Kitten - loose stool?

[mollyflood]

Hi catsite people! I am currently fostering a few kittens- I tripped and fell into taking in a couple of abandoned kittens that were left behind at an airforce base (if someone didn't take them in they would have been euthanized) and I plan on rehoming them etc but I want to keep them together while they're still really little. Anyway, they’ve been with me about a week now and are curently about seven weeks old (and are on my computer right now, so please forgive any typos or missspellings)

They had been living at home with a vet from about 3 weeeks or so when the9y wer0e abandoned, and came to stay with me once they had been dewormed and she felt they were stable (they couldn’t stay there indefinitely and I had already volunteered to take them in the second I heard "abandoned kittens" and "put down" in the same sentence). I’m keeping them in my mom’s room, separate from the big cats while I try to gradually introduce them so they can get more socialization otuside of their own little clique.

They are all sweet and high energy and just lovable little nuggets. One of them, however, has had some looser stool than what I’m used to, and someone threw up while I was at work today. Warning: there will be poop description from here on out after this sentence, fyi. There’s no blood or anything alarming of that nature, and it’s not watery, just softer than normal cat poop. She’s still snuggly and high energy and playing with her brother and sister like normal, she eats and drinks normally, and I did a quick dehydration test I saw online (pinch the back of their neck to see if it snaps right back - if it does they’re doing okay hydration wise.) and that was fine. My mom said she thought she may have had a loose stool yesterday, but I didn’t see anything weird when I cleaned out the litterbox yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t until I heard her cry a little before she pooped today that I checked and saw here weirdo poop. I did give them a different blend of wet food this morning - I had ran out of the kitten formula wet and gave them some of the chicken and lobster blend adult cat food of the same brand (wellness) to make sure they were getting some wet today, but I am now realizing that lobster isn't exactly the same kind of safe bland protein source that the kitten formula has (mostly chicken, I believe). I did just call my vet and leave a message about what’s up and to see if she thinks it’s dire (they’re closed now and they open back up at 10) and since her energy level and spirits are so high and she seems to be doing fine I’m not too worried, but I was just wondering if any of you out there in kitty world may have any advice for me? Should I be freaking out or does it seem like she's doing all right for the night?

Thanks so much!

 

[mollyflood]

Also: she sneezes sometimes, but I think that it's like normal "it's dusty under the bed" sneezes. Like I said - her energy is good. She is currently alternating between snuggles, attacking my computer keyboard, wrestling with her sister, and giving me a bath right now. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

So sorry no one responded to you. I'm guessing your Vet responded that everything was fine, but I'm only guessing.

Probably that lobster was the cause, especially since she's acting so normal in every other aspect.  Kittens often end up with lose stools now and again.  Have they been treated for worms?  That is a pretty common issue too.

Thanks for saving them, BTW!!!! 

 

[mollyflood]

I actually haven't heard back from my vet! I'm going to call again on Monday but nothing has changed- she had one poop that was a little more watery than I saw, but that was the only difference. Everything else is pretty stable. I'm guessing it's nothing contagious since neither her brother nor her sister have had this issue, and I'm starting to think it may be a combination of being weaned off of formula a little early (she will frequently hop in my lap, get on her hind legs and knead and suck on my shirt like she's trying to nurse) and the stress of being seven weeks old, having lost mom by 3-4 weeks, being moved to one house and then another, and not having me around all day (somebody's gotta work to get that kitty kibble). Not to mention I have a 4 month old kitten and a 4 year old cat on my own that have been sniffing around the bedroom door, AND I'm just now realizing I did an Epsom salt soak after the lobster and she snuck a few sips of that before I could get it away from her- so there are definitely a few simple, benign reasons she is having tummy trouble, and she doesn't seem dehydrated at all (I do that pinch the neck test every few hours when I'm home) so I'm trying not to worry too much.

I did see something about doing a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice, so I'm going to do that tonight and I may add some pumpkin to it since that is also known to be helpful with poop problems. I may purée it all in a blender and let all three of them eat that for a few days before I start reintroducing regular kitten food in conjunction with the chicken mix. So I'm hoping that may spur some improvement.

And of course- it's going to be so rough sending them to new homes when they're old enough, but I couldn't just let them get put down because some jerk left them by themselves, you know? Even if I'm not the most qualified young-kitten-mom. All of mine have been AT LEAST 10-12 weeks when I got them, so this is definitely uncharted territory. [emoji]128556[/emoji]

 

[mollyflood]

Oh yikes- I am also realizing I don't think I switched them off of the brand of dry they were eating (Friskies) & onto my household brand slowly enough, which would be another reason why itty bitty is having tummy trouble. [emoji]128555[/emoji]

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, all of those things could be factors.  Those others must just have cast iron tummies

This is why I could never foster....I'd NEVER be able to give them up, no matter how many cats I already had. 

 

[mollyflood]

They're all napping on me right now- I'm so sad to know they can't just stay here forever, but five cats would be an awful lot [emoji]128514[/emoji]