Pregnant Stray has Loose Stool and Can't clean herself

[makeitagood1]

Hi there,

I've been looking after a pregnant stray for about 4 weeks now and I'd love some help identifying signs of distress. I'll likely have questions when labor comes too, so I figured I'd start a thread now and keep using it. Thank you!

Date	Stool Details	Other Details
Mar 14	Solid stool from now till next date. 3 or 4 BMs (Bowel Movements) per day.	She followed my partner home, very affectionate and very hungry. Gave her flea meds and food.
Mar 17	Solid stool.	Took her to shelter, set her up to be a foster cat. Vet gave her rabies vaccine and dewormer.
Mar 20	Soft stool started. Did not see any worms.	No changes in diet since Mar 14. Kitten movement is visible.
Mar 23	Still has soft stool. Strands of mucus and blood at the end. 6+ BMs a day.	Shelter vet recommends Fortiflora. After looking at her behind, notice some white-ish discharge around the vulva.
Mar 24	I was present for a BM-- it was very audibly wet! She grunts and strains at the end-- this habit persists.	Start Fortiflora (vet version). She has dried stool stuck to her behind, so we apply a dry shampoo made for cats.
Mar 25	Soft stool, still has blood. 5 to 6 BMs a day.	Removed additional stool. She was relatively okay with it. Identified one piece that seemed weirdly green. Removed that piece and smushed it (I took a picture)-- maybe a mucus plug?
Mar 26-29	Still very wet stool, still grunting and straining; bloodiness decreases, but stool dries to be very dark. 4 to 5 BMs a day.	Forgot a couple of doses of Fortiflora. With each BM, she walks away from the litter box, sits as if to clean herself, then looks at me and meows pathetically. Her stomach gurgles loudly.
Mar 30	Stool continues to get stuck there. Still soft. 3 or 4 BMs a day.	She is VERY unhappy about any movement of the hair near her behind. I trim with scissor instead, avoiding the actual rectum/vulva. I avoid stressing her out (too much), so it takes ages.
Mar 31-Apr 1	Still soft. 3 or 4 BMs a day.	We start using a syringe (non-needle type) to squirt water at her behind. She's more okay with this, but still very cranky. Took pictures of her behind to try to see if there's any vaginal discharge. Lots of very dark dried pieces around both rectum and vulva. Seems more like diarrhea than vaginal discharge? Whole area is very red.
Apr 2	Sort of solid poop!	But no kittens. But she finally shows an interest in dark, enclosed spaces. Haven't taken a look at her behind yet, don't want to stress her out if she's close to labor.

I've been in contact with the foster coordinator, but they're pretty slammed right now (understandably), and so I'm hesitant to push too much. We've never cared for a pregnant cat before, so I'm sure some amount of this worry comes from hyper-vigilance and inexperience!

 

[StefanZ]

If she takes, you can give kefir or mild youghurt. It too contains probiotic bacteria, and also - quite a lot of calcium...

These dark dry out MAY be blood colored discharge... They become blackish when dried out. As long its not living blood, its fairly normal.

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like she may have another week or so to go in her pregnancy. What are you feeding and how often?

Pregnant cats need wet food 3X/day plus dry food 24/7 (preferably kitten chow), fresh water, and a dish or two a day of kitten formula to drink for extra calcium. Calcium helps with stronger labor, and also builds reserves cats need to nurse. She needs kitten formula daily through her nursing days.

She is a beautiful orange kitty and thank you for fostering her. We are here for all your questions through the process.

 

[Sarthur2]

Just to add to my above post, it sounds like her poops are getting better. It may be the result of the change in her diet. Diet changes take time. I took in a pregnant stray some years ago and her poops were very smelly and different consistencies. As she adjusted to the diet in my household, her poops grew less smelly and more solid. She never had blood though.

Stools with blood often indicate infection or irritation in the intestines, and sometimes mean parasites are present. A round of metronidazole usually cures this.

However, it can also mean just diet changes, and for this I recommend Forti Flora probiotics (vets recommend this too) sprinkled daily into her wet food to re-establish healthy gut flora. Often this cures the problem.

If it does not, then a round of metronidazole will usually solve the problem. Metronidazole is prescription, but cures parasites and intestinal bacterial infection that probiotics will not cure. Usually cures bloody stools, diarrhea, and parasites. See what works and move forward. Mom CAN pass on parasites to unborn kittens, which will manifest in them within a couple weeks of being born, and can be fatal.

 

[makeitagood1]

Thank you both so much!!! I'm excited to report that the first kitten arrived sometime in the last two hours (probably when I was walking the dog, because he would've lost his mind if he heard her!)!

