4-week old kittens with bright orange, runny poop

[lauraloulouie]

Hi all, apologies if this has been answered elsewhere — I found a lot of QUESTIONS about orange poop in kittens but no one reporting back on what the diagnosis was.

I'm fostering a mama cat with kittens, they are 4 weeks old today, and I've noticed at least one (possibly more—it's hard to tell as mama is still cleaning up after them) has bright orange, liquidy poops. Like, brighter than pureed pumpkin. I've talked to both the foster coordinator and the vet about it; the vet seems to think that as long as they are eating well, gaining weight and energetic that it's OK to keep an eye on it and see if it clears up. The foster coordinator is bringing me some dewormer today just so we can eliminate that as a possibility.

Has anyone encountered this and gotten a definitive diagnosis? These kittens otherwise all seem 100% healthy and happy. They are playing, nursing, gaining weight beautifully and seem otherwise fine. At first I thought maybe it was just due to mom's diet (they are all still exclusively nursing) but after doing some internet research I wonder if I need to take them to another vet and insist they test for something else.

This is my first foster litter so I worry about them constantly! Anyone have any insight?

 

[Sarthur2]

Orange poop is usually indicative of too much bile in the liver, but if it’s more yellow, it’s usually coccidia, which is a parasite and needs Albon to clear.

Diarrhea is not normal in kittens (though nursing kittens should have soft poop that is like toothpaste consistency), so if the wormer does not change anything, a vet visit would be best. In general I find that kittens with diarrhea respond well to Albon or metronidazole depending on the diagnosis.

Thank you for fostering and keep us posted!

 

[lauraloulouie]

Thank you! I have seen the notes about "too much bile in the liver" regarding orange poop on some websites, but am unclear as to what that means exactly and how it is treated. I will report back after dewormer and I suppose we will go from there.

 

[StefanZ]

Thank you! I have seen the notes about "too much bile in the liver" regarding orange poop on some websites, but am unclear as to what that means exactly and how it is treated. I will report back after dewormer and I suppose we will go from there.

Yes. Also with diarrhea they lose water and salts. So pedialyte is good!
Best is clear unflavored pedialyte for babies.

 

[lauraloulouie]

Forgot to check back in - in case anyone finds this post later and has a similar problem - the babies had roundworms. Two doses of dewormer later they are doing great and all poops are normal!