for her money.

 

[iPappy]

Update on little bitsy Keetsie, she pooped again! Although it's some really large/dry stools. Regularity in the litter box could really improve, hopefully as time goes. Bloating is getting better, but comes and goes still.

I've got her on more frequent feeds of 1.32 oz Sheba portions 4 times a day now (I don't have a slow feeder, so I pick up her bowl every so often so she isn't scarfing the whole portion at the speed of sound ) along with extra kibbles in a puzzle feeder that's out as free feed, thankfully her adoptie sister is a little less interested in them than her so there is often something to free feed on. It turns out she's quite the eater! Which is good, especially as summer started so hot, they need all the wet they can get.

She's also improved activity wise leaps and bounds. Quite a hyper little girl now definitely gives tabby girl Kaiya a run for her money.

This is very encouraging! You're doing a great job with her The fact that she's playing and racing around is great, because laying around can make constipation problems worse.

 

[Sarthur2]

Try adding a teaspoon of water to each wet food feeding. It’s not much, but over the course of a day will definitely add to her hydration. Sounds like she’s doing really well — kudos!

 

[SoftAries]

Thank you both! She's been improving leaps and bounds! I've been busy with them and chickens in this heat, so my updates have suffered.

Movement is indeed what has helped her greatly. Her sister keeps her running when I don't. I think the probiotics are really helping too.

She's now pooping more regularly, very very active, and most importantly, she's growing! I can see the change even.
Things are looking up

 

[iPappy]

Thank you both! She's been improving leaps and bounds! I've been busy with them and chickens in this heat, so my updates have suffered.

Movement is indeed what has helped her greatly. Her sister keeps her running when I don't. I think the probiotics are really helping too.

She's now pooping more regularly, very very active, and most importantly, she's growing! I can see the change even.
Things are looking up

Oh my, that is definitely a difference in growth!! She looks so happy and content, TYSM for the update You've done incredible with her!
(Also, my Mom has chickens too and they definitely keep you running when it's extremely hot out!)

 

[Mighty Orange]

My what a cutie that is.

 

[SoftAries]

Oh my, that is definitely a difference in growth!! She looks so happy and content, TYSM for the update You've done incredible with her!
(Also, my Mom has chickens too and they definitely keep you running when it's extremely hot out!)

She's doing better than I had hoped. That's for sure. Thank you so much for your compliment!

I'm thinking any updates from here on out might just be a little visual updates as I have a feeling she's just going to keep getting better as the days go on.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

(I don't have a slow feeder, so I pick up her bowl every so often so she isn't scarfing the whole portion at the speed of sound )

With her wet food you can take a spoon and smash it on the sides and bottom of the bowl it should slow her down considerably

Try adding a teaspoon of water to each wet food feeding. It’s not much, but over the course of a day will definitely add to her hydration. Sounds like she’s doing really well

And this is really good advice as well.
You are doing a great job those kittens are lucky to have you!! Keep up the great work. You got this.

 

[SoftAries]

With her wet food you can take a spoon and smash it on the sides and bottom of the bowl it should slow her down considerably

And this is really good advice as well.
You are doing a great job those kittens are lucky to have you!! Keep up the great work. You got this.

All of this made SUCH a difference!!! I'm so grateful for the immense help I received. And I appreciate you saying that I love being a cat mom

I'm back to report that after everyone's help she's doing amazing now! We took it very slow, but she is on 4x a day feeds along with a puzzle feeder that's out 24/7 now that she's calmed down on scarfing food, and she no longer bloats, is insanely active, and most importantly, has grown so much, she's actually gotten much bigger than her adopted sister, which surprised me!! Her personality has blossomed too, she's a goofy, but sweet little welcome wagon.

Here's some new pictures of little Keetsie