Stomach & Stool
Problems in
Cats & Kittens
Cat Stool Odor...Stinky Poo...
Dear Simba,
We adopted a 7 /1/2 old kitten from the SPCA 1 1/2 months ago. He is very active and gets along great with our other cat. He has the most fowl smelling poop! He clears the house it is so bad! We have taken him to the vet and they examined him and did a stool sample. His stool was "normal", they found nothing wrong with him other than a gas problem. The vet suggested changing his food and we have done so, twice! Once to Iams kitten formula and other to Nutro-Kitten formula.
The stool oder has
improved only slightly. His belly still looks and feels
hard.
Would giving him beneficial bacteria such as acidophilus help? It supposedly helps maintain a health balance of intestinal flora in humans. Smelly Cat's Parents
Dear Smelly Cat's Parents,
I would go against giving kitty any type of human supplement without a vet's approval. Let’s see if we can find a cause first. There are a couple of possibilities for kitty’s smelly stool and some of these do not show up in fecal exams. It might be worthwhile to test kitty for:
We adopted a 7 /1/2 old kitten from the SPCA 1 1/2 months ago. He is very active and gets along great with our other cat. He has the most fowl smelling poop! He clears the house it is so bad! We have taken him to the vet and they examined him and did a stool sample. His stool was "normal", they found nothing wrong with him other than a gas problem. The vet suggested changing his food and we have done so, twice! Once to Iams kitten formula and other to Nutro-Kitten formula.
Would giving him beneficial bacteria such as acidophilus help? It supposedly helps maintain a health balance of intestinal flora in humans. Smelly Cat's Parents
Dear Smelly Cat's Parents,
I would go against giving kitty any type of human supplement without a vet's approval. Let’s see if we can find a cause first. There are a couple of possibilities for kitty’s smelly stool and some of these do not show up in fecal exams. It might be worthwhile to test kitty for:
- GiardiaNot found on fecal exams, these single-celled parasitic organisms attach themselves to or swim freely in the mucus lining of intestine. They can produce pungent stools. Vets usually administer metronidazole (Flagyl Rx) or fenbendazole (Panacur Rx) to treat this.
- Coccidia Not always found on fecal exams, these small protozoan (one-celled organisms) multiply in the intestinal tract. They are most common in kittens less than 6 months old. Most older cats are resistant to them. They are passed through the intestinal tract and can produce pungent stools and diarrhea (less likely in your case). Vets usually administer a sulfa antiseptic medication for 10-14 days for this. Reinfection is common because Coccidia can lie in the environment and can be easily re-ingested. It is important to thoroughly clean the home with bleach or disinfectant cleaners to prevent this.
Dear Simba,
I have a 4 week old orphaned kitten. I have been feeding him kitten replacement formula. At first he was constipated but that has now subsided. He will eat and about 4 to 6 hours later have a curded formula and a water ring around it. His stools are now slightly green, they have been yellow before.
He is very active
and his abdomen is not taut or distended. Lately I have been
mixing the kitten formula with pedialyte instead of water. What
else can I do? - Concerned
Dear Concerned,
You are a good person for taking care of this poor little guy. Here's the scoop: yellow stools are indicative of a bacterial imbalance in the bowel. If the little guy has diarrhea this is usually related to Coccidia. Coccidia are microscopic, parasites that affect the intestinal tract and liver. Best thing to do is to take the little guy to the vet or local animal hospital right away, have him checked out and treated. - Simba
I have a 4 week old orphaned kitten. I have been feeding him kitten replacement formula. At first he was constipated but that has now subsided. He will eat and about 4 to 6 hours later have a curded formula and a water ring around it. His stools are now slightly green, they have been yellow before.
 Digestive Supplement |
Dear Concerned,
You are a good person for taking care of this poor little guy. Here's the scoop: yellow stools are indicative of a bacterial imbalance in the bowel. If the little guy has diarrhea this is usually related to Coccidia. Coccidia are microscopic, parasites that affect the intestinal tract and liver. Best thing to do is to take the little guy to the vet or local animal hospital right away, have him checked out and treated. - Simba
Kitten Stool Color Guide
Hi Simba,
I just noticed a bloody stool in my 4-month old kitten's litter box. It did not appear to be in the stool, but rather stuck on it with a sort of discharge. She is otherwise completely normal, and this is the only stool of this nature I have found. I'm so worried! - Rebecca
Dear Rebecca,
It is possible that this may be an isolated event. At the same time, blood in the stool is indicative of more serious problems.
