10 day old orphaned kitten – constipated, advice??

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  • #24525
    TaraRose
    Participant

    Hello all. My name is Tara. I work at a vet clinic and about 2 weeks ago we had a client bring in a can in labor in pretty bad shape. We did an emergency c-section and the mom passed away during surgery, along with one of the kittens. Two kitten survived, however another passed away the next day. One little boy survived and he is now 10 days old.

    I agreed to take him friday-tuesday when I am not working and we have kind of been taking turns taking him home at night during the week. I had him all weekend last weekend – boy was that a long weekend! Feedings every 90 minutes..exhausting!! Today however he has become constipated. We were able to get him to produce a small amount of really sticky gross stool this afternoon but not enough to make much of difference. We gave him a warm water enema about 2 1/2 hours ago and still no stool. Any tips?? I am worried about the little fella…it would be a shame to lose him now πŸ™

    #376722

    Can you reach one of the vets you work with for advice?

    Are you stimulating the kitten just before and after he eats to help him eliminate? Use a soft cloth dipped in warm water and gently rub around his anus in a circular motion. I assume you are feeding him kitten milk replacement. Some here on TDK have mixed a bit of pumpkin into baby food and offered it too a constipated kitten, but I don’t know if this is best for one so young.

    Please keep us posted on how this little boy gets along. We often find ourselves cheering when a kitty poops! lol

    Thanks for caring for this small fuzzy baby!

    #376723
    TaraRose
    Participant

    Hi there. Thank you for the quick reply. He was at the clinic this afternoon and try as we might we were only able to get him to produce a very small amount of very sticky stool. The doc gave him a warm water enema and he produced a very small amount of stool just before we left, but he did not poop out any of the water used for the enema. She said told me to take him home and continue to feed and stimulate him. I work tomorrow morning so I will take him with me, I just don’t know what to expect and it would really break my heart if he dies overnight πŸ™

    #376724
    TaraRose
    Participant

    PS…yes, we are feeding him KMR. We recently 2 or 3 days ago switched from mixed KMR to powdered, she didn’t think that would have anything to do with the constipation but I wonder????

    #376725
    Tigerlilly
    Participant

    We just had someone post about a constipated kitten who . after blood work was done, was determined to have hypothyroidism, which can be life threatening. You may want to get a second opinion and request a complete blood panel.

    Best wishes

    #376726

    I hope the little guy does OK through the night, Tara. Other, more experienced TDKers may see your post so check back from time to time. Do you have a picture of this baby? You can use it here as your avatar by going into your profile here and following the directions. Click on my avatar to see pictures of my two kits, Digit and Furl. They are polydactly. πŸ™‚

    #376727
    petpntr
    Participant

    I am curious if you work at a vet clinic why you think you would be able to get better help from lay people on the internet? If I had the luxury of being in touch with a vet clinic and needed help I would take my pet there not wait to hear from someone through an online group.

    #376728
    TaraRose
    Participant

    wow….that was not exactly the response i was looking for. clearly you have not read my post, he has been at the clinic all day…nothing we are trying is working. i was hoping people experienced at raising orphaned kittens may be able to give us some tips we had not thought of but forget it

    #376729
    AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew
    Participant

    Hope that the little one gets better, I have never dealt with kittens that young so can’t help with suggestions….just best wishes and prayers going out to him and those of you who are caring for him.

    #376730
    jcat
    Participant

    TaraRose, I wish I could suggest something. If he were older, I would mix his food with a little vegetable oil but he’s so young and only on KMR. However, I would think that changing to powdered KMR could upset his tiny system. You might also want to look into Tigerlillie’s suggestion of hyperthyroidism.

    I saw one website that suggested a little acidophilus yoghurt. I wonder if a tiny amount of this, watered down, might help his little system.

    Please keep us up to date with how this little one does, and if you find anything that helps. You’re all stars for trying so hard to save him!

    #376731
    AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew
    Participant

    Just thought of something, might want to use pedialyte also to ensure that the little guy doesn’t become de-hydrated.

