Little Kitten

Question
Yesterday a little boy had come to my house and said he found this little kitty in the woods all alone. I think he took it from the mother but I'm not sure...( I'm not sure how old he is, but he still has his has it's eyes closed) The boy's family had the cat for a few hours and fed it straight 2% milk from an eyedropper. When I had gotten the cat I called my Aunt who breeds cats and she told me to get kitten formula from wallmart. We kept trying to feed it and it drank some and we got up every few hours and fed him again and used a warm damp towel to make him pee but now he won't poo. Today is his 2nd day with us and still nothing. What can we do to make him poo?

Answer
Hi Tori.  Constipation is common in kittens who are transitioning onto formula from natural milk.  When they haven't had a bowel movement in a couple of days, sometimes they need extra help from a vet to clear them out.  A vet might administer a mild laxative or even an enema if needed.  To prevent constipation in the future, the vet might recommend to feed the kitten more frequently or to strengthen the concentration of the formula if you are using powdered formula.  Some kittens suffer chronic and severe constipation and might need a touch of a laxative formulated for cats each day, but this can be dangerous if overdone because it may cause diarrhea leading to dehydration and malnutrition.  It should only be done under the direct supervision of a vet.

For now, continue to try to stimulate him.  Sometimes it can take several minutes of stimulation before a kitten will begin to try to defecate.  In order to avoid irritation, sometimes I will hold my kittens's bottoms under a gentle stream of warm water for a couple minutes after they have urinated, to try to keep them stimulated, and then go back to massaging their anal area with moistened cotton balls.  Hard stools may need to be manually removed if the kitten seems to be having trouble passing them all on his own.  If you have no luck by tomorrow, the kitten should see a vet, since fecal impaction can be deadly in just a few days.

Best of luck!

Jessica