Question:
HI everyone. I just joined this forum. I've read a few posts and perhaps you've had this one before, but I didnt see upon looking through. We have a 4 week old almost 5 week old kitten who can not deficate. We've tried the warm water cotton ball. We've tried the stomach massage. I gave her a bit of olive oil in her formula. My husband says that now she is old enough to get solid-ish foods, but I'm concerened that will make things worse. And trips to the vets for a enema are close to 50 a pop. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

Answer:
I would pay the money to see a vet. Go to get the kitten examined at least and see what the vet says. If the kitten is unable to defecate for a long period of time it could die. There could also be an underlying medical issue that is causing this problem. The vet is really who you should be asking for advice right now.

Good luck.

Answer:
He gave her an enema and the proceeded to show me how easy it was to get her to poo by rubbing her stomach towards her backside. Problem is he hadn't tried for 10 minutes to get her to poo, he just stuck the medicine up and out came the poo. He's the one who said rub her stomach. This is not working. The enema is what costs 50 bucks. I'm not adverse to getting her great care. It's just I'm not getting any other information from him. No one, including our vet seems to understand how novice we are at taking care of this kitten. We're generally not pet people. We're hoping Twyla will be a help to our family in different ways. We had planned to purchase an older cat, one who would require less initial effort than this small baby. But she was found at my husbands work and her next step was the spca. We hated the idea that she might be put down. So we took her since we were looking anyhow. Point is we've been down the vet road and we'll probably be back down it again and again. I'm looking for practical, step by step, help from pet owners who may have experience in a similar situation. Thanks for replying.

Answer:
Go back to the vet and tell them shes still having problems.

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She needs to go back to vet,how horrible she must feel.

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Yep, get her to the vet. If this vet is not willing to give you a bit more advice and information then I would be making her app. elsewhere.

Answer:
I could be wrong,but a momma cat will lick the anus of a kitten to get it to poop,I am not suggesting you do that but massaging her little anus,not her stomache,might do the trick.
You cannot keep getting enemas at $50 a pop and still no answers,especially since it only works for a while.
These little lives are so very sensitive and fragile,maybe you should talk to a rescue,see what they do,I am sure they have experience with orphaned kittens.

Answer:
Could the vet show you how to administer an enema at home so you don't have to always pay for him to do it?

And at 5 weeks, yes she should be eating solid food, you could try giving her some wet food and see if it helps "move things along".

Answer:
Anyone is a local rescue group or your vet should be able to show you how to take a cotton ball or a rough to her (she would be used to her mama's rough tongue after all) piece of say toilet paper and wipe her tiny anus with it. Rubbing her tummy won;'t do it- you need to stimulate the anus so that the poo comes out after she eats.

This page explains it quite well. That said if I were in your shoes, I would take her to a vet and have him or one of his assistants show you one more time!

Good luck!!

Answer:
I have dealt with this, Chico is right in that momma cats stimulate the kittens to poop. The vet told us to use a soft warm wash cloth and rub the kittens bum (ok anus... ) in a 'licking' motion in one direction.

Take this very seriously as the kitten we had with this problem had a severe blockage or intestinal abnormality and had to be put to sleep. Make sure even if you are trying home remedies that you keep in close contact with the vet.

Best of luck and God Bless for taking her in.

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