I'll post photos in a bit-- not sure how many she'll give birth to, but I don't want to be too invasive during the process.

The blood in stool makes sense-- it had a fairly distinct meaty smell. There wasn't any fresh blood, so we tried not to stress too much about it, and the really dark (dried) stools stopped before yesterday. I think the yogurt is a great idea, I'll offer it to her in a little bit.

The fortiflora seems to have helped, but she just finished her 1 week course of the rx packets. Stool is still a little looser than ideal, but it's held some of it's shape.

We've given her some wet food every few days (not ideal, I realize). She has 24/7 access to dry food and loves the stuff. She also has 24/7 access to fresh water, which she drinks very often. We'll switch her over to daily wet food now to help her keep up with the breastfeeding demands.

I'll weigh the kitten(s) in a few hours. Mama hasn't come out of her nest yet and I want to make sure it stays a safe space for her.

 

[makeitagood1]

Update:

6 kittens, as of 10 minutes ago! Unfortunately, she doesn't seem as interested in the 6th kitten. Any suggestions?

Context:
She gave birth to #1-5 by 2:30p.

At close to 6p, I heard her yowl and gave it a few minutes before heading into the room to see if she gave birth to a sixth. She was not really cleaning her behind, but was very affectionate with me! I did a headcount and saw 4, so I reached behind her back to see if #5 was there. Instead, there was a very wet newcomer!

Mama grumbled a bit when I tried to move the kitten, so I figured the placenta hadn't passed yet and backed off. Then mama followed me out of the nest, and #6 was dangling behind her. I spritzed the nearby scissor with isopropyl, wiped it down, and cut the cord while mama curled around my legs, still grumbling.

Mama immediately went back into the crate, leaving the baby out there. She then passed the placenta.

I picked up #6 with a paper towel and immediately put her with mama, trying to put it towards her rear. No interest from mama, so I moved kitty closer (still no interest), and then (this is the questionable step) moved the placent over to #6 and put them right next to each other. Mama showed some interest in licking the placenta, so my hope is that she just didn't really recognize #6. Since then, I left the room in the hopes that they would bond without me distracting the very affectionate mama.

If it's not a recognition issue, I'm considering two possibilities: (1) mama realized that there was something wrong with the baby and had rejected it, or (2) mama was tired from the first 5 babies and couldn't muster up a second wind to tend to #6.

Any thoughts?

Also, here's a pic of mama with #1-5 (taken earlier today). They're all so precious!

 

[Sarthur2]

Mama was just tired and does not need to eat 6 placentas! It can be removed and disposed of if it’s still there. Too many placentas eaten can result in diarrhea. Is the baby cleaned up and warm? If not, do it yourself. 6 kittens is a big litter.

Get weights and make sure ALL 6 are getting nipple time. If not, you may need to supplement a kitten or two by hand 2-3 times daily.

 

[makeitagood1]

Updates-- 6th is accepted! Turns out mama cat was actually just experiencing contractions again, because as soon as I posted this and went to check on her, 7th had appeared! A ginger, just like her.

Babies are all thriving and gaining weight. We've weighed them twice daily so far, and will switch to daily weighings soon. The black kitten is a bit behind all the others though, so we'll be monitoring them.

We purchased kitten formula as a just in case and are planning to prepare it for mama cat in a shallow bowl. She's quite skinny now that the babies are out, so much so that I can feel her spine and ribcage. We knew she was on the skinnier side before based on spine, but now that she's breastfeeding, is it possible that 7 kittens are just too many?

 

[fionasmom]

6 kittens is a big litter.

It is a big litter and mama needs nutritional support. The biggest feral litter I ever had was 5, but a couple moms only ever had 2.

Advice for a large litter - 9 kittens!
This is an older, long thread that has a lot of advice included in it.

How to Care for a Mama Cat & Kittens — Kitten Lady

so we'll be monitoring them.

Watch to make sure that everyone is getting enough to eat, gaining weight, etc.

 

[Umerwhat]

With that many kittens in a litter, I very much advise having Miracle Nipples on hand in case supplementing is necessary. They're much better than the typical ones sold in stores.

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh dear, seven is a huge litter. There is bound to be a runt or two. They may need hand supplementing if they are not getting adequate nipple time. You’ve been given a link to a family I helped before, but she had way more than 7. The same principles apply.

The bottom line is every kitten needs to gain and if they are not, they need supplementing.

Kittens can be rotated in groups of 3 and 4 every 2-4 hours. Three big ones on and then four littles on with the others nearby in a warm box.

Let is know what you need help with and we are here to help!