Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello everyone!  I just joined this website and this is my first post.

My name is Alex and I am currently on my 25th neonatal foster kitten. My new kitten is 3 weeks old and before she came to me 72 hours ago, I was told she was with a less-experienced foster who just noticed that she had not defecated "in a while".  I asked how long that was, and no one knew.

Since having this baby, I have been stimulating her every 4 hours.  She is urinating and defecating each time, and the stools she is producing are HUGE (the first was about thee width of a black olive, and as long as a tennis ball and I had to help pick it out with my fingernail).  She has defecated approximately 12+ times since I have had her, and yet the stools are never getting smaller than 4-5 inches long, and about 3-4 mm in width.  This is more stool than I have ever seen come out of a neonatal kitten.   My question is, how should I best treat this constipation and constant defecation?  Am I stimulating her too often (her anus is red and swollen, though I'm extremely gentle) or should I do it more often because of the sheer volume of stool I am getting out of her? Should I help her defecate by gently squeezing each side of her rectum, or should I let her push it out, even if it takes 5-10 minutes and is very painful for her?   She is currently eating about 20ml of KMR daily, via syringe, and about 3 tbsp per day of gruel (KMR mixed with canned kitten food) on her own. I am giving her 5ml of SQ LRS per day. She is eating and playing like a normal kitten and she is happy.

Thank you so much!  I don't know who to reach out to because this humane society is very slow to respond. I have never dealt with constipation/backed up stool in a 3 week old before.   Thanks!

Hi Alex,      

     Stop the "gruel" of canned food !!!! 3 weeks is too young for that ! The solid food is not digested properly, because she still has the intestinal bacteria to only digest "Milk", because her intestines are not mature enough yet. Instead, feed her all the  KMR, she wants, but add extra water to it for 3-5 days. (Constipation means she CAN'T poop. She's not constipated !)  If you're using the powdered KMR, mix one scoop KMR with "3" scoops water (instead of 2)! If you're using the canned liquid KMR, add about a third extra water. She's probably dehydrated, and the extra water will help thin down her poop, so that it's smaller and more comfortable for her to go. Also, put a small plastic container in with her, with just Regular, Clay NON-clumping litter. She's probably old enough to not need "stimulating" any more. I use a square or rectangular plastic storage bowl, so it's low enough for her to climb into. Never use "Scoopable" litter, as babies tend to eat it and it turns to cement in their tummies and intestines! Only UN-scoopable ! You could also use UN-flavored Pedialyte to add to her formula, instead of the water. She shouldn't start solid food till 5-6 weeks old. 

      Just saw you're giving 5cc LR ... Injecting under her skin ? You could use that in her formula, instead of extra water or Pedialyte. After a day or two, her system should straighten out pretty good. If not, she may have an intestinal infection, or coccidia, or something along those lines.???  Have you given her worm meds yet ? You can bet they're born with them, and it's ALWAYS best to give them Pyrantel Pamoate as soon as you get them home, (for roundworms and hookworms) then again in 10 days ! They are never too young for this ! And when they're about 4 weeks old make sure you give her Praziquantel too (for tapeworms)!

Thank you!  I saw this last night and stopped the gruel completely and am giving her only the bottle.  She's not excited about it, but she's eating it.  I am giving her 5ml SQ LRS under the skin.  I've never given it orally before, I didn't even know that was an option!

I don't know about her deworming at all.  I'm actually pretty frustrated.  I am a foster for the Michigan Humane Society in Lansing and they have not returned my calls or emails since Friday when I got her. I've updated them on her status on Saturday and yesterday and asked questions about deworming and how many ml fluids to give, but no response in 4 days now...