Loose stools in nursing mother

[Carol houston]

So happy to have found this site. I have a feral cat I'd been feeding who I captured and took inside in June after she brought her first batch of 5 kittens up to my house to be fed. Unfortunately, I didn't get them inside soon enough before she became pregnant again. She had 9 kittens a month ago, but one never nursed and I think would have had some deformities. She now loves to be petted and the kittens had all been doing well. Some now are a little thinner as they are more active and I opened up the whole bedroom to them as they were starting to climb out of their smaller area. Mom has always had somewhat looser stools, but they are massive and more recently consistently loose. All the advice for feeding nursing moms says give them kitten food which I have, both free feeding dry and wet. The first set of kittens all went to the vet and had no parasites or health conditions. Mom seems really healthy, and now is a little thinner, but nursing 8 is a lot. Should I switch to regular cat food for mom as the kitten food might be too rich for her causing the loose stools? Any suggestions? I've started giving the kittens wet kitten food mixed with a little water. Some eat a little on their own, others not much yet. Would it be ok to give them wet food mixed with supplemental formula 3 to 1 ratio or will they stop nursing their mom if I do that? I'm just concerned that mom's fluid is leaving with the stool rather than in the milk. I don't want to take her to the vet unless I have to as I've finally been able to pet and hold her but it's taken 8 months to even be able to touch her and only since she's had this last batch of kittens has she become such a loving cat wanting to be petted and held. I can't imagine how stressful it will be for her to go to the vet. She's such a good mom, but I am concerned about her stools and how best to get the kittens to eat to keep their weight up. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[StefanZ]

I would suggest to begin with probiotics... BeneBac is good... Or even, Kefir or a mild Youghurt. If you find youghurt with added intestine bacterias its even better...
Raw goat milk may help too. Pricey, but a good supplement, and has some healthy properties.

both goats milk and youghurt are also good as calcium source.



Your ideas for the kittens, to relieve the pressure on momma, sounds good....

If you dont have bought kmr as yet, you can use here too goats milk. Its not better but cheaper. HERE as supplement for the kittens, you can use a more common brand, you dont need to use the costly raw goats milk.

 

[StefanZ]

Ps. As her loose stools are watery, she needs more electrolytes, ie salts... Perhaps a flavorless pedialyte as her water source? Or a good minerale water.... You let the gas out, and have a nice salt source.... You see on the bottle if and how much it contain of different salts.

Or even sprinkle a shade of minerale salt on her food... Not too much, you dont want to change the taste too much...

 

[Sarthur2]

I think offering the kittens formula mixed with the wet food is a good idea. It will not keep them from nursing mom, but it may help to ease her load some. Ideally, by 8 weeks (if not sooner) the kittens will be eating soft food and kitten chow anyway.

I agree with StefanZ regarding mixing probiotics into mom’s food. I also think giving mom adult cat food, yogurt, boiled shredded chicken (no spices except salt), and scrambled egg may help her system.

It would seem that nursing 8 kittens is stressful and eating rich kitten food has perhaps caught up to her. It also may be that mom needs to see the vet if things don’t improve soon. She may need an antibiotic for intestinal bacterial infection.

C Carol houston

 

[Carol houston]

I would suggest to begin with probiotics... BeneBac is good... Or even, Kefir or a mild Youghurt. If you find youghurt with added intestine bacterias its even better...
Raw goat milk may help too. Pricey, but a good supplement, and has some healthy properties.

both goats milk and youghurt are also good as calcium source.



Your ideas for the kittens, to relieve the pressure on momma, sounds good....

If you dont have bought kmr as yet, you can use here too goats milk. Its not better but cheaper. HERE as supplement for the kittens, you can use a more common brand, you dont need to use the costly raw goats milk.

Thank you for your reply. I'll try the probiotic. I do have a powered milk replacement already, but I might be able to get goat's milk where I live. Should I change from feeding mom the kitten food to a good brand of cat food (I have Weruva and Lotus on hand) at least until her stools normalize or just do the probiotic with the kitten food? Thank you!

