2.5 week old kitten having accidents

[ColoradoCat]

Hello everyone,

I'm fostering a little family of four: one mama and three beautiful kittens. Overall, everyone is doing very well, but one of them has started having accidents. Starting yesterday (6/4), I have found her back end covered in her own feces three times. Does anyone know why this might be happening? Is it a health issue I should be concerned about?
For more information, mama seems to be under a year old, but has been very good about nursing everybody. I believe the kitten is a little girl, though I'm admittedly not completely sure.

 

[Furballsmom]

So, mama is cleaning the other two? You'll need to step in and help her with number three.

Just in case this is helpful;
Urine Scald — Kitten Lady

 

[sivyaleah]

Impossible to know what's wrong. A vet visit is in order - kittens can go downhill fast at that age, especially if they get dehydrated which happens with loose stools, let alone the probably irritation that goes with it. They could have parasites which would be rather likely as this is very common in the general cat population. If mom has them, most certainly the kittens will too but not all may show symptoms.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes. if these accidents are very rare, watery, she will need extra salts. Pedialyte for small babies is best.
Also, be sure you have some glucose sugar or a source of glucose sugar at hand; if she begins to go downhill.
White caro syrup or honey are the most often used alternatives.

IF needed, you put a droplet of such white caro syrup on the gum inside the lip. You can repeat after a while.
Helps in many situations, including if the kittens seems to become lethargic.
Or needs some quick energhy.

 

[ColoradoCat]

Impossible to know what's wrong. A vet visit is in order - kittens can go downhill fast at that age, especially if they get dehydrated which happens with loose stools, let alone the probably irritation that goes with it. They could have parasites which would be rather likely as this is very common in the general cat population. If mom has them, most certainly the kittens will too but not all may show symptoms.

This is what I suspect the problem is, unfortunately. I'm talking to our foster coordinator about it now and she's been in contact with our medical manager. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out what's going on quickly. I will be keeping a close eye on her until then.

 

[ColoradoCat]

Yes. if these accidents are very rare, watery, she will need extra salts. Pedialyte for small babies is best.
Also, be sure you have some glucose sugar or a source of glucose sugar at hand; if she begins to go downhill.
White caro syrup or honey are the most often used alternatives.

IF needed, you put a droplet of such white caro syrup on the gum inside the lip. You can repeat after a while.
Helps in many situations, including if the kittens seems to become lethargic.
Or needs some quick energhy.

They're pretty watery, but they're also unfortunately pretty constant. It started while I was at work yesterday afternoon. I got back and found her covered in her own poo. She's had more accidents since then. Thankfully, she does seem to be healthy otherwise.

 

[ColoradoCat]

So the good news is the kitten in question, Anuket, is nursing well. She's the blue point who looks a bit scraggly from her bath. I'll be picking up some stuff from the shelter tomorrow to help treat her, which will hopefully help.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hang in there babycat!

 

[StefanZ]

So the good news is the kitten in question, Anuket, is nursing well. She's the blue point who looks a bit scraggly from her bath. I'll be picking up some stuff from the shelter tomorrow to help treat her, which will hopefully help.View attachment 422413

I suppose you will give her pedialyte with a dropper. Train some on it, its a little tricky if not experienced with this. Belly down, head up, in the corner of the mouth, dropwise. When the kitten gets hand on it, it may suck herself.


Blue point is the righty on the pic? Its too early to get a blue point fully developed, so she is probably a combo of the siamese and the burmese points.
Sibling in the middle is a double siamese point.

So both momma and daddy must carry the recessive siamese and burmese point genes...

 

[ColoradoCat]

So an update from the last time I was on here. As per our medical manager's suggestion, I ended up giving her Pyrantal (sp?) in case the problem was worms. It doesn't seem to have helped, unfortunately. She lost 21 grams between Monday and yesterday and another 19 between yesterday and today (roughly 3/4 ounce for my fellow Americans), which is close to 20% of her previous body weight. She's lethargic and I've been struggling to get her to nurse. I'm taking her down to the shelter tomorrow to be looked at, but I am very close to just running her to the nearest animal emergency clinic over this. My biggest concern is that if I wait, I might wake up tomorrow to find she's passed. I've added a couple photos, one of her after I found her yesterday morning (she was promptly bathed) and one of the nest as I found it this morning.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh poor sweetie I tend to think you're right, that waiting might not work out.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree. Take her to an emergency vet. She may need tube feeding.

 

[ColoradoCat]

So a further update. I spoke with our foster coordinator and she told me to bring her down. Turns out she isn't fading (very good) and she was given fluids. She had quite a bit to say about the whole ordeal and was climbing all over me while she was looked at, so the foster coordinator is confident she'll make it through the night without issue. She's perked up since then and we are back home now. I'm bringing her in again tomorrow so our medical manager can look at her and we'll get her to a vet as soon as we can. Thankfully, I think the emergency is currently averted, but I'll be watching her like a hawk until we know more. I may try to supplement her this evening before we go to bed. If anything changes for the worse, she's going straight to the emergency vet.

 

[Furballsmom]

She had quite a bit to say about the whole ordeal and was climbing all over me while she was looked at,

Lol, I'm with you, babycat!

 

[StefanZ]

If she gets lethargic again make sure she gets glucose sugar and fluids!

 

[ColoradoCat]

So last night just before bed, I gave Anuket some of our kitten mix to get her blood sugar and electrolytes back up. It and the fluids really seem to have helped. I just checked in on her this morning and she's doing much better. She's powering around the nest and telling me all about her night. I'm still taking her down today to see our medical manager, and we'll still get her into the vet, but all this is very good. She's got a lot of fight in her and a strong will to live.

 

[ColoradoCat]

So this morning at the shelter, Anuket got some fluids, a B-12 shot, and an antibiotic. I've got three different antibiotics with me now, but right now we're just giving her amoxicillin. I'm giving her karo syrup to stimulate her appetite and she's getting the kitten mix as well. I've also got fluids for her which I'll be giving her this evening. I'm working at the cat shelter tomorrow and will be bringing the family with my so I can watch them. I'm still prepared to rush her to the ER vet if it comes to it, but she's a spunky girl. Hopefully she'll make it through this.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hopefully she'll make it through this.

I love reading your descriptions of her

 

[ColoradoCat]

So over the last 24 or so hours, Anuket hasn't gained any weight. She hasn't lost any either, however, so I think we've finally turned a corner with her. She's still on antibiotics and probiotics, and likely will be for another week or so. The good news is that I haven't found any diarrhea in their nest since this morning, which is much better than it has been. She's also been nursing pretty ferociously, so I think she's hungry and eager to gain back her lost weight. I will continue updating as things happen.

 

[Furballsmom]

to you both!