Six Week Old Kittens-caked On Feces

[marmoset]

I have a set of foster kittens that are about six weeks old (brought in as orphans so actual age is not known). They are having diarrhea. One of them is particularly messy. He will poop and then sit in it immediately after. I am home and with them most of the time so I usually can get to him to clean him quickly but when I get up in the morning he's covered in dried on feces. I've been using warm moist paper towels to clean him but it's really not removing the dried on poop on the underside of his tail and bottoms of his hind legs.

This is my first time with kittens this young that did not have a mother around to do round the clock grooming. I'm very nervous about bathing a kitten that young. Is there a middle ground? A way to remove this poop without soaking the body of the kitten? I don't even want to fully wet his back half.

 

[Willowy]

At that age, if they're not very weak, I'd bathe them/him. As long as he's kept warm enough afterward he should be fine even if you have to bathe his back end twice a day. Use a mild shampoo like Johnson's, it shouldn't cause any trouble.

I raised one orphan who was longhaired and messy and basically needed bathing after every potty time and mealtime. I felt bad bathing her so often but she grew up just fine. I didn't get her head wet if I didn't need to. . .I'm not sure that made a difference but it made me feel better anyway.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I don't know if this will be of help for you but thought I'd post it just in case
How To Bathe Small Kittens The Safe Way

 

[danteshuman]

I would just crank up the heat to a sweltering 85 and rinse his poopy bottom half off with warm water, towel dry, then wrap and hold in a dry towel for an extra 10-20 minutes, then release him in his very warm kitten room. No reason to use soap that can be drying unless necessary.

That said I would call his vet and ask if you can give him an anti-diarrhea medication. Having the runs is not good for him! I was advised to try adding a teaspoon or so of baby rice cereal to their bottle .... when my kittens still had bloody runs (yes they were dewormed.....twice) we told to give the kapoctate (sp.) I think 1mm per day but I would NOT do that without talking to your Vet first!!! (It was close to 20 years ago so again ask your vet!) You need to keep a close eye on him at all times for dehydration (and may want to stock up on unflavored pedialite.)

 

[ArchyCat]

Watch out that the kitties don't become dehydrated. That is a side effect of chronic diarrhea!
You might try feeding them Kitten Milk Replacement mixed with unflavored, no sugar peodylyte (sp).

 

[Willowy]

unflavored, no sugar peodylyte (sp).

There's no point in no-sugar Pedialyte, as sugar is what makes the body absorb water, along with a bit of salt. So don't go looking for it at the store because they won't have it, lol.

But yes, Pedialyte or homemade oral rehydration mix is good if they're getting dehydrated.

 

[ArchyCat]

I must depute that claim about sugar. Considering the fact that mammals, including humans and cats can absorb water with out sugar. Do you have any science you can cite for your claim?

 

[Willowy]

Perhaps I worded that badly. I just mean that sugar is what makes Pedialyte work to rehydrate a dehydrated person/animal. Otherwise it would just be plain water.

This seems like a good explanation: Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) - Rehydration Project

The gist, for people who don't want to read the whole thing: "Glucose enhances sodium, and secondarily, water transport across the mucosa of the upper intestine."

 

[marmoset]

Update:

I took the advice here and bit the bullet. Since posting the kitten in question has had multiple gentle baths on its lower end. Up until the last bath he actually seemed to like it- very curious about the water and loved the attention he got and the warm towel.

The last time I bathed him (yesterday) he was in no mood for it but it still ended on a positive note with the warm towel and some good food.

Out of the four kittens he has the most issue with runny poops and gets very messy. He doesn't groom himself in general. His cheeks and nose alway need wiping. He does his front paws extremely well. On the plus side he's really well socialized with people because he gets so much grooming. He's quite adorable and would be a perfect adoptee for a house with children if the poopy issues resolve because he is so interested in cuddling. I'm assuming/ hoping he will eventually start grooming his face like most cats obsessively do.

I started adding in a higher end canned kitten wet food and it seems to be helping but it's still early days. They are getting a vet visit later this week.

 

[Furballsmom]

The last time I bathed him (yesterday) he was in no mood for it but it still ended on a positive note with the warm towel and some good food.

