# 10 day old kittens are constipated-HELP!!



## Chewysmom (Mar 31, 2009)

I have four foster kittens that are 10 days old (approx) I have been pottying them before and after every meal. Everyone's making good gains and peeing great...but poo is more difficult.

I'm using KMR in the recommended amounts and it seems it has maybe constipated them. I got one to poop today- about two inches of firm but not hard well formed poo, light/medium brown. This is the first time I've seen anyo of them poop in approximately 3 days. 
I try stimulating the others, stroking tummy, lightly rubbing anal area, but it seems I am chafing the poor dears. They cry like crazy and thrash around while I'm trying...

Is it safe to mix a little pumpkin into the formula at this age?
I have mineral oil also, and goat milk. For their last feeding I went with the goat milk instead and added a smudge of purified water to it.
I have not tried the mineral oil yet but I was wondering if they are too young to have a bit of pumpkin in the mix?
A trip to the vet is a last resort...these were unplanned, they came from a neighborhood cat who was hit by a car and no one else seemed interested in caring for them.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Don't do the pumpkin yet, I'd start with cooking oil (olive/veg, doesn't matter) and just put a few teeny drops on their lips. Start with that and see how it goes.

The goats milk might help, especially watered down.

If you go back to the formula make it waterier (or however you'd spell that, lol) than the mix calls for. Are they dehydrated at all? Gently pinch up their scruffs, if they fall right back down you're good, if they slowly relax that's a problem.

It's quite common for babies that age not to go as much as adults, they aren't taking in any solids yet, so it takes long to accumulate the waste. If your other cats are kitten safe/friendly you could see if they'll help out. Many other members have had luck with adult cats grooming the kittens and getting them to go, as long as you have an adult of the right temperament to help with babies.


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## Chewysmom (Mar 31, 2009)

librarychick said:


> Don't do the pumpkin yet, I'd start with cooking oil (olive/veg, doesn't matter) and just put a few teeny drops on their lips. Start with that and see how it goes.
> 
> The goats milk might help, especially watered down.
> 
> ...


ok... first of all thanks for the response, and here's an update...
I checked them for dehydration, and they were not, thank goodness...

After another day of no poop and trying the oil (a tiny amount of coconut oil given in their first dropper of goat's milk, since I didn't think peanut oil would be a good choice) I got desperate, as I know how serious it can be if they get the small intestine bound up with hard poo. 
I called around to make sure the pumpkin would be safe, and at the word of an animal care center that does a lot of fostering, I went ahead and added about 1/4 tsp per kitten per feeding and dropped the KMR altogether and started using goat's milk exclusively (Meyenberg brand). 

Another day and a half and then the poop started coming. It was a battle to get it out at first, and it was all odd shapes, and as hard as hard cheddar cheese, so this was a close one since I think this was a result of the poo beginning to occupy the small intestine. 

I had to do a lot of tummy massaging and coaxing... then I figured each stimulation equaled movement and so I adhered to a strict schedule of pottying before meals, 20 minutes after finishing, then 2 hours after (right in the middle between 4 hour feedings) It became typical to only get pee right before meals, some poo 20 minutes after, but most of the BMs came out in the interim pottyings 2 hours in. 

Now everyone is pooing after nearly every meal!! I've never been so happy about poo lol. The consistency is still pretty firm, but it's moving easily through the system and exiting fairly easily. I'm getting about an 1 to 1.5 inch per kitten per day and it's regular and consistent, which is what I'm going for. Everyone seems to be less cranky and way more active and comfortable.

I did have an adult that could have licked them down, and she did, but did not give as much attention as was needed to get things moving, and they got very frustrated with not having her all the time to cuddle and suckle on.


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## Mylita (Jan 23, 2013)

Good job!! 

Mylita


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

That's awesome! I'm very glad to hear they're doing better 

We need picture now of course


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