Quintfecta

We went to the vet today, thus completing this week’s “quintfecta” of office visits.  I was worried because after yesterday’s treatment the kittens remained constipated, so around 3pm we took them in for another round of enemas.  This time there was more “movement” after the visit, although none of the kittens are pooping on a regular basis, and one of them is producing what looks like those hard alfalfa pellets which are fed to rabbits.  I feel so sorry for them as they’ve had so many things stuck up their butts this week, and they must be terribly uncomfortable, but I want to stay on top of the problem until we get it fixed.  It hasn’t affected their appetites at all, but it can’t be good for them to be so backlogged.

I asked the vet if I should change anything in the kittens’ diet, but he said to keep everything the way it is.  I’ve read suggestions about adding pumpkin to the diet, mineral oil, olive oil, Citrucel, etc., but I’ll leave things alone unless they end up needing a third treatment.  They really are growing at an amazing rate, and the two smallest ones have almost caught up in size to the biggest ones.  I hope it’s real muscle mass and not just poop mass wink

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 06/24 at 07:50 PM

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  1. Yes, they are adorable.
    Last year I had a kitten for a while - born without a tail. Apparently tailless kittens are prone to megacolon - they are essentially deformed and the no-tail thing is just one part of it, quite often. Pregnancy would have killed her because her pelvic girdle was much too small. She was just a great, fearless little thing and I wanted so badly to keep her. But Daphne the Destructo-Rott wanted to kill her. It was all very stressful keeping everyone apart, I tried everything but it wasn’t going to work. :(
    Anyhow, she got very ill over a weekend and I couldn’t get to a vet. She stopped eating and became listless and dehydrated.
    I made a gruel of water, canned food and a little mineral oil and syringed it down the poor wee thing every few hours. She managed to poop out some of those little pellets, but was still sick. Monday morning, the vet said that was about the perfect thing to do and possibly saved her life. They gave her an enema and she had explosive diarrhea. Gack.
    She was also to be on low-residue food for life. I wound up rehoming her with someone who already had a megacolon cat and was very knowlegable about care, it can be life threatening.
    Anyhow I doubt that’s the problem with your kittens, of course! Is it maybe because they’re getting formula instead of mothers’ milk?

    Posted by Carina  on  06/25  at  11:10 AM

  2. Carina, I wish I knew why the kittens are constipated, as I didn’t have any of these problems last time I used the KMR formula.  All I can think of is that they were probably severely dehydrated by the time I got them, and that they were so used to their Mom’s milk that the diet change threw their intestines out of balance.  I’ll have had them for a week tomorrow and the most any of them have pooped is twice.

    I was hoping today would be the beginning of “normal”, as all the kittens pooped yesterday, but today’s there’s been no action again.  I guess I really will have to go to the vet tomorrow to learn how to administer enemas.  I hope this is just a temporary condition and not a sign of longterm problems.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  06/26  at  08:38 PM

  3. I’m sure they’ll normalise pretty soon....read your latest report and seems like they might be getting a tad more regular?
    There was talk of me having to learn to enema a 1lb kitten....I am certainly glad it never came to that and was quite happy to pay the vet for the one time it needed to be done!

    Posted by Carina  on  06/27  at  12:14 PM

  4. I think all the kittens pooped today, but still it’s not a normal consistency.  They can only have enemas twice a week, so if they don’t go on their own, they’ll have to stay full until Friday.  The vet was going to run a fecal, but said the stools were so full of mucus that it would interfere with accurate test results.

    I ended up not having my “enema lessons” today.  The same vet who suggested them on Sunday seemed horrified at the idea today, so I guess she had a brain cramp or something?!  All I know is I took them into the office and she did the enemas herself, so I guess I can’t complain.  I’m not being charged for them, so I don’t mind someone else doing the dirty work!

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  06/27  at  07:57 PM
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