Poop Color Guide
Any of the following require that kitty receive IMMEDIATE medical attention
The following may require that you seek medical advice:
I just noticed a bloody stool in my 4-month old kitten's litter box. It did not appear to be in the stool, but rather stuck on it with a sort of discharge. She is otherwise completely normal, and this is the only stool of this nature I have found. I'm so worried! - Rebecca
Dear Rebecca,
It is possible that this may be an isolated event. At the same time, blood in the stool is indicative of more serious problems.
Poop Color Guide
Any of the following require that kitty receive IMMEDIATE medical attention
- Bloody: red blood in stool may indicate panleukepenia (distempter).
- Black: possible bleeding high in the bowel.
- Mucous: slimy substance may indicate severe bowel irritation.
- White: possible serious bowel infection. High risk of death.
The following may require that you seek medical advice:
- Orange: means there may be too much bile in stool.
- Yellow: is indicative of a bacterial imbalance in bowel.
Hi,
We have an 11-month old cat. He was treated for diarrhea before a few weeks ago when our vet gave him a steroid injection and an injection of antibiotics. Two days later he continued antibiotics in a tablet form.
The diarrhea that had mucous with it cleared up after about 4 to 5 days. Since then he is been fine, until just
recently. The mucous has returned, as has the diarrhea and he
leave little "spots" of loose stool when he sits down
(not all the time). The vet noticed a "thickening"
between his back legs that we seem to remember being something to
do with a lymph node/gland. This "thickening" reduced
and the vet gave us the all clear about 10 days ago. He still
eats well, but does occasionally appear "hunched" in
the way that he sits. He did have a brother that unfortunately
died of an FIP-related stroke about 3
months ago. This cat is not showing any of the signs that the
other did, but we thought it might be relevant.
We are taking him to our vets tomorrow, however we would both like a second opinion on possibilities, we are worried and we do not want anything to happen to this cat, losing the other was bad enough. K&D
Dear K&D,
Hopefully by now your vet have helped out kitty. Check out the letter from Concerned Kitties, as the symptoms they described appear similar to yours. My other thought is that kitty may have inflammatory bowel syndrome.
Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome is a slow-developing disease that causes inflammation in the intestinal track. It can develop in one of two ways the inflammatory cells can enter the intestinal wall in response to an injury or infection or parasites, food intolerance, bacteria, fungi, or cancer can cause the immune system to come into action which can cause inflammation. Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome is not life threatening and its symptoms can be treated. Adding extra fiber into the diet may help by improving the fluid balance inside the intestine thus relieving any diarrhea. Another venue includes antibiotics (for bacterial infections) or other prescription medicines. Your vet will have probably recommended some for your cat. Keep me posted. Simba
We have an 11-month old cat. He was treated for diarrhea before a few weeks ago when our vet gave him a steroid injection and an injection of antibiotics. Two days later he continued antibiotics in a tablet form.
Digestive Supplement |
We are taking him to our vets tomorrow, however we would both like a second opinion on possibilities, we are worried and we do not want anything to happen to this cat, losing the other was bad enough. K&D
Dear K&D,
Hopefully by now your vet have helped out kitty. Check out the letter from Concerned Kitties, as the symptoms they described appear similar to yours. My other thought is that kitty may have inflammatory bowel syndrome.
Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome is a slow-developing disease that causes inflammation in the intestinal track. It can develop in one of two ways the inflammatory cells can enter the intestinal wall in response to an injury or infection or parasites, food intolerance, bacteria, fungi, or cancer can cause the immune system to come into action which can cause inflammation. Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome is not life threatening and its symptoms can be treated. Adding extra fiber into the diet may help by improving the fluid balance inside the intestine thus relieving any diarrhea. Another venue includes antibiotics (for bacterial infections) or other prescription medicines. Your vet will have probably recommended some for your cat. Keep me posted. Simba
Giardia in Kittens
Hi Simba,
My name is Sharon, I have a kitten, Lambchop, whom we found outside last summer. Since day 2 of her arrival, she has been drooling, fatigued and has had diarrhea. She has had only the one bout of diarrhea, but concurring bouts of stomach aches, drooling, wet nose on top and whisker areas, fatigue and looks very sickly in the face and eye area. She is at times unable to even stand. As of today, we have taken her to the doctors/emergency clinic on 7 occasions!
