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1 week old with bad diarrhea pls help!!!
Home › The Daily Kitten Cat Chat Forum › Purrs › 1 week old with bad diarrhea pls help!!!
Tagged: constipation, diarrhea, glop, newborn, orphans, Pedialyte, poop, triangle method
- This topic has 27 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by
Maria.
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22 November, 2011 at 7:32 am #49136
babejane
ParticipantI found 3 newborn kittens a week ago tonight. They were very cold and no mom in site. Looked like they were abandoned in this field. I took them home, warmed them up and found a milk replacer til I got kmr. I slowely switched formulas and now that they are on straight kmr, one of them has diarrhea very bad. I read that it is from overfeeding. She has a very bloated tummy and keeps crying for food. what do I do? I will be getting pedialyte tomorrow to dilute the kmr but I dont know how much or if this is a good idea to help her? I dont want to lose another one, was devistating enough to lose one the other night. pls help
22 November, 2011 at 10:39 am #706922jcat
ParticipantHi, BJ, thank you for rescuing these little ones. You can make pedialyte at home, I will give you the recipe. I would use it instead of water when you mix the formula, in the same quantity, or you can dilute the formula a little more if you’re thinking it is too rich. Here is the tent test to test for dehydration and the recipe for home-made pedialyte:
Tent test: pick up a good pinch of kitten’s skin at the neck and let go.If it snaps back immediately, she’s hydrated okay. If it takes a little time to go back down, or, worse, it stays up in a ‘tent’ shape, she needs fluids, such as pedialyte (from the supermarket, children’s aisle) or home-made pedialyte below.
Note, in the United Kingdom, pedialyte is called Dioralyte. Also known as rehydration salts.
Home-made pedialyte recipe (from World Health Organization)…no preservatives so short life-span
* 1 cup water (boiled then cooled)
* 2 tsp sugar
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp baking soda
* (this Pedialyte formula gives needed electrolytes & some sugar for energy)
Combine all ingredients and warm slightly.
Make new after 24 hours
22 November, 2011 at 10:41 am #706923ParticipantAlso, these are great kitten-raising sites we like to give to foster mums. Messybeast is brilliant and has a section on diarrhoea:
http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm
http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15
http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml
http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html
http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html
I hope they help too.
22 November, 2011 at 12:34 pm #706924ParticipantThe tent test shows she is a little dehydrated so I put more fluids in the formula and didn’t give her so much. I made the mistake of giving her too much formula last couple days. Since I switched to kmr she developed diarrhea, was very yellow at first now its very watery and almost cottage cheese like and faint yellow turning white. I cant even afford a vet bill right now. I was hoping that the pedialyte or your recipe will work and I was considering switching back to the replacer she had been on previously. The other kitten seems more constipated but a yellowish stool so I gave him a more fluidy formula as well. I’m worried, she is getting weak.
22 November, 2011 at 5:10 pm #706925Mo
ParticipantThere are some kittens that can’t handle KMR because of the ingredients in it. http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/warning-re-animal-milk-replacers.html is an article about why some kitten milk replacers are best avoided.
Here are a few “recipes” you could try instead:
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/what_to_feed.html
http://www.easy-homemade-recipes.com/kitten-milk.html <–I’ve used the recipes on this page, and they worked very well for my kittens.
22 November, 2011 at 8:07 pm #706926ParticipantWe went to the vet but she just said there isn’t anything they can do but give antibiotic that will give her diarrhea anyways and switch the formula to see if she gets better. She is very lethargic now. but is eager to eat still. Not sure what to do but keep an eye on her and feed her a mix of pedialyte and milk replacer with the antibiotic. The vet also said that she has enlarged kidneys. So her chance is even slimmer. Pls keep her in your prayers!!!
22 November, 2011 at 8:54 pm #706927Svdekend
ParticipantWow, I really hope she makes it. She’s definitely in good hands! Sending positive vibes towards you both.
22 November, 2011 at 9:50 pm #706928ParticipantPoor little one. Enlarged kidneys is not good. I would suggest trying goats milk but that’s even richer than KMR. You could try her with kitten glop instead of formula if she keeps getting worse but the kidneys are a worry. Sending you both love and healing energy.
23 November, 2011 at 1:01 am #706929ParticipantShe seems to be doing decent. Not pooing so much but still has diarrhea. Thanks for your responses. I get sickly worried bout them. When I get more money I will try that kitten glop sounds interesting. The male has enlarged kidneys as well but not as bad as she does. I noticed on other forums that plain yogurt can be a probiotic mixed with the replacer? I have gradually switched them both back to Hartz precision nutrition milk replacer which seemed to work really well before. I’m not really sure where to find goats milk around here but I will keep my eye open for it. I did consider that at one point in time. her back end is swollen and saw that vegetable oil can help if you dont have olive oil? Im having a difficult time with the male now, he seems to not want to go like its hurting him..I tried vegetable oil in the formula and got very little out of him..