    #376732
    petpntr
    Participant

    TaraRose if you post is legitimate I apologize for my knee jerk reaction. We have had a number of really bad experiences recently with people who have nothing better to do with their time then to write with horrific stories of kittens on the verge of death they are trying to save only to find it was all a hoax. It is frustrating and disheartening for all of us when in our mind we picture a little kitten suffering and try to help only to find you are being made a fool of and your emotions and time have been wasted. I believe we have just had another example of one of these trolls very recently and your request seemed similar so in fact, I thought you were the same person. I think I am becoming paranoid about this and unfortunately you got the brunt of it. Again, my apologies. I hope you are able to help this little guy.

    #376733
    Catfancier
    Participant

    Petpntr, I beleive this person really dose have a constipated kitten on her hands.:)

    #376734
    petpntr
    Participant

    Yes I think you are right CF. I jumped the gun and regret it.

    #376735
    Helping
    Participant

    Hi,I manage a small UK shelter and at the end of last year we had a litter of 7 x 2 day old kittens.

    Try to keep in proportion how much poop you are expecting. Weigh kitten, weigh kitten and weigh again. There’s moreto a healthy kitten than poop quantities, although regularity is very important. Some of ours didnt pooh for 48 hours sometimes. We kept charts for each kittens but I’m sure each pooh will be engrained in you mind.

    One thing that can work is to carry out the usual tickle toilet procedure with warm water and then cold, sometime that gets a reaction.

    It isnt easy bringing up such a young kitten and it can be very hearbreaking, but you can only give it a chance.

    Another really good idea, which we managed to do with four of this lot which werent thriving as the others was get a foster mum. If only to clean, although invaribly then end up feedint if they can.

    Failing a cat mum, have you got a dog that is a motherer.

    Anything is worth a try.

    Good luck and I really look forward to hearing how you wished you’d never compalined about not having enough pooh!

    Sorry this is my first post so I hope I havent overstepped the mark.

    #376736
    MadcatwomanintheUK
    Participant

    Hi Tararose, welcome to TDK – I hope the little kitten made it through the night, and that you come back to update us. This IS a happy and friendly community, and we love sharing cat stories and experiences.

    And hi Just Me! – another welcome to TDK. Never apologise for an informative post, be it your first or one hundred and first! Whereabouts in the UK are you? There aren’t too many of us Brits on this site, but we are growing in number! :o)

    #376737
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Hi Tararose! How is your baby doing? Thanks Just me for the informative post.

    #376738
    TaraRose
    Participant

    Well hello again. I logged on this afternoon not expecting such a warm welcome from the rest. Thank you for it πŸ™‚

    I too apologize for my short post last night. I logged on to check at the 3AM feeding and he still hadn’t pooped and I was tired, agitated and stressed.

    Anyhow, bygones. πŸ˜‰ The little kitten made it through the night and we gave him another enema at the clinic this morning about 8. He produced a HUGE amount of very gooey, hard stool followed by nice watery diarrhea about 30 minutes later. He produced another small amount of firmer diarrhea about 30 minutes after that. He is active and obviously feels better though his little bum is so raw it was bleeding. I put a bit of mupiricin ointment on it at the clinic this morning.

    Any tips on how I can keep this from happening again?? I have 4 other cats, none of which have the slightest bit of interest in him. I tried to get my bengal, my only female, interested in him last night to see if she would give him a bath and she sniffed him and walked away, if cats could have rolled their eyes she would have done that too.

    Now how do I convince myself not to keep him?? πŸ˜‰

    #376739

    Yay for poop!!! πŸ™‚

    Glad to hear the little guy got some relief. You must be relieved too that his system seems to be working at that end. πŸ™‚

    Do you suppose your other cats dislike the v-e-t smell? I don’t know what to suggest for avoiding this happening again. He may need to be tested for thyroid issues as others suggested.

    I’m glad you posted an update. Thank you!!

    #376740
    Momof6furrballs
    Participant

    Good news on the poo front (been there and lost my share of sleep over that issue)…and good luck on the “not” keeping him.

    Trust me, I didn’t believe everyone here but when we were nursing 7 kittens after they lost their mom they all told me we would keep them all. Well HA, we only kept three and then got two more back so we have 5, not all seven (thank goodness), but it looks like they will be staying. We are a 6 cat house now.

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