Over the weekend it returned. I will have to call doctor in a.m. She also had to be taken in on Thursday. She was being treated for Giardia. The doctor even over medicated her in trying to rid it permanency. All of my other cats (4) and the dog have been treated. She is now ~8 months old. The doctors are really worried about her. She has been given a medication that is given 30 minutes prior to her meal for the last 4 days. It seemed to be working fine, but once again, she is starting to show the same symptoms. Please help this poor kitten, I do not know what to do. - Sharon S & Lambchop
Dear Sharon S & Lambchop,
If not eliminated, Giardia can be a chronic condition. What happens is that these protozoa grow and reproduce inside of the intestinal wall. They prevent the proper absorption of nutrients, damage the delicate intestinal lining and interfere with digestion. The result is a sickly and lethargic animal, like Lambchop. Treating Giardia involves medication & decontamination.
There are 3 drugs available in the United States to treat Giardia:
Decontamination is just as important. The thing about Giardia is that when expelled they are in the form of cysts containing many Giardia organisms that can survive in outside of the intestinal tract. It is very important that you thoroughly clean your home and wash suspected areas with a bleach or bleach like cleaner to remove all traces of this organism. Since Giardia can attach themselves to the hair & coat of your cats and your dog, it is important that you wash them with a quaternary ammonium compound, using the manufacturer’s recommended dilution. Leave the compound on the animal for 3 minutes and rinse off all the shampoo before you set them loose. You may want to consider putting your animals in a kennel or vet's office for a day to have them cleaned with quaternary ammonium compound you clean your home so as to avoid contamination. Simba
My name is Sharon, I have a kitten, Lambchop, whom we found outside last summer. Since day 2 of her arrival, she has been drooling, fatigued and has had diarrhea. She has had only the one bout of diarrhea, but concurring bouts of stomach aches, drooling, wet nose on top and whisker areas, fatigue and looks very sickly in the face and eye area. She is at times unable to even stand. As of today, we have taken her to the doctors/emergency clinic on 7 occasions!
Over the weekend it returned. I will have to call doctor in a.m. She also had to be taken in on Thursday. She was being treated for Giardia. The doctor even over medicated her in trying to rid it permanency. All of my other cats (4) and the dog have been treated. She is now ~8 months old. The doctors are really worried about her. She has been given a medication that is given 30 minutes prior to her meal for the last 4 days. It seemed to be working fine, but once again, she is starting to show the same symptoms. Please help this poor kitten, I do not know what to do. - Sharon S & Lambchop
Dear Sharon S & Lambchop,
If not eliminated, Giardia can be a chronic condition. What happens is that these protozoa grow and reproduce inside of the intestinal wall. They prevent the proper absorption of nutrients, damage the delicate intestinal lining and interfere with digestion. The result is a sickly and lethargic animal, like Lambchop. Treating Giardia involves medication & decontamination.
There are 3 drugs available in the United States to treat Giardia:
- Quinacrine (Atabrine)
- Metronidazole (Flagyl)
- Furazolidone (Furoxone)
Decontamination is just as important. The thing about Giardia is that when expelled they are in the form of cysts containing many Giardia organisms that can survive in outside of the intestinal tract. It is very important that you thoroughly clean your home and wash suspected areas with a bleach or bleach like cleaner to remove all traces of this organism. Since Giardia can attach themselves to the hair & coat of your cats and your dog, it is important that you wash them with a quaternary ammonium compound, using the manufacturer’s recommended dilution. Leave the compound on the animal for 3 minutes and rinse off all the shampoo before you set them loose. You may want to consider putting your animals in a kennel or vet's office for a day to have them cleaned with quaternary ammonium compound you clean your home so as to avoid contamination. Simba
Constipation in Kittens
I just got a five week old male kitten.
I have had him for almost 2 days now and he has not pooped yet.
He has peed several times. It seems as though he tries, but to no
avail. I have rubbed a damp washcloth along his bottom, and that
has not worked either. It seems to me that he should have to
go, because he has been eating very well! I have given him a tiny
bit of tuna oil, because I was told that would help. So far it
has not. Please help! Jenni
Dear Jenni,
While some cats respond to increasing the fiber in their diet
using fiber rich pumpkin pie filling, I worry that your kitten is
a bit young for these. Anyway, these remedies should not be
applied without a vet’s supervision. At 5 weeks of age,
your kitten’s stools will be very small in size
(like a small tootsie roll), it is entirely reasonable that he
has going potty.
