I ended up taking in a kitten (female, maybe 8 weeks?) a week ago because I thought she was hurt. Her walk was unsteady & she looked in bad shape. I went to check on her & she came right to me, crying - I ended up scooping her up & taking her back to my BF's (still not sure if this was a good or bad idea)
My BF took her to the vet to get her checked after talking to a shelter. The vet said she was born that way & sent my BF on his way & now we had a new kitten. cue panic because she can't stay with me & my bf already has 6 cats & 2 dogs inside & a colony outside.
The kitten kind of walks like she has cerebellar hypoplasia, but I'm not sure that's what she has. It's mostly her rear legs that are visibly very weak & she constantly loses her balance and falls to her hip, her rear legs constantly slide out from underneath her when she sits. She also walks on her back hocks at times.
On top of this, she has a bowel issue. The weekend after we took her in, she was pooping while walking/playing, a couple of times while she was laying with us. very smelly, soft poop.
On Sunday I took her to the vet to get looked at. Well, the vet barely looked at her. Not sure if it was because I mentioned she was a stray, but I barely got answers. She does have roundworms, so they started her on dewormer, started her vaccines and tested her for FIV & Leukemia, which was negative. The vet's opinion on the pooping was that it could be the worms, but it also might be nerve damage, that she can't tell when she needs to go.
Since then, she's made it into the litter box to poop a handful of times, but she's still having accidents. Last night she pooped while she was playing (and she just keeps walking while it's coming out), she pooped while sleeping in the bed with us (but I don't know if it came out of her while she was sleeping, I woke up to it)..and tonight she started pooping while she was standing by her food, paused for a second, then started to walk, tripping into her food bowl/water, stumbling and eventually sitting in her own mess. AWFUL. But, it's not as smelly, so that's a plus.
I requested an appointment with a highly recommended vet for next week, but until then, I'm hoping to get some opinions so I can stop Googling the **** (no pun intended) out of everything. I am honestly terrified that she doesn't have control over her bowel movements & she never will - that's my worst fear. I wasn't at all prepared to take in a kitten (I LOVE cats, but I live at home & can't take any in), let alone one that would need so much care and that thought is freaking me out. My anxiety easily goes through the roof and this has all been quite the challenge. My BF is at least calm & collected about it all. Thank God.
I'm not sure what info would help, but:
- She's eating dry food (Taste of the Wild) that's out 24/7 for her. She eats & drinks regularly.
- She does urinate in the box
- I inadvertently stimulated a bowel movement when I was cleaning her butt this morning - I don't know if that means she lacks control or means nothing at all
- She's pooping about 4x/day, usually about 4-6 hours apart, usually happens after she pees (which is why my BF kept her in the crate tonight after she peed, but she still made a mess)
- The stool is soft, but not watery, light brown
please help
My BF took her to the vet to get her checked after talking to a shelter. The vet said she was born that way & sent my BF on his way & now we had a new kitten. cue panic because she can't stay with me & my bf already has 6 cats & 2 dogs inside & a colony outside.
The kitten kind of walks like she has cerebellar hypoplasia, but I'm not sure that's what she has. It's mostly her rear legs that are visibly very weak & she constantly loses her balance and falls to her hip, her rear legs constantly slide out from underneath her when she sits. She also walks on her back hocks at times.
On top of this, she has a bowel issue. The weekend after we took her in, she was pooping while walking/playing, a couple of times while she was laying with us. very smelly, soft poop.
On Sunday I took her to the vet to get looked at. Well, the vet barely looked at her. Not sure if it was because I mentioned she was a stray, but I barely got answers. She does have roundworms, so they started her on dewormer, started her vaccines and tested her for FIV & Leukemia, which was negative. The vet's opinion on the pooping was that it could be the worms, but it also might be nerve damage, that she can't tell when she needs to go.
Since then, she's made it into the litter box to poop a handful of times, but she's still having accidents. Last night she pooped while she was playing (and she just keeps walking while it's coming out), she pooped while sleeping in the bed with us (but I don't know if it came out of her while she was sleeping, I woke up to it)..and tonight she started pooping while she was standing by her food, paused for a second, then started to walk, tripping into her food bowl/water, stumbling and eventually sitting in her own mess. AWFUL. But, it's not as smelly, so that's a plus.
I requested an appointment with a highly recommended vet for next week, but until then, I'm hoping to get some opinions so I can stop Googling the **** (no pun intended) out of everything. I am honestly terrified that she doesn't have control over her bowel movements & she never will - that's my worst fear. I wasn't at all prepared to take in a kitten (I LOVE cats, but I live at home & can't take any in), let alone one that would need so much care and that thought is freaking me out. My anxiety easily goes through the roof and this has all been quite the challenge. My BF is at least calm & collected about it all. Thank God.
I'm not sure what info would help, but:
- She's eating dry food (Taste of the Wild) that's out 24/7 for her. She eats & drinks regularly.
- She does urinate in the box
- I inadvertently stimulated a bowel movement when I was cleaning her butt this morning - I don't know if that means she lacks control or means nothing at all
- She's pooping about 4x/day, usually about 4-6 hours apart, usually happens after she pees (which is why my BF kept her in the crate tonight after she peed, but she still made a mess)
- The stool is soft, but not watery, light brown
please help