Four 3 day old kittens!! HELP

[michaylab]

Just picked up Four three week old kittens. When I got them they were covered in yellowish poop, it stinks! I cleaned them and rubbed their little bottoms and they peed & pooped A LOT. Can I give them just water to calm their tummies? I have SMZ 800 mg Tmp 160 mg.. does that work for coccidia. It's to late to go the vet today. The lady is feeding them KMR by the looks of how much is gone I think she was feeding them to much. She gave me two syringes with little nipple on them. I'm going to get the scale working and weigh them they seemed kind of bloated to me.

[island rehabber]

Just picked up Four three week old kittens. When I got them they were covered in yellowish poop, it stinks! I cleaned them and rubbed their little bottoms and they peed & pooped A LOT. Can I give them just water to calm their tummies? I have SMZ 800 mg Tmp 160 mg.. does that work for coccidia. It's to late to go the vet today. The lady is feeding them KMR by the looks of how much is gone I think she was feeding them to much. She gave me two syringes with little nipple on them. I'm going to get the scale working and weigh them they seemed kind of bloated to me.

were they feral kittens (wild, stray)? If so, nearly ALL ferals have worms and coccidia, hence the bloaty look. Albon is better for the coccidia....strongid for the worms. Kittens poop a LOT and after they are wormed they poop even more......go to Costco or BJ's and buy lots of paper towels. :grin3

[redwuff]

Yes, pedialyte or the homemade solution of 1 quart of warm water, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp sugar. You want to warm this like you warm formula. Good luck with these little guys. Kittens that young are tough. Give them several feedings of fluids, then start them back on formula. Does the poop smell?

[stepnstone]

Yes, pedialyte or the homemade solution of 1 quart of warm water, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp sugar. You want to warm this like you warm formula. Good luck with these little guys. Kittens that young are tough. Give them several feedings of fluids, then start them back on formula. Does the poop smell?

I thought of you when I first read this, I know you definitely have had the experience... http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/cats/brown-cat-smiley-emoticon.gif

[michaylab]

Okay just wiped their bottom and one have them had blood coming out of their butt. I don't have Pedialyte Can't get it tonight :( so can I give water?

[RobinTN]

Don't give plain water, used warmed Homemade Pedialyte from post #3

1 quart of warm water, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp sugar

[michaylab]

I read u can give SMZ TMP

[RobinTN]

Please don't give them antibiotics at this point. Hydrating them is more important, and ABs can upset their little tummies even more, making diarrhea worse.

[RobinTN]

Not to mention the risk of overdosing...

[RobinTN]

You might also want to dab a tiny bit of vaseline on the anus to soothe irritation

[michaylab]

They won't eat

[rottilvr79]

Don't give them SMZ. With kittens that small, I wouldn't do antibiotics at all unless recommended by a vet. Albon would be great if you have any, or if you can get some tomorrow. Blood and super smelly poop always makes me think parasites, typically coccidia.
Are they 3 days, or 3 weeks? Did they nurse from mom at all? They'll do much better if they got some colostrum from her. With kittens I prefer bottles to syringes. But, you can, very slowly, syringe fluids into them if they aren't eating. Just like with squirrels, go slow to keep them from aspirating. Bottle kittens can be really hard. I can't count the number of kittens I've bottle fed over the years(for a long time I was the go to person for our shelter cause they knew I wouldn't bring them back). Sometimes they do great, sometimes they don't, and they can go downhill quickly. You can do everything right with baby kittens and still lose them. The most important things are to make sure they stay warm and hydrated. Good luck.

[RobinTN]

Are you planning on taking them to the vet in the morning? Until then make sure to keep them warm... Put a heating pad on low under half of their box/bin and either some fleece or old t-shirts. If you can get them to a vet or no-kill shelter in the morning you don't need to feed them tonight*, as in no kitten milk replacer or any other food, BUT you do need to get & keep them hydrated. The recipe for homemade pedialyte is already here, so I won't rehash that, but I will say try just giving them very small amounts at a time, even 1cc/mL once an hour will help. Make sure the rehydrating solution is warm enough but not too hot. I'm not sure about a temp for kittens, after all I'm here for squirrels, but maybe you can find a similar internet forum that specializes is cats & kittens?

*You don't need to feed tonight either way, just give hydration fluid, but better if you can get vet help for the diarrhea*