Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

4 week old hand raised kittens w/bloody diarrhea

I have been hand raising these 3 kittens since they were about 3 days old.  They have been doing very well until about the last week (4 weeks of age now).  One of the kittens had a hernia (from a dog attack), and the vet did surgery to fix it, and it seemed fine.  The other two kittens in the litter  picked on it; sucking it's genital area.  It became so sore and red that it started bleeding; so I seperated it out.  A day later I noticed diarrhea, then a day after that it was deficating pure blood.  I figured it was an internal issue related to the trauma; so I had it put to sleep.  But now, one of the other kittens is deficating blood.  We ran a fecal test-it was negative, but we wormed with strongid anyway.  The worming was about 3 days ago, and it still has this problem.  What could this be?  Feline Leukemia?  The mother was a barn cat that wasn't friendly, but the farm dog found the kittens and decided they would be great toys..that's how I ended up with them.  There has been feline leukemia on this farm before, so exposure is a possibility.  I really don't want to pour money into an expensive test on these kittens if they aren't going to make it.  Should we just try Albon for coccidia and try that?
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
http://www.petplace.com/cats/hematochezia-blood-in-stool-in-cats/page1.aspx

try some of the info there.
Helpful - 0
228686 tn?1211554707
Four weeks old is kind of young to be worming kittens...but without the mother available, I can understand trying.
I have noticed in kittens with feline leukimia that kidney failure at about 3-4 weeks is common. Which is not to say this is the problem. It could be a result of not getting mother's milk (necessary vitamins, natural antibiotics, etc...) which can't be helped in a situation like this.

Unfortunately, working with a shelter generally meant kittens that showed signs of illness under 10 weeks were put down, so I'm not sure what to suggest (one of the reasons we ended up sticking with older cats, stray kittens have a very high expiration rate and frankly, working with the kittens started to be depressing. Plus, the healthy ones didn't need us, they adopted out quickly).

Any one else got any other ideas on what may help out there?
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Cats Community

Top Cats Answerers
874521 tn?1424116797
Canada..., SK
506791 tn?1439842983
Saint Mary's County, MD
242912 tn?1660619837
CA
740516 tn?1360942486
Brazil
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.