I've been keeping a close eye on Ash, the kitten I'm fostering until we find a good home for her.
So far shes been pooping good, a good consistency and such, but just recently her poop was very mushy, not liquid, but more like soggy bread.
Shes been eating the same food.
Should I worry? Does she need more water or?
Sorry if this isn't the right forum to post, I don't quite know where to go.
Vitae, you came to the right place, but there may be a wait to get the answers you need, some of the more knowledgeable people may not be on at this time. but they will be eventually.
Posted 3 years ago by KarenCentennial #
Vitae, this is exactly the right place to come to for help & advice. Is Ash ok in herself or lethargic? Is she pooping more often / is it diarrhoea? Has she had anything with cow's milk in (v v bad for kittens)?
Posted 3 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #
Shes been really active and jumpy and playful the past few hours, not lethargic though a bit shaky in the knees.
I gave her a bath shortly before her poop, warm water and a little tiny bit of soft hand soap, mostly on her backside. I dried her off as much as I could, she kept squirming out of my grasp, finally getting out of my arms and running around my computer area, coming back a minute later shivering.
I picked her up and held her to my body to get her back to being warm and using a shirt to dry her the rest of the way.
Think it could have been the soap or the cold?
I haven't given her any milk, just the same food in warm water.
I'm assuming that the water mixed with the food was good, cause she refuses to drink any other water unless it has dissolved food in it.
Should I worry?
It could be to do with the bath...I don't think there's any major cause for concern, but keep an eye on her over the next 12-24 hours...and keep checking back here, I am by no means a kitten expert compared to may other TDKers, who may have better advice to offer.
Posted 3 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #
Vitae, make sure that when you're offering food that's been mixed with water, mix it up right before feeding. And don't refrigerate it or let it sit more than an hour! You'd be amazed at the bacteria in dry food that becomes active when the food gets wet. If it's in the kitty's tummy, no problem; stomach acid will take care of them right away. But if it's left to sit around, those bacteria multiply very, very quickly.
Is there any way you can get your hands on a couple cans of cat food? Just to help get you through weaning? Along with a small can of kitten milk replacer?
I usually take a small saucer, put down 1 heaping tablespoon of canned cat food, and spread it thinly on the saucer. Then I drizzle the kitten milk replacer all over it. They usually get the idea pretty quickly! And then it's just a matter of reducing the amount of kitten formula, until the kitten's eating canned food only.
http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1388&articleid=912
After I have a kitten eating canned food, it's easy enough to start offering a saucer of dry kitten food (smaller pieces are easier for them to eat). If the kitten switches over to dry food, you'll want to keep down a shallow bowl of water at all times.
Posted 3 years ago by anncetera2 #
Thanks Anncetera2
My sister in law is taking me to the pet store tomorrow and I'll be sure to pick up some cans of wet food and replacement milk!
Ash hasn't eaten much since earlier this morning, about maybe a mouthful of food, but she has drunk water. No more poopy either. Shes still hyper, in fact shes running around my desk top chasing shadows and her tail as we speak :3
This'll probably be a good time to switch her to the better food and replacement milk.
I also plan to get her some toys and such, and a scratching post.. shes using my plastic lamp tube as her scratching post now... I didn't know they scratched this early :3 My cats just use my old broken ghetto furniture..
Anything else I should look for when going to the pet store tomorrow to get Ash?
You might try a cardboard scratcher pad for the scratching post. It's inexpensive, and you can either lay it on the ground or mount it vertically - whichever way Ash seems to prefer.
When you search for cans of food, see if you can find one that doesn't contain any gluten (whether corn, wheat, or other grain). I've found that PetsMart carries a line called Sophisticat; the salmon and whitefish flavors don't appear to have any grain gluten listed in the ingredients. I've been a bit leery of gluten as an ingredient, ever since the melamine-poisoned pet food problem.
(Which seems unresolved, since melamine's turning up in other products in/from China, including baby formula and other human food.)
Posted 3 years ago by anncetera2 #
Oh, and I've found one of the best toys is half a piece of notebook paper, crumpled tightly into a ball and rolled across the floor.
Posted 3 years ago by anncetera2 #
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