post partum diarehea

Question
my cat had a liter of 5 about a week and a half ago and since she has had VERY lose stool, is it normal for a nursing mother to experience diarehea, and also what can i give her to help get her regular, i was going to give her rice with her food.

Answer
Stacey,

I am not a vet, but, usually, queens tend to have post partum constipation.  I would keep an eye on it and see what happens. If the stool is loose but somewhat formed, I would not worry.  However, if it is liquid, you have to watch for dehydration in the mama given that she is using quite a bit of fluid to nurse kittens.

What you might do is to get some unflavored Pedialyte and make a soup out of some of that and a small amount of strained meat baby food (only ingredients should be strained meat and broth or gravy). If she will drink this, it will keep her from getting dehydrated.

If the diarrhea persists, you may need to see your vet. Anything you give the mama may pass through the milk to the kittens, so you must be very, very careful.

Best regards... Norm.