Maybe this means he's starting to feel better/ is getting stronger?

 

[ailish]

At that age, if they're not very weak, I'd bathe them/him. As long as he's kept warm enough afterward he should be fine even if you have to bathe his back end twice a day. Use a mild shampoo like Johnson's, it shouldn't cause any trouble.

I raised one orphan who was longhaired and messy and basically needed bathing after every potty time and mealtime. I felt bad bathing her so often but she grew up just fine. I didn't get her head wet if I didn't need to. . .I'm not sure that made a difference but it made me feel better anyway.

Just out of curiosity, how is this cat as an adult about bathing? I have a rescue adult who I got when she was 1 year old who hates any water, including even dampness. I dread ever having to give her a bath, because she is so anti-water. I have this idea that if I ever have a kitten I'm going to start bathing it as soon as possible so it isn't one of those cats who needs a large cat zookeeper with a tranquilizer gun just to give it a bath. But I don't know if this would actually work. I see you tubes of kittens enjoying water, cats that come into the bath with their owners, and I can't even imagine it.

And yes, I do know that cats generally don't get bathed, but I'm imagining that there could be medical situations that make it necessary. And I know that if a cat lives a good long life and gets arthritis they aren't always great about grooming themselves and need some help.

 

[Kflowers]

@allish I can tell you our experience. Our current cat came to us when she was 5 weeks old. She had to be bathed twice for fleas and dirt when she first come in. Then she had to be bathed, at least her head and chest, after each meal, she was a bit flamboyant when eating. The day she moved to solid foods, she started bathing herself.

As an adult we needed to bath her a little, I don't remember why, but it wasn't a terrible dirt thing whatever it was. She was 6 pounds of fists of fury. We do not bath the cat. If it must be done, she will go to the vet. If she over heats I will submerge her in tepid water until she comes to, then release her as I have done with others in the past.

I bought into the idea that if you start combing a kitten when they are young they'll love it when older. No. I started one with a powder puff baby brush before he even had fur (he was a premi) The minute he got big enough flying fists of fury. No brushing ever.

 

[marmoset]

The biggest tip I can give on bathing an adult cat is to use a towel on the bottom of the basin or tub. They can sink their claws in the towel and feel more secure. Bathing is much less dramatic if they aren't flailing and sliding on the porcelain. We did this with our Choo who is a very tough customer and not afraid to show when she's not willing to cooperate with teeth and it was by far the best experience we ever had bathing a cat that wasn't a feeble senior.

The towel will be a sopping mess that you have to deal with after the bath but it's a good tradeoff.

Bathing a cat is not something I necessarily look forward to but it's pretty quick. Long pants and long-sleeves are a good idea though.

Maybe this means he's starting to feel better/ is getting stronger?

He still has the poopy issue but I think he's starting to figure out that his backend needs grooming too because he hasn't needed a bath since the weekend.

 

[ailish]

@allish I can tell you our experience. Our current cat came to us when she was 5 weeks old. She had to be bathed twice for fleas and dirt when she first come in. Then she had to be bathed, at least her head and chest, after each meal, she was a bit flamboyant when eating. The day she moved to solid foods, she started bathing herself.

As an adult we needed to bath her a little, I don't remember why, but it wasn't a terrible dirt thing whatever it was. She was 6 pounds of fists of fury. We do not bath the cat. If it must be done, she will go to the vet. If she over heats I will submerge her in tepid water until she comes to, then release her as I have done with others in the past.

I bought into the idea that if you start combing a kitten when they are young they'll love it when older. No. I started one with a powder puff baby brush before he even had fur (he was a premi) The minute he got big enough flying fists of fury. No brushing ever.

Alrighty... I guess maybe I can rid myself of my bathed-from-kittenhood, cooperative in adulthood fantasy! Probably depends on the cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Willowy]

how is this cat as an adult about bathing?

I haven't tried it. I don't bathe adult cats unless they get really filthy for some unusual reason. She's fairly passive so I think she'd be OK with it. But that's not true for all cats who were bathed a lot as kittens!