Kitten With Diarrhea/rejected By Mom

[vanana]

You should put a few drops of olive oil in every feeding. I would not go back to that vet. He is not knowledgeable. The kitten will outgrow this.

I will try it, thanks. I've been using this vet for all my pets for years and have been very satisfied with his performance and treatment until now. I'm rather disappointed :/ Guess it's time for a new one

 

[StefanZ]

When she begins to poop, you can decrease somewhat the amount of olive oil drops, but you shall not to cease entirely. after all, olive oil is good nourishment by itself so it wont harm. Unless she gets very runny, if so, you can stop for a while..

Minerale oil is even more potent, but not necessary if you use olive oil consistently. But if in hurry, yes, minerale oil gives quicker results. The difficulty is to find minerale oil of food grade.
Which minerale oil are YOU using / think on to use?

In Sweden we use liquid paraffine oil. Preferably such labelled for veterinary use, but there are also other types, which are sufficiently pure for using inside.

 

[vanana]

When she begins to poop, you can decrease somewhat the amount of olive oil drops, but you shall not to cease entirely. after all, olive oil is good nourishment by itself so it wont harm. Unless she gets very runny, if so, you can stop for a while..

Minerale oil is even more potent, but not necessary if you use olive oil consistently. But if in hurry, yes, minerale oil gives quicker results. The difficulty is to find minerale oil of food grade.
Which minerale oil are YOU using / think on to use?

In Sweden we use liquid paraffine oil. Preferably such labelled for veterinary use, but there are also other types, which are sufficiently pure for using inside.

I have some swan mineral oil that I've used as a laxative on myself. It's not food grade. Has not been used on little kitten yet. Vet has given her some before that helped a lot but I don't know what kind they used.

 

[vanana]

I have some swan mineral oil that I've used as a laxative on myself. It's not food grade. Has not been used on little kitten yet. Vet has given her some before that helped a lot but I don't know what kind they used.

**it is food grade** isn't there an option to edit here?

I found it on Amazon
You guys think it's OK to use? It's pretty heavy

 

[StefanZ]

Did you use on yourself, and its supposed to be food grade, so you can prob use it on kitten too. But begin with this olive oil, its our advice. Start asap, as it takes some time to work through.

 

[StefanZ]

ps. Now I have googled. Yes, this should be entirely OK for cats.
And its surely the same oil when knowleable cat persons said to me, "you can use mineral oil".
In USA, Its a brand, a well definied product not needing further explanations.
Why, its even kosher approved!

In Sweden, with minerale oil we mean "chemical" oils, not used for food. That is why Im so anxious to make sure its of food grade. Most arent. And where liquid paraffin oil is the safe to use, if its sufficiently pure. Where the labelled for veterinary use is the safest bet.

Tx for giving me this good example, explaining the issue! vanana

 

[vanana]

StefanZ I've read so much against using mineral oil on cats I was hesitant to use, even though her vet prescribed it for every day use. Honestly though I feel like he just didn't know what else to do. I've started researching other vets nearby

Happy update: Allegro finally pooped today! After her third feeding with olive oil she struggled for a few minutes in her litter box, than gave up. I then helped by stimulating her with a baby wipe and she passed some wide super firm stool that even hurt me just watching. She was quite bloated by this point and had started to eat less, so this is a huge relief. I'll continue with the olive oil until her stools soften. Thanks all!

 

[Sarthur2]

Olive oil is the best! So glad she pooped today!

 

[lacy2000]

I'll try pumpkin and olive oil. Did they poop normally after the first stool or do have to keep adding olive oil / pumpkin to their food?

I had to add everything for 3-4 days before they were able to go without straining. It depends on what is causing the constipation.

 

[vanana]

She went again today- small stools still pretty solid, she's still bloated and now she's not eating much. About 1/2 - 1/3 of the usual :/ I'll take her to (a new) vet tomorrow or Wed depending on how she's doing

 

[vanana]

Oh and her stools yesterday and today's were yellow.. could that be due to the olive oil?

 

[Sarthur2]

Possibly. Were they solid? Did it smell foul? How much oil are you using and how often?

If she has another yellow stool, can you take a picture of it?

 

[vanana]

Yes, dry and very solid. She had one small one this morning again, and just now seeing this so I didn't take a picture. Will do so for the next one. I put 3 drops of olive oil every 3-4 hrs. Was feeding her every 5-6 hrs but since she's not eating well I've increased frequency. For two days now she's not gaining any weight... I made an appointment with a new vet Thursday. That's the soonest they had available. Two days from today. In the meantime I will continue giving her olive oil... and any other tips to increase appetite? She will absolutely not touch wet food/gruel

 

[vanana]

She just went again... and struggled so much she cried out in pain I'm almost crying with her I feel so helpless pieces of her stools seem to bulk together sometimes, so it's like she's pushing two hard stools at once??
Link to photo of yellow stool and you can kind of see the bulking of just a small piece in the bottom piece

 

[vanana]

Ok never mind I can't include links here I guess? The Amazon one I had earlier also did not show. Well I'm attaching the photo here sorry if it's gross

 

[Sarthur2]

I think she is not getting enough food and is slightly dehydrated, and is also clearly not ready to wean to soft foods yet. Most kittens wean at 5-6 weeks, and up to 7-8 weeks, so she’s not quite there yet.

How much is she eating at each feeding? How much does she weigh? How are you mixing the powder?

 

[vanana]

Ok, so I came back from the vet just now, the usual vet for the time being, and he says her colon is full. It's no wonder she isn't eating. He wants to do an enema tomorrow morning and will keep her there for part of the day. He's hopeful after emptying out her colon she will be pooping normally. He treated her really good today, no complaints there. For now, I'll just let her eat as much (as little really) as she wants, with a more diluted solution.

She will be 5 weeks this Thursday, so was trying to start introducing solids this week but she's not interested yet. Right now she's eating about 7 ml readily at each feeding, no matter how far apart her feedings are. I let her play and try again a few times, and she'll take up to 15ml more. Seems to be getting worse though. Before this she was eating 30-40ml every 5 hrs. She weighs 17.5 ounces = 500 grams. I'm giving her goats milk 1:4 powder to water (instructions say 1:3). I'll bump it up to 1:5.

And now her third eyelids show up for a split second occasionally. According to vet this is not abnormal in cats with GI issues.

 

[Sarthur2]

You should not dilute the goat’s milk further. She is already not getting enough nutrition. She needs to get back to eating more mLs as soon as possible.

Have you tried Gerber turkey baby food on your finger?

 

[vanana]

You should not dilute the goat’s milk further. She is already not getting enough nutrition. She needs to get back to eating more mLs as soon as possible.

Have you tried Gerber turkey baby food on your finger?

You're right. She's back from the vet having had her colon cleansed and she's happy as can be. Still not eating too good though. Hoping tomorrow will be better.
Haven't tried Gerber yet. I'll give it a shot

 

[vanana]

Adopted stray momma cat rejected one of her babies on the very first day. I've been hand raising her since then and everyone is doing fine. Kitties are now 6 weeks old. Momma and her three kids have been kept isolated from all pets all this time, and Allegro Jr, the baby that was rejected, stays in my room. She's had some exposure to my older two cats, who still hiss at her when she gets too close.

I'm taking all four kitties to the vet tomorrow, can/should I put them in the same carrier? I'm afraid they'll all gang up on Jr and she's visibly smaller than they are. Would momma be upset, smelling another kitty on them when they're back? Is it a good idea to re-introduce little Jr to momma now or later? Or should I just keep the kitties in separate carriers and ask the vet to please keep them separated? I'm planning on keeping Jr only, the other three will be re-homed.