Expert: Jessica - 9/12/2010

Question
Hello, I have a mother cat whose kittens are just under 3 weeks now. She did great during birth, as this was her first litter. I have noticed lately that she has been drinking through her water bowl in just a few hours. Normally it would take up to 2 days for me to see it empty. I noticed today that she has some diarrhea and it was all over the outside of the litter box and some on the floor. She has been licking her anus area but there is no blood or discharge. She has an unlimited amount of dry food and gets half a can of wet food a day. Her kittens are perfectly healthy i am just concerned about mommy. If you could help me out, i would be grateful. Thanks!  

Answer
Hi Nathan,

Unfortunately, mom needs to see a vet.  Cats can become easily dehydrated with diarrhea this severe, and with kittens nursing, the threat is much higher.  She is most likely drinking so much to try to replenish all the water she's losing from the diarrhea and nursing.  

But depending on how old she is, there could be other causes for her diarrhea and excessive thirst, too.  Older cats are prone to overactive thyroid, and this can cause diarrhea and excessive thirst.  A blood test can rule this out.

It's important to have a vet address her condition.  First, her electrolytes are probably imbalanced if she's suffering dehydration, and this can lead to an irregular heartbeat, seizures and even death.  The vet can correct dehydration and replenish electrolytes by giving her a special fluid under the skin, called Lactated Ringer's Solution.

The vet will also give her medications to help resolve her diarrhea.  Most cases are caused by either a virus, bacterial overgrowth, protozoan germs or parasitic worms.  Most of these will be contagious to the kittens once they start using the litter box in just another week or so.  The vet can give mom a dewormer and also an antibiotic.  Sometimes probiotics can help replenish good bacteria in the gut, which help control problem-causing bacteria.

After this, I think mom should be in good shape.

Good luck!

Jessica