Expert: Jessica - 9/17/2009

Question
QUESTION: This past Saturday I adopted 2 kittens from this lady I found on Craigslist and I am not sure how old they are (they are a little bigger than the span of my hand).  They were bottle feed since the mom wanted nothing to do with them and were on solid/wet food when I picked them up.  I have tried to show them how to use the litter box by placing them in it and scratching it with their paws.  Tonight I was watching them play around in their box and noticed that the female was "leaking" stool.  I'm not sure if she was leaking or if they were just playing around and she went and rolled in it.  Could this be a sign of something else?  What should I be looking for as far as behavior?  When does their stool start to become solid and is there anything I can give them to help the process a little.  I have since switched them to only solid food and they seem to be doing fine with it.  Please help so I don't have to explain to my son where his kittens went if something happens.

ANSWER: Hi Jessica.  Their stool should be solid already.  They should definitely see a vet.  Young kittens often have parasitic infections including worms and protozoan germs that cause diarrhea this severe.  The babies will probably need to be dewormed and most likely will also need an antibiotic that treats gastrointestinal infections.

However, if the babies are as small as I'm envisioning, the food may have something to do with their loose stools, too.  Kittens are really not at all ready for dry food until at least 8-12 weeks old (I actually wait until my babies are 16 weeks before allowing them much dry food).  Their digestive systems are not ready for dry foods because kibble contains a lot of vegetable matter that is difficult for cats to digest.  It takes several weeks for a kitten's gut to be able to transition from digesting milk, to moist solid foods, to completely dry foods.  Most kittens weigh about 2 pounds at 8 weeks.  If your babies weigh any less than this, then I would definitely cut out the dry food for now and stick to an all canned food diet for them.  The vet may recommend going with a prescription food right now, while their stomachs are upset.  Some good foods are Hill's i/d and also for young kittens, a/d.  But the vet will certainly determine the appropriate diet for the little ones.

I would get the babies to the vet ASAP.  Diarrhea can quickly be a serious condition in babies because they dehydrate a lot more easily than adult cats.  Dehydration leads to an electrolyte imbalance, which may affect heart and brain function, and that leaves kittens in critical condition.

Hope the babies are in good shape soon!

Jessica

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QUESTION: I have contacted the SPCA to have them checked. The stool appears to be firmer but it is hard to tell as they are trying to use the litter box now and it clumps up before I can get a good look.  Since I can not get them in before October I have another question.  The past couple of times I have cleaned the litter box the stool appears to be for lack of words "swirly" to me it looks like it just loops around and around till they are done.  Could this be a sign that the stool is starting to firm up?  One time it appeared to be really long and firmer but like you said it could be worms.  But this particular stool actually reminded me of a worm you would find outside, not sure if that is even possible for them to have something this size and I am not sure if it was even a worm at all.  When I go to the vet in October I will try to bring a recent sample with me.  In the mean time until I can get there, is there something OTC I can try to give them to help, aside from the Science Diet food?

Answer
The best thing you can do for them besides a good canned kitten food, in the absence of vet care, is to add in some pea baby food to their canned food to provide bulk that should help firm the stools up.  Adult cats would get a teaspoon per meal.  These babies may get half or even a quarter of that, depending on their size.  You don't want to add TOO much, or else they won't get enough protein in their meals.  Better to underestimate than overestimate in this case.

Additionally, you should give them a probiotic.  This is something that will encourage the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut.  Sometimes diarrhea is caused by an overgrowth of "bad" bacteria, and adding more beneficial bacteria can help balance things out.  Commercial probiotics, such as Benebac, Probiocin, or the latest and greatest, FortiFlora, are available online or at some pet stores.  Or, you can give the kittens unflavored (plain) yogurt, which has some of the same live cultures.  Ideally, give the kittens at least half a teaspoon of yogurt twice a day.

There are some over-the-counter dewormers, but I hate them.  They contain piperazine, and I really dislike a lot of the safety reports I've read, not to mention the number of people who've contacted me through this site who have had kittens convulse or even die after taking the medication.  It is generally regarded as safe, but the vet will use a pyrantel dewormer, which is far safer.  You can pick up a piperazine-based dewormer at a pet store if you notice the kittens vomiting up spaghetti-like worms or see these worms in their stool, AND the kittens are old enough and heavy enough to treat per label directions.  Otherwise, I would recommend to hold off on deworming until you can see the vet.

I hope that keeps things at bay!