Make sure also that you are feeding your friend kitten food only. Cats have very delicate digestive systems and it is possible that a recent change in his diet has impacted him. If your kitten cries in pain while trying to go potty, go to a vet, as painful bowel movements and severe constipation may indicate a presence of Megacolon. Megacolon is a condition in which the colon loses its muscular tone and enlarges. It leads to constipation and can be quite painful to cats. The good news is that it is treatable. Simba
Dear Jenni,
| sponsored links: |
Make sure also that you are feeding your friend kitten food only. Cats have very delicate digestive systems and it is possible that a recent change in his diet has impacted him. If your kitten cries in pain while trying to go potty, go to a vet, as painful bowel movements and severe constipation may indicate a presence of Megacolon. Megacolon is a condition in which the colon loses its muscular tone and enlarges. It leads to constipation and can be quite painful to cats. The good news is that it is treatable. Simba
Dear Simba,
I have a new kitten that I have been bottle-feeding since birth. She was born on September and she is my little baby. I have been trying to show her how to clean herself and she seems to be getting the general idea but I cannot seem to get her to poop. I have tried everything from rubbing her belly to putting her in warm water and I do not know what else to do. Please help! - Worried Mom
Dear Worried Mom,
Poor little guy! You are moving in the right direction. It is not an easy job. Know that mother cats usually lick the "back side" of their kittens in order to stimulate bowel and bladder movement. Because the kitten’s mom is not around it is your job to take care of this. Here are some tips:
- Gently rub the kitten’s lower tummy, the genitals and rectum with a moistened cotton ball/pad, or tissue.
- Rub only a little bit (be careful that you not over-stimulate the area and cause irritation)
- Watch out for any chafing and lingering dirt.
Flatulence in Cats and Kittens
My name is Brat, but my person may
change my name to "Toots" if I do not get help soon. I
tend to produce silent-but-deadly emissions. I do not think it is
that bad, but you know humans....tell them what to do for me so I
do not end up banished to the great outdoors.
Dear Brat,
So sorry to hear of your condition. I hope the following helps you keep your birth name.
Some background. Flatulence is almost always the result of either
air swallowing or of the bacterial fermentation of food in the
intestines. Liquid diets cause more air to be swallowed. The air
then travels through the intestinal track and, well, you know the
rest…You can reduce air swallowing by having your humans
feed you dry food in small quantities, several times a day. As
for bacterial fermentation, this is caused by food not moving
through the bowels fast enough. Avoid any and all foods with milk
or milk by-products, since most cats are lactose
intolerant.
Also, ensure that your people play with you since exercise is important in maintaining a healthy intestinal track. A healthy digestive system has less fermentation, and, well you know the rest…Keep me posted. Simba
Dear Brat,
So sorry to hear of your condition. I hope the following helps you keep your birth name.
| sponsored links: |
Also, ensure that your people play with you since exercise is important in maintaining a healthy intestinal track. A healthy digestive system has less fermentation, and, well you know the rest…Keep me posted. Simba
Kitten With Bad Breath
Dear Simba,
My kitten, Karma, is approx. 3 months old and is a typical kitten but also very bright and loving. The problem is that she seems to have very bad breath! Is this common or should I be concerned..... Listerine Kitty's Mom
Dear Listerine Kitty's Mom,
Some bad breath is normal during the teething period in kittens. In older cats the most common causes of bad breath are dental plaque, tartar-induced gingivitis, and inflamed teeth. Check to see if Karma has any sores or inflammation in her mouth. Dental problems are very serious and can cause all sorts of ailments.
Other causes of bad breath may include nasal infections, feline acne among others. It is also possible that kitty may have some metabolic problems like kidney disease or diseases of the stomach which lead to chronic vomiting and the accompanying bad breath. Your best bet is to begin with a dental care program, which includes brushing of his teeth (click here for tips on how to do this). Check with your vet if you do not see an improvement. Simba
My kitten, Karma, is approx. 3 months old and is a typical kitten but also very bright and loving. The problem is that she seems to have very bad breath! Is this common or should I be concerned..... Listerine Kitty's Mom
Dear Listerine Kitty's Mom,
Some bad breath is normal during the teething period in kittens. In older cats the most common causes of bad breath are dental plaque, tartar-induced gingivitis, and inflamed teeth. Check to see if Karma has any sores or inflammation in her mouth. Dental problems are very serious and can cause all sorts of ailments.
Other causes of bad breath may include nasal infections, feline acne among others. It is also possible that kitty may have some metabolic problems like kidney disease or diseases of the stomach which lead to chronic vomiting and the accompanying bad breath. Your best bet is to begin with a dental care program, which includes brushing of his teeth (click here for tips on how to do this). Check with your vet if you do not see an improvement. Simba