Mom Stopped Cleaning Kittens

biancavd

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I have had many litters before, and up until 2 days never really had any major issues. But as what is going on now has me very confused, I hope some of you can help me.

We have a litter of 2.5 weeks old, and one of 4 weeks old. They were seperated. The mom of the 2 week old litter stopped cleaning them properly suddenly. 2 days ago. They are covered in yellow kittenpoop. And when I mean covered, i mean from head to toe completely yellow. They poop (I suspect even without mom stimulating), roll around in it, crawl over their brothers and sisters, and tada. Mom didnt like the smell and ignored them completely.

I helped cleaning as much as possible. Change bedding 4x a day, clean the kittens with a damp towel (doesnt help a lot as it is very greasy), and we put all 11 kittens from 2 litters together so our more experienced mom can help. It helps as she cleaned them up well. Both mom feed the babies and seem relaxed.

The poop problem is still there though. I clean as much as possible, but as said, i think the little ones poop on their own and make a mess of it before any mom can help. They still grow properly (good weightgain). What is going on and what more can I do?? I am at a wits end.

Thanks in advance.
 

StefanZ

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Its normal kitten poop, no diarrhea?

Can you stimulate them proactively? Ie provoce them to empty themselves in a controlled fashion outside the nest, and not in the nest??
 
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biancavd

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Its normal kitten poop, no diarrhea?

Can you stimulate them proactively? Ie provoce them to empty themselves in a controlled fashion outside the nest, and not in the nest??
It's yellow and toothpaste like. Should be normal. But as I am getting insecure, I am a bit hessitant.

And how often should I stimulate if I do it myself? And any tips on how to do this properly without making a mess myself?
 

StefanZ

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How often? If you handfeed, a common advice is before and after. Here they have mommas, so you could stimulate them roughly every two hours.

Preempting them so to speak. Anyways, even a partial success is better than nothing at all, so its just to try and begin... :)
You dont need to do it scientifically, as long as you start.
 

Sarthur2

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I suspect mom has stopped cleaning them because the poop is from illness. It sounds like it may be coccidia.

I would suggest a round of Albon for both mom and the kittens. I’ll bet mom will return to cleaning them soon after treatment begins.
 
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biancavd

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Coccidia is not common here, and all my cats have been tested on everything 2 months ago. I would be surpriced if anything is wrong :p I will keep an eye on it though.

Anyway, we pinpointed the problem to them pooping on their own. Which is remarkable considering their age. A bit early to put them on a litterbox...
 

talkingpeanut

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I also think they need treatment for possible coccidia. It doesn’t always show in a fecal, but it sounds as though something is medically wrong here.
 
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biancavd

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Coccidia is extremely uncommon here, my vet who has 5 clinics never heard of it before in cats in my country when I asked for it last time.

Could the problems be related to extreme heat? It has been very hot the last few days and I cant get the room cooler then 25 degrees celcius during the night :(
 
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