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I have two, two week old orphaned kittens who are having diarrhea. They're both strong, using the bathroom on their own, and are sucking on the bottle well, and seem happy (they purr A LOT). I am using a powder mix formula called Just Born. Will Pedialyte help? What should I do? I have had them for about a week now.
♦No, it is not normal for kittens to have diarrhea. It is a sign that something is wrong and it is very dangerous for a kitten to have it. I have three week old kittens that I have had to take from the mom cat because her milk was bad. My kittens have also had diarrhea. It has been an uphill battle but I have a method that works. I have been feeding my kittens Just Born with a little Pedialyte in it. I do 1 part pedialyte and 2 parts formula. This keeps their electrolytes up and fights against dehydration. Dehydration is usually what kills a small kitten when they get diarrhea. I would advise trying the non flavored pedialyte first with each time you feed them until you start seeing firmer poop. Make sure you stimulate them to go before you feed them.
♦There are a couple of things that cause diarrhea. The formula may be too strong, you may be feeding them too much, they might have worms, they could just be adjusting to the formula. My kittens got it pretty bad after taking them off of mama cats milk. Their systems are so sensitive, anytime you change their diet it can cause diarrhea.
♦Until you can get them to the vet, here is my advice.
1)Go to Walmart or Walgreens and buy: non-flavored Pedialyte, and a food scale. estimated cost for both of these things is: $8 (that's all I spent for mine)
2)Weigh your babies and write down how much they weigh.
3)Look on the side of the Just Born Formula box for a feeding guide. It will tell you how much to feed them every 4, 6, or 8 hours. Since they have diarrhea I would recommend every 4 hours. You can go to www.farnampets.com to get more information on how to do this.
4)My kittens now weigh 14 oz, so I feed them 1 teaspoon of pedialyte, and 2 teaspoons of Just Born in a nursing bottle. You can get a syringe from the pharmacy for free to help you measure how much to give them. Figure out how much formula you should give them after weighing them and looking on your guide.
5)The best way to warm their bottles is to stick the bottle of formula and pedialyte in a pan of tepid water(near boiling) until it is warm enough. Place a drop on your wrist to make sure it is not too hot which could scald babies tummy.
6)Write down the time you are going to start feeding them.
7)Stimulate them to potty before you feed them. I have had a lot of luck with the hypo-allergenic scent free baby wipes. (a lot of these things I have mentioned can be found at the dollar store). If they do not go don't over do it. Go ahead and feed them.
8)set one of the babies on a towel or small blanket and feed them the pedialyte formula mixture. Make sure they are on their bellies while they eat.
9)When bubbles come out of their mouth or they turn away from the bottle, pick them up to your shoulder and pat/rub their little backs until they burp.
10)Set them down in a warm, non-drafty, quiet spot so they can settle down to sleep. You can rub their little tummies after they eat and are lying down to help them digest their food. They may need to go potty now if they didn't before so wipe their bottoms with the baby wipes.
11)You wrote down what time you fed them so get the next bottle ready while they sleep. In four hours repeat this process.
12)Until you see firmer poop, keep them on this pedialyte/formula regime. When their poop starts to get firmer you can stat giving them less pedialyte and more formula.
♦Now, I will also advise that if this doesn't help you need to get them to the vet ASAP. It could be an early sign of other very serious illnesses. My kittens were de-wormed at two weeks. You should go to the vet and have the same thing done. I would still take them to the vet to be checked anyway. What I have told you will keep them hydrated. It doesn't diagnose them or cure anything. I am serious about taking them to the vet. I had four kittens and now I only have two. I am passing you all of this information I have learned through having two of my babies die on me. Their was nothing I could do because they got sick from moms milk. The vet had to give all of them shots of antibiotic for this. I don't know the story of your kittens. So it is very important you get them checked out by the vet. Take a baggy of a sample of their poo when you go so the vet can check for parasites. I hope this information has helped you and if you have any more kitty questions you can email me at: laceyanntaylor@yahoo.com . My prayers are with you and I hope your little ones make it! ☺
Kaopectate depending on how little they are I would only give them a little bit, watch to see if they are getting a little more firm potty.If not give just a tiny bit more in about an hour. Once you think their potty is not in the diarrhea state give them, that amount every 6 hours until Monday then call the Vet and get them in.
They can pull though if you work with this. Do not give them more then a little drop of the Kaopectate because you do not want to constipate them. Make sure you are using the warm rough wash cloth on their little bottoms on a very regular bases. Mother cats wash their kittens very often and I think at times we don't do it often enough.
Yes pediolite or even gatoraid will help you will have to give it to them with a small syringe, like you do the kaopectate. I have even used beef or chicken broth in a pinch.
Even if they are using the kitty box on their own, still wash their bottoms so you can see how firm their stools are getting.
Here is a link I found that tells you that you can use the kaopectate.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1459&articleid=1431
My boyfriend and I found a kitten and it pooped on its self a lot. its back legs were always wet we always had to give him a bath and wrap him in a towl to hold him. come to find out the cat had lukimea. we couldnt do anything for him but put him down. You need to go to the vet and have them look and the kittens.
You would have to train the kittens to use the litter box, they dont automatically go to the litter box. After they eat put them in the litter box, every time, even when you catch them going in the wrong spot, put them in the box. But yes for a while their poop will look like diarrhea. it will soon be normal looking.
Im really sorry but some of your letters have me howling with laughter.Your all forgetting the kittens are 2 weeks old.Have any of you seen how much effort a kitten has to put into having its first solid poo.At two weeks old the kittens poo is runny.Mum starts them off pooing and when finished mum cleans them off.They simpey wouldnt be able to cope if the poo was solid.Their litle muscles arent strong enough.Diarrhea at this age is quite normal.Its only when kittens have solid poos and then they change you have to start looking into why.
I agree with magic on the Kaopectate...but let me double up on the fact that you want to ask a vet how much to give. They're age (size) is why diarreah...even diarreah that's simply caused by the replacement milk, is so dangerous for them...
I wouldn't hesitate to mix the replacement milk with the tasteless pediolite, instead of water...it may not stop the diarreah, but it help keep the electrolites in their little bodies...
Good luck.
phrannie
I hate to say it but when they get diharea they generally wont live. You have to try to get rid of it straight away. Your not feeding them food as well as the bottle are you? You also have to sterilise their teets, bottles etc so they dont get sick which they may already be. If you can afford to take them for a check up. Kittens with the runs at this age deteriorate really quickly. xx good luk with them .
alright mr. non-veterinary graduate. kittens don't normally do regular bathrooms until they are about 4 weeks old. until then, the mother cleans up their feces that looks like diarrhea. so it should be more than normal for their feces to look like diarrhea.
And you know what to do for the kittens until she can get them to the Vet. Mr. Hateful? AND kittens do know how use a litter box normally and the potty is not really diarrhea
Can you reference your helpful advice?
I dont know about pedialyte but the just born formula will help a lot !maybe you could call a local vet! btw my sister had kittens that age and their mom died and she did the same as you ,they turned out fine
Oh my guess is they may have worms? If the mother cat was a stray. They will need to be wormed. 2 weeks old is a good time to start. Get the stuff the Vet gives you Monday. Go to the vets