23 November, 2011 at 2:09 am #706930ParticipantBabeJane – your profile says you live in Washington. By that do you mean Washington DC or Washington State? I’m from Northwest Washington state, so know of some places to get goat milk where I live. Grace Harbor Farms and St. John Creamery are the two goat farms around here that I can think of.
http://www.realmilk.com/where5.html#wa has a list of farms in WA state that sell “real milk” – you need to read the description to see whether that be cow or goat milk.
23 November, 2011 at 11:56 am #706931ParticipantThat is good to know, I live in south east Washington in Prossser. My male wont poo. he wont even try. covers himself with his tail and keeps crying. she didn’t go much either yesterday. with him not at all. does castor oil work?
23 November, 2011 at 11:05 pm #706932ParticipantNOOOOOOO! Castor oil is not good for cats, it can cause serious diarrhoea and vomiting in kittens which dehydrates them very quickly and can be very dangerous.
Hartz formula does seem to be a bit constipating from what I’ve read from users on here (in fact all powder formulas seem to constipate them a bit). That said, kittens don’t need to poop every day. I would stick with a few drops of vegetable oil (canola or rice bran or soya bean or olive etc) added to their formula OR additional water or pedialyte. Giving them a little plain yoghurt is also a good idea. But to be honest, with their enlarged kidneys, I would want to consult with the vet about the constipation, he may be able to help. There is also additional information on the poop and constipation threads and there is the triangle method to help stimulate them.
24 November, 2011 at 5:51 pm #706933ParticipantThats good to know thanks. I am diluting the formula with pedialyte. The vet wasnt really helpful when I went in the first time. she just wished me luck and sent me on my way and told me that it would be a miracle if she survives. But she is doing great now, learning how to play a lot and their eyes are slowely opening. I’m glad they dont have to go everyday, he seems to not want to. I will look at more forums about stimulating them. He hates it when I try and cries more. he has been crying a lot, maybe teething since he grabs ahold of me with his nails and bites down on my finger. Sadly on one of the sites I was directed to said use castor oil. I used a tiny drop cuz I wasn’t sure and didn’t seem to work.
24 November, 2011 at 10:29 pm #706934ParticipantA tiny drop of castor oil probably won’t do any harm but it’s not a good idea on the whole. If constipation continues to be a problem, you can also try straining the formula before you give it to them, switching to the canned already-made-up formula, switching to kitten glop or switching to goats milk, as I said before, but the last two are likely to be even richer. Still, kitten might do better on them. I’m told you can get canned goats milk in the baking aisle at Walmart, btw. Here is the triangle method, in case that helps:
25 November, 2011 at 4:51 am #706935ParticipantThanks, as soon as I watched that he went on his own. I dont think it was all of it but I know he is feeling much better. Its nice to finally see two happy kittens now. Thanks for your support jcat. The hartz is an already made. I’m almost out of it and I will go looking for goats milk, or try the glop. It seems these two are sensitive to formula. She is still teetering from solid to diarrhea and back. I havent gotten the triangle method down yet but I will figure it out. I wish these kittens were as calm as that kitten in the video <laughin> When do kittens grow out of the danger zone?
25 November, 2011 at 11:04 am #706936ParticipantWell, once they start eating solids (wet canned kitten food), you can heave one sigh of relief, things get a lot easier and they get a lot solider but 12 weeks is when they’re usually fairly healthy and robust, that’s the age at which they’re old enough to go to a new home on their own from a foster home or shelter, start their vaccinations, etc. Five months is even better, that’s when you can more or less relax… You are doing an amazing job, it may take a bit of tweaking till you find the food they’re happiest on but as long as they’re putting on weight, not losing it, you’re doing great!
26 November, 2011 at 3:14 am #706937ParticipantThats nice to know 🙂 I have finally switched them to kitten glop with goats milk today. They fight me over it. I tell them they are done and they still want to feed and they wont stop throwing a fit til they get more. lol apparently they really like it. Thanks for that. Do they have issues on constipation with the glop or diarrhea? they go a tiny bit every now and then but they haven’t had it enough to actually go. Im hoping he will finally go normally instead of fighting me so much.
26 November, 2011 at 8:10 am #706938ParticipantThat’s wonderful that they really like it! It may be a bit richer than the KMR so you may find diarrhoea is a problem but let’s really hope not! It may reassure you to keep a record of their weight, if they’re gaining, you’re really doing well.
26 November, 2011 at 6:26 pm #706939ParticipantI dont have anything to weigh them with but I can tell in the last week and a half I have had them, they have the least doubled their size. No diarrhea yet. Still waiting for them to really go. But They seem more satisfied and quieter, purr like crazy :). Also their eyes finally opened up too
27 November, 2011 at 12:59 am #706940ParticipantAwwwwww 🙂 Nothing like the purr of a satisfied kitten.
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