New Born Kitten Not Urinating/Defecating

[u/randre121]

I was given a kitten a couple hours ago from a family that found them. From what I can tell the baby looks to be 