 

[Sarthur2]

See my Post #4. Changing her diet is certainly worth a try.

 

[Carol houston]

I think offering the kittens formula mixed with the wet food is a good idea. It will not keep them from nursing mom, but it may help to ease her load some. Ideally, by 8 weeks (if not sooner) the kittens will be eating soft food and kitten chow anyway.

I agree with StefanZ regarding mixing probiotics into mom’s food. I also think giving mom adult cat food, yogurt, boiled shredded chicken (no spices except salt), and scrambled egg may help her system.

It would seem that nursing 8 kittens is stressful and eating rich kitten food has perhaps caught up to her. It also may be that mom needs to see the vet if things don’t improve soon. She may need an antibiotic for intestinal bacterial infection.

Thank you for your reply. I'll try the probiotic and chicken and egg, too. I had just gotten some baked chicken today and was considering giving her some, but have never given her anything other than cat food before. I'll try regular cat food, probiotics and chicken and egg, too. If I don't see an improvement, I will take her to the vet. She will need to go anyway to be spayed after the kittens are all weaned and at least now she can be handled. I just want to try to make any changes first that might solve her problem before I cause her all that stress. Even though my vet hasn't seen her yet, she may examine a fecal sample for me. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Carol houston]

Ps. As her loose stools are watery, she needs more electrolytes, ie salts... Perhaps a flavorless pedialyte as her water source? Or a good minerale water.... You let the gas out, and have a nice salt source.... You see on the bottle if and how much it contain of different salts.

Or even sprinkle a shade of minerale salt on her food... Not too much, you dont want to change the taste too much...

I can get a bottle of pedialyte if that would help. Her stools aren't watery, though. She doesn't have diarrhea. They are massive (I'm sure because I feed her as much as she'll eat) and have the consistency like mashed potatoes. Thank you!

 

[Sarthur2]

I thought is was diarrhea also. The soft stool like mashed potatoes is likely either from rich food, or she may have an intestinal bacterial or parasite infection. If her stool does not improve by changing her diet, I agree with you that taking a stool sample to the vet is warranted.

 

[StefanZ]

Thank you for your reply. I'll try the probiotic. I do have a powered milk replacement already, but I might be able to get goat's milk where I live. Should I change from feeding mom the kitten food to a good brand of cat food (I have Weruva and Lotus on hand) at least until her stools normalize or just do the probiotic with the kitten food? Thank you!

Kitten food or good quality regular food? Honestly, Im not entirely sure. Because she really needa the nutrition, because the kittens take a lot of resources from her at this point... And Im not sure its the kitten food causing her rare stools.
IF you, with your research found kitten food may cause rare stool, yes you can try to change, especially as you begin to give kittens alternative foods.

But continue with giving the probiotics, as this MAY be the difference, and cant hurt.

 

[savannahjansson]

It's wonderful that you're caring for this feral mom and her kittens. Loose stools in nursing moms can sometimes be related to the richness of kitten food. Switching to regular cat food might help with her digestive issues.

For the kittens, mixing wet food with supplemental formula can be a good idea to ensure they're getting enough nutrients. It's unlikely they'll stop nursing entirely if you do this, but continue offering Mom's milk as well to maintain her bond with them.

Keep monitoring their health and weight, and if you notice any alarming changes or if Mom's condition worsens, it might be best to consult a vet. Your patience and care have already made a big difference for this feral cat family!

 

[StefanZ]

One thing more... As they begin to eat normal food, their poo changes... And mom is probably not longer willing to lick off and eat up their poo...
So, begin to learn them to use a litter box.... Preferably non clumping litter. (babies tend to taste on everything, and you dont want clumping litter inside their belly)

 

[di and bob]

She does not have access to any cow's milk products, does she? Like milk, cheese, etc. Some cats are lactose intolerant. goat's milk is OK, i would offer that for her calcium source. The sooner you can get the kittens to eat teh better. I am sure they are draining her. she needs plenty of water available too. I would give her some adult cat food and see how she does.