You might not even notice your cat is constipated if it is trained to use the litter box until you notice you haven’t seen any excrement in a few days. If not treated, kittens that can’t urinate face the risk of developing serious health problems in addition to being uncomfortable.
Symptoms of constipation in kittens
The lack of feces in the litter box one day might not be alarming because kittens may not poop every day. The object prevents peristalsis, the natural movement of substances through the kitten’s body, which hinders the passage of food or restricts the intestines.
Along with no stools in the litter box, a constipated kitten may exhibit any of the following signs:
- Diminished appetite
- Vomiting sluggish
Furthermore, cats can be in the litter box unable to pass stool and possibly crying, or they might produce tiny, incredibly hard feces chunks. You can discover anomalies if you pay close attention to what you see every day in the litter box.
Causes of constipation in kittens
- Dehydration is one of the reasons of constipation. This frequently happens when a kitten is weaning itself off of its mother’s milk or if it just takes dry food and does not have access to a water bowl. If stools form at all, they will be very little and very hard.
- If a kitten eats something that plugs its stomach or intestines, they won’t be able to urinate. This usually occurs to curious kittens that chew things like hair ties, floss, ribbons, and other little household objects that they can fit in their jaws. The disease known as constipation or obstipation, in which no stools are passed at all, should be suspected if your kitten hasn’t passed any stool in a few days. Hairballs can sometimes cause a kitten to be unable to urinate.
- It’s important to encourage young kittens who haven’t yet been weaned to urinate. Mother cats typically do this by licking the recti of their young. If a mother cat does not do this, the kitten will likely get constipated unless a human occasionally wipes the kitten’s rectum to urge it to pass feces.
- Kittens who have a lot of intestinal parasites in their systems may have constipation. The worms can multiply in the intestines to the point where they prevent stool from passing through.
- Neurological, nerve, and other disorders might cause a kitten to become constipated or obsessive, although they tend to affect older cats more frequently.
Keeping Kittens From Being Constipated
- The best thing you can do to prevent your cat from being constipated is to make sure it stays hydrated. Full water dishes, cat water fountains, canned food, and water mixed into dry cat kibble are all effective ways to keep your kitten hydrated.
If your kitten hasn’t yet been weaned or is still a small kitten, make sure the mother cat regularly encourages it to urinate and cleans the kitten’s rectum. You can assist the mother cat with this duty or take over for her if you have an orphaned kitten by wiping the kitten’s bottom with a wet towel after it has been fed.
To get rid of any intestinal parasites that can cause an obstruction and constipation, have your kitten dewormed on occasion.
Don’t allow your cat to play with anything that it might try to eat in order to prevent obstruction. - To remove any loose fur, give your cat a regular brushing. This will reduce the likelihood that your cat will pass a hairball, which could cause constipation issues.
Treatment for kitten constipation
If your kitten’s constipation is recent and it is still eating, playing, and acting normally, try a few things before visiting the clinic. To boost the amount of fluids your kitten drinks each day, start by adding water to its meals. To induce proper digestive peristalsis, touch the animal’s stomach and encourage play or movement. Add a spoonful of canned pumpkin to its diet to increase the amount of fiber there is. If after a few days you still don’t see stool in the litter box, or sooner if it isn’t active and eating, take your kitten to the doctor for assistance.
Your kitten will probably receive an intravenous fluid injection to help hydrate it if it needs medical attention. A kitten-safe enema or x-rays may also be used if your veterinarian is concerned about a blockage.
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