3 week old – Diarrhea & swollen anus

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  • 22 April, 2016 at 1:05 am #846316
    Calcifer
    Participant

    My 3-week-old (almost 4 week) kitten was having bloody diarrhea. The vet put him on a low dose of an anti-diarrheal which he took for a week and the problem stopped. For three days he had healthy stool once a day. But the problem now is that for the past 2 days he has been having diarrhea as we are in the process of trying to wean him off of formula. There’s no blood, but is happening more frequently with each day that passes, with no stimulation. Afterwards he shakes for a minute until we can get him to relax. It seems to happen nearly every time he wakes up, as well as a few minutes after he eats. There are no other signs that something is wrong – no lethargy, definitely no loss of appetite as he seems constantly hungry, and he’s hydrated. His anus is now swollen and red and he cries loudly and scratches his own face when we are cleaning him (as gently as possible) after each bout of diarrhea.

    Could this be from overfeeding or too much water?

    Is it true that Vaseline will help with the irritation?

    This is our first time raising a kitten (we rescued him at about 1 week old) and we are very worried. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

    22 April, 2016 at 2:25 am #846325
    CatWScotia
    Participant

    Hi Calcifer! First of all, I must tell you that I am NOT an expert on hand-rearing kittens. I have never had to do that particular job. However, there are others here at TDK who have been doing just that for a long time and have plenty of experience.

    I think for now, you might get some advice and help from reading some suggestions that have been given to other foster parents having similar problems to yours. I found this thread that is quite recent, and has links to other places where you might find some more useful info.

    Goat's Milk or Kitten Formula?

    I hope this will help for now – but do come back soon, because the others will come online before too long, and they will want to help you too.

    Best of luck!

    22 April, 2016 at 2:35 am #846326
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    Awww poor little Calcifer. You can put vaseline on his bottom, Neosporin ointment or something that you would put on a baby’s bottom like Desitin. Just a little to help protect the skin and to help it heal. I’m sure it’s raw feeling right now which is why he is so upset when you rub on it to stimulate or clean him.
    If he is only a little over 4 weeks old, he is way to young to be weaning. Kittens aren’t fully weaned until 8 to 10 weeks old, and I would probably be introducing wet food at about 5 weeks. Get goat’s milk because it’s full of probiotics for his gut, which he will need and it contains l-lysine which is an immune system booster. You can make a gruel with the wet food/goat’s milk mix and feed to him. I know you have posted before, but can’t remember if I recommended the goat’s milk and where you can find it or if you are using it already. It’s in the cold milk section of the grocery, or in the baking aisle in cans. The canned is condensed so add water 1 to 1.
    Also, he may have coccidia or giardia, which is a one celled parasite UNLIKE regular worms that most kittens almost always have. You could have the vet test him for parasites and also for the one celled ones, but they require different medications. I don’t know exactly what age your kitten is, but when he is old enough the vet should know what medications to give.
    http://petcha.com/pet_care/dealing-with-kitten-diarrhea/

    22 April, 2016 at 4:50 am #846336
    Calcifer
    Participant

    Thank you both so much for the helpful links & advice!

    I have posted before about Calcifer, however this site is proving a bit difficult for me to figure out on my phone so I was unable to find that same thread from before to post on again, so I apologize for the repetition.

    Calcifer loved goats milk and the Vaseline helped his bottom. (:

    I’ll have to wait and see what happens with his stool but I’ll post an update!

    Thank you again!!

    22 April, 2016 at 2:15 pm #846340
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    Yes, I agree about navigating this site from a phone! And please do keep us updated on your little one–wishing the best for him and you!

    24 April, 2016 at 1:07 am #846416
    Calcifer
    Participant

    No more diarrhea! Goats milk IS a “miracle food.” Thank you so so much for the recommendation!
    Only one bowel movement since we added the goats milk but it was a healthy one.

    I do have a few more questions.
    I can’t seem to find this on any website. Now that he is 4 weeks do we need to feed him around the clock or is it safe to let him sleep 6 or so hours throughout the night?

    A friend of ours has kittens that our about 3 weeks younger than Calcifer, and we are interested in adopting one when they’re ready. We’re always happy to be in the company of cats, and this way Calcifer will have a companion all the time. There is one boy and one girl available. What do we need to consider when deciding which gender to choose?

    Thank you very much! (:

    24 April, 2016 at 1:46 am #846419
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    I will post 2 links that are my ‘go-tos’ about raising kittens. These sites are FULL of info on hand rearing and will answer almost all questions you can ever think of. They also contain guidelines on approximately how often you can feed your kitten and how much. SO GLAD to hear that the goat’s milk worked! I agree it is a miracle food!
    http://www.safehavenforcats.com/newborn.htm
    http://messybeast.com/handrear.htm

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