Kitten illness - help!

Question
Hi!
I am the proud owner of a 13 day old kitten who was abondoned at an animal hospital that my friend works at when he was just 2 days old. I noticed 5 days ago that his back left leg was swollen on the joint so I took him to the vet. Due to the swelling and the fact that his temp was low the vet said it was more than likely Sepsis (bacteria in the blood). The vet said he probably wouldn't make it but to give him the antibiotics they prescribed 2x daily for 15 days to see if it works. The swelling has gone done only a little bit, but I know I have plenty of more days to go, so I am hopefull. If you didn't see his let you would think he is healthy - he eats plenty and we are bottle feeding him every 2-3 hours. My question is this...we noticed last night a little blood in his stool. It doesn't appear to be from his rectum being raw or anything, it looks like it came from inside him. It's not a lot, but it's worrying me. Do you think this could have something to do with his infection or the antibiotics? Have you seen this type of thing before in kittens? Also, what is a kitten's stool supposed to look like anyway? Right now his stool is not hard or anything, it almost looks like diarrhea, but I think maybe kittens are supposed to have that kind of stool?? I'm not sure. please help, this little guy is the most precious thing ever!! Thanks so much!! Heather

Answer
Hi Heather.  There is something special about raising an orphaned kitten that words can't describe!  I know how precious he is to you.  It's an excellent sign he's made it thus far!  

A newborn's stool should be soft but formed, so anything that resembles diarrhea (pudding, mustard) is too soft.  This could certainly be related to the antibiotics.  And a little bit of blood is common to see in a kitten who has diarrhea.  But with such a little one, you always have to worry about anemia and dehydration becoming dangerous more quickly than with older kitties.

You may want to ask the vet about a couple of things.  One is mixing some Pedialyte into his formula to prevent dehydration.  The other is giving the baby a probiotic to add helpful bacteria back into his gastrointestinal tract that the antibiotics may be killing off.  Commercial probiotics include Priobiocin and Benebac.  Some people give plain yogurt for the live cultures.  These are things that are helpful in kittens and cats, but with such a tiny one, I'm not sure whether a probiotic would be appropriate, and I don't know how much Pedialyte should replace water in his formula.  So definitely check with the vet on that.