2 week old kitten with diarrhoea

Roshni Vijayaraghavan

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Hello All,

I had to adopt two little kittens when it's mother passed away unexpectedly after a fight with stray dogs. I am completely new to kitten care, and these kittens are really small, that I am even scared to hold them.
I started them on milk formula from day one, and also stimulating them for pooping and peeing following some youtube videos.

I have two kittens both of them have diarrhoea. Is it normal when starting on formals milk? It's been two days they are on my care. Will it go away on its own? First day on bottle was difficult. They refused to drink. But today, they have slowly started latching on the bottle. But both have loose stools.

I am a bit worried about their health, any advice is welcome.

Thank you,
Roshni.
 

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StefanZ

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Have a little extra salt in the formula. Having diarrhea they lose salts.

Perfect consistency is toothpaste texture.
 

Sarthur2

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If they are suckling and gaining weight, their stools should firm up soon. It is a big change from mother milk to formula, but they should adjust.

Which brand formula are you using? Is it pre-mixed or powdered? Pre-mixed tends to cause diarrhea, so I always recommend powdered formula.

How much do the kittens weigh? How much and how often are you feeding?

Roshni Vijayaraghavan Roshni Vijayaraghavan
 
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StefanZ

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Hello All,

I had to adopt two little kittens when it's mother passed away unexpectedly after a fight with stray dogs. I am completely new to kitten care, and these kittens are really small, that I am even scared to hold them.
I started them on milk formula from day one, and also stimulating them for pooping and peeing following some youtube videos.

I have two kittens both of them have diarrhoea. Is it normal when starting on formals milk? It's been two days they are on my care. Will it go away on its own? First day on bottle was difficult. They refused to drink. But today, they have slowly started latching on the bottle. But both have loose stools.

I am a bit worried about their health, any advice is welcome.

Thank you,
Roshni.
Which formula do you use?
Do you have access to goats milk - or even - raw goats milk?
 
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Roshni Vijayaraghavan

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Have a little extra salt in the formula. Having diarrhea they lose salts.

Perfect consistency is toothpaste texture.
Hello StefanZ StefanZ ,
Thank you for the response.

By salt you mean the common salt used in kitchen, or some special salt that can be purchased?
Also is there any suggested amount, like how much can be added for say, 50 ml milk?
 
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Roshni Vijayaraghavan

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If they are suckling and gaining weight, their stools should firm up soon. It is a big change from mother milk to formula, but they should adjust.

Which brand formula are you using? Is it pre-mixed or powdered? Pre-mixed tends to cause diarrhea, so I always recommend powdered formula.

How much do the kittens weigh? How much and how often are you feeding?

Roshni Vijayaraghavan Roshni Vijayaraghavan
Hello Sarthur2 Sarthur2

Thank you for the reply.
I am using a brand called pet-o-lac. its powdered formula for puppies and kittens. Is there a better brand for kittens specifically?

First day they lost weight, because they were not latching on to the bottle.
Yesterday both of them have gained weight, and are drinking very nice from the bottle.
They weigh 278g and

Today they look very active and happy, though the stools are still loose and have not firmed up, i think its consistency is improving.
 

StefanZ

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Hello StefanZ StefanZ ,
Thank you for the response.

By salt you mean the common salt used in kitchen, or some special salt that can be purchased?
Also is there any suggested amount, like how much can be added for say, 50 ml milk?
The usual kitchen salt is OK to begin with, but if you can get a minerale kitchen salt, ie with bigger amount of potassium and magnesium, its even better. ie Na, K, Mg...

Here in Sweden this salt is easy to find, in New Zeeland they have something similiar too.
If you cant find it so perhaps sea salt, which does contain some amounts of such electrolytes.
Or even, take a bottle of minerale water (what salts there are is on the label), let the gas out, and you have such a mineral water.... To add.

Nay, sorry, I cant the scientific amounts. The point is, give more of these than usual. Usually its good enough.
 

StefanZ

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I am using Pet-o-lac powdered milk formula. No, i do not have access to goats milk.
OK, Pet o lac is good enough. If it works well for you, no need to seek something else.

BUT if you were forced to change, goats milk is often a good alternative. And raw goats milk has even some potential healthy properties.
 

di and bob

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As long as they are gaining and seem alright, I would just continue what you are doing. Any change in diet will cause temporary diarrhea. instead of salt you could get some human infant unflavored Pedialyte that works very well and use it to mix up the formula once or twice a day. Like said above, a yellowish toothpaste consistency is normal. If it continues past 5 days more drastic measures would have to be taken. Make sure they are warm, a warm kitten eats better. a pet heating pad, or a sock filled with rice and microwaved until warm would be great. Just make sure it isn't too hot. They would also feel better in a box with a towel draped over part of it where they could hide. Holding them wrapped in a blanket against your body heat would be appreciated too. you are saving their lives, you will be blessed for giving them a chance, thank you so much....
 
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