I have two tomcat kittens and they smell, help!

Question

I got two male kittens 4 days ago, off of a farm ... (through an advert online). When I asked the woman what food she was feeding them she said asda's own brand adult food!! I went home and bought whiskas kitten pouches for them because I read the adult food is not good growing kitties! She said they are 8 weeks old, but they are tiny, I am worried that they might be younger. I doubt very much they have been de-wormed. Also when I got them they were dirty and she said they had been playing in a puddle, which I was worried about because they have obviously never yet had there jabs. I got home and bathed them, they are both lovely little characters and very friendly, not scared of me or my boyfriend at all, in fact they are sitting on my lap right now.

Anyway to the point. They have diarrhea, the poo keeps getting stuck on there hind legs and bum and they smell yucky, every time they poo i try and wipe there bums with paper towels but it doesn't really help. They smell sawdusty its yucky. I'm going to the vet tomorrow to get a check up and get weighed etc. And I will find out from the vet there proper age. Also they don't play very much, one plays, but the other one is kinda scared of the toys, I don't know if its because they are too young, maybe I'm just paranoid.

Can anyone help me?

Answer 1

New environment... new food... all kinds of new

New food will give them diarrhea ...

Rice WATER stops diarrehea... so you might give them some of that.

or just dry food until you take them to the vet.

If they have an illness then it won't stop

The smell might be just because of what they WERE eating...

good luck

get back to us with the results ok?

Answer 2

Awww if you had any doubt about the conditions the kittens were in you shouldn't have bought them! I think it's best to just sit tight until tomorrow and see what the vet has to say. Hope they're ok :)

Answer 3

You are right, adult cat food is not good for kittens.  They need different nutrients as a baby then they do as an adult.   I used purina kitten chow with mine.   They are now 2 and very healthy!!    

If you have a vet appointment tomorrow, I would say its best to wait until then.    They should do a complete work up to make sure the babies are in good health.  If something is wrong they will be able to give you a course of action.   I would hate to speculate.  

I hope they are happy and healthy!!

P.S.

Do you plan on getting them fixed?   If so, I would bring the age that you can do this up at your appointment.   Male cats will start spraying at about 6 months and it smells HORRIBLE.   It's them marking thier teritory.  

Answer 4

Bring it to the doctors to see what exactly is causing their bowel movements. How about changing their diet? Keep themselves clean and wash them and brush them.  

Answer 5

i don't know about that but when they get older and start scenting cut an onion in half and put in the room it works really well .

Answer 6

They sound quite young, they will feel lethargic if they are a bit poorly with the runs. Changing their food may have caused this or it maybe they are rife with worms.

You can buy a dry shampoo for cats it's like a powder you put on their fur then brush it out.

Good luck at the vets tomorrow.

Answer 7

Often a quick change of diet (instead of a gradual one) will cause diarrhea.  But you're right in thinking that kitten food is often better for kittens.  Did she give you a baggie of their food to get started?  If not, can you run to a store and get a small bag of what they were using?  

I think your vet will be able to help you best as to any other health problems they might have.  Just try to keep them as clean as you can in the meantime and be totally honest with the vet about smells, behavior, etc.

Also, are they purebreds and did you pay a healthy fee for them?  In which case, you might have gotten them from a kitten mill, which is just a nightmare, both in the way they treat the cats and in the resulting health problems in kittens.

Tell your vet about where you got them, too.  S/he will be able to help you best if they know the complete situation.

Good luck!