Kitten's Anus Seems Too Small?? Urgent

[Faye0731]

I have a 10 week old kitten that I've bottle-fed since he was 12 days old. He is the sweetest baby I've ever met, he absolutely loves me and I love him. Ever since I started fostering him, he has had trouble pooping. It almost seems as though his butthole is too small? When he does poop, it comes out in a very thin line (the width of a toothpick). His butt is also always leaking very watery diarrhea. I've taken him to the vet multiple times over these past few weeks, and he has no idea what is wrong with him. He took an X-ray and everything looks normal internally, he's been wormed, treated with antibiotics, tried B12 injections, nothing is working!! I've spent around 400 on this little guy so far. It's getting to the point that I am running out of money to help him. He's tried his hardest to poop in the litterbox but he just gets poop everywhere since his butt is always leaking. Does anyone have an idea of what could be wrong with him? I truly believe his anus is too small but the vet says he has never heard of anything like that. I know he needs to go to a specialist most likely but I'm not even sure if they'd know what to do either, and that will cost hundreds just for a visit. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I don't know what to do as I'm running out of ideas I've even made diapers for him out of socks lol!

 

[talkingpeanut]

Sarthur2

 

[catlover73]

One of my friend’s went through this with her cat when he was a kitten. Her baby ultimately ended up having surgery to make his but hole larger. If your vet is not able to figure out what is wrong you may need to get a 2nd opinion. My friend finally ended up going to a vet that only saw cats to get a proper disgnosis for her kitten. He is now a happy healthy senior adult. I remember it was a struggle for my friend to get the proper diagnosis. Hopefully someone who has personal experience with this issue wil be able to give you more advice.

 

[di and bob]

That really could be his problem. i would definitely get a second opinion, even if it means contacting a specialist by phone or computer and explaining your problem, maybe trying to get some pictures of his behind, and definitely of the feces in the litter box, maybe laying a pencil next to it for comparison. At least they could tell you they can't help without charging you an office visit. Then just pay if one says they might be able to help. Has anyone tried to give him an enema? Stretching the anus with the bottle tip might even help, to see if it will even stretch. Severe constipation will result in continual anal leakage too. But you would think the X-ray would have shown that. In the meantime give him pumpkin and other laxatives/fibers to keep him regular. All the luck and keep us posted!

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree, seek another opinion from a vet with lots of experience with cats. It sounds like surgery may correct this issue, but the vet you are seeing apparently has no experience with this issue.

In the meantime, try a round of metronidazole. It may help with any parasites and with leakage.

Keep us posted!

 

[Faye0731]

They didn't see any blockages or hard stool in the x-ray, everything looked completely normal. I'm going to call a vet that's about an hour from me that specializes in just cats, I'm hoping they may be able to help. I'll update soon (: Thank you everyone!!

 

[Sarthur2]

At least it's not something internal.

 

[ashade1]

Any update? Did they do a stool exam as well? I am wondering if you need Albon...

 

[Faye0731]

Yeah they did a stool exam and they said everything seemed normal. He has a vet appointment at the one that specializes in cats this Friday, that's the earliest they could get him in :/ so hopefully I'll find something out then

 

[Sarthur2]

It's good you have an appointment soon. Keep us posted.

 

[Faye0731]

Will do (: Thanks!

 

[Sarthur2]

How is the kitten doing in the meantime?

 

[Faye0731]

He's doing well. He's still straining to poop all the time but he otherwise is very loving and playful. He follows me everywhere, he's like a shadow lol! He is very smart, he knows his name by heart. He is very small though, he's always been the runt of the litter. He's stayed around 1 pound 4 oz (he's 9 weeks old) the past two weeks. He has science diet dry kitten food out 24/7 and I feed him wet can food with pumpkin 5 times a day. I also give him a bit of nutrical once a day just to help him gain some weight. He eats great but he just doesn't seem to be gaining weight like he should :/ it's not parasites or an infection (he also tested negative for Feline Leukemia) so I'm not sure if that has to do with him having butt troubles or not

 

[Faye0731]

Sorry for the late update everyone. Harry did go see the specialist and he has Atresia Ani like I had originally thought. The surgery to correct this would be at least $3000 and the likelihood of success is very low since there is already so much scar tissue, so he pretty much said that the best option for Harry is to put him to sleep. I wish there was more I could do for him, I just love him so much, but I know he would only be in pain if I was selfish and let him live like this. Thank you all for your help and input

 

[Sarthur2]

I'm sorry to hear this.