manx kitten

Question
Was given a very young manx kitten, she had problems with diarrhea and vomiting, i worked some bowel matter out and she has improved, now she eats well but runs through our house peeing and leaving tiny poops..she will on occasion use the litter box, i even made a small cloth diaper just so we could have a few friends over, she is now contained in our small bathroom w/ her bed, ky jelly and toy,food and water. Will she outgrow this soon? I think she is about 8-9 weeks, but small ...playful, a real sweetie..I know there is no tail and have heard that some manx's have nerve end problems. Any suggestions???Thanks, Jill

Answer
Jill,

It may be she was given to you so young that she did not learn proper bathroom habits.  If this is the case, confining her to a crate (like a wire dog crate, where the only place she can go is in a litter pan, might get her used to using litter pans.  We have had to do this occasionally with young kittens, who are not learning appropriate potty habits.

Also, I would have her checked by a vet.  It bothers me that you had to work out fecal matter from her.  If she is constantly constipated, she may have megacolon (the nerves in the back end controlling the lower bowel and rectum are not working properly).  If she is constipated, I would try an anal suppository (with your vet's supervision, of course).  If the constipation will not clear up, you may need to euthanize the kitten as it will only get worse!!!!!

For cleanup, you want to use an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet stains and pet odors (available from most pet supermarkets and/or farm stores).

Also, I would read the following article, written by a vet who is also a cat breeder:

http://www.netcat.org/housesoiling.html


Kittens at 8-9 weeks are really not ready for new homes and sweet although she may be, this experience of a new home, new food, new water has stressed her.  This may or may not be contributing to the problem.  If she gets her bowel problems and bathroom habits straightened out, you will have to make sure she gets all her proper shots.  One thing vets tend to do is over vaccinate.  So, you can ask me another question about proper shots after these other problems are cleared up.  Believe me, if the bowel problems and bathroom habits cannot be fixed, both you and the kitten will be miserable.

Please keep me posted.

Best regards... Norm.