Pus/Mucous and swollen anus in both kittens – vet and I are stumped

Thanks for the replies! At first, the vet said she felt it was a somehow abscessed anal gland – uncommon in kitten their age, but not unheard of. Since it’s now transferred to the other one in the litter, she’s thinking it’s probably bacterial. I drained the other one myself at home (poor thing) and neither have swollen up again. The best I can describe it was that it was about the size of a small grape, red as all heck, and when pressed whitish pus came out. 🙁 I’ve never seen anything like it. They haven’t pooped yet today, so I’m feeling a little nervous. I had them on goat’s milk originally but their tummies had a hard time with it and they had diarrhea, which scared me off. At their size, I don’t want them losing any more fluids. Right now they’re just on the KMR the vet gave us, which had been going along swimmingly for about a week.
Their weights are currently 132g and 129g – teeny weenies! I’ll keep you guys posted. Are there any constipation recommendations you might have, in case they don’t “go” today? Should they be having a BM every single day?

Hey guys! Thanks for all the kind advice. These two really are the cutest kittens I’ve ever fostered, but oh my goodness their poop/butt drama is endless.

After the initial vet-draining of Finn’s abscessed booty and my at-home draining of Darcy’s booty, all seemed well for a few days. They were very constipated, but I figured that would probably be due in part to pain aversion to pooping from their previous problems. They were both placed on ClavAmox by the vet to treat their URIs and their abscessed hineys. Once the swelling and redness was soothed, they both went like champs – giant, brown, toothpastey poop. I was overjoyed, and didn’t want to switch things up with their food since it seemed to be going well (they’re on liquid KMR).

Welp, I spoke too soon. Today, both Finn and Darcy have had the Hershey squirts. It’s gross, it’s foul-smelling, and it’s certainly uncomfortable for them both as well. They seem well-hydrated and happy, and their tent-tests are fine. I’m going to start diluting their formula for the next several feeds 1:1 with boiled water so they can stay hydrated. They’re both still energetic, eating, and happy – but oh man, their liquidy brown poops are just vile. Who knew such stench could come from such small creatures. I emailed their vet in concern again tonight, hopefully they’ll be responsive tomorrow.

As a side note….my first bottle-baby, Raja, passed away suddenly at age 4 a week ago, and I’m absolutely devastated. It has made caring for these little babies so much harder, because I miss my kitty so much. He was my baby, and my best friend, and the happiest point in my day. The emergency vet says she believes it was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Either way, I spent a huge deal of money on the late-night vet visit, and now not very much is left for the foster kittens, so I’m really hoping their diarrhea doesn’t require another visit.

Thanks kittyzee. It really was such a huge loss for me, and I’m just devastated. He was my little best pal and my study buddy, and to lose him so suddenly and in such a traumatic way was heartbreaking for me. I consider myself so lucky to have these tiny cuties to take care of; they’re helping me just as much as I’m helping them.

Which, an update. Switched back to goat’s milk, and it seemed to go down well with the kits. They drank a TON of it and then pooped giant, and I mean GIANT, formed stool. So yay! Normal poops at last! I’ll post some pictures soon, they really just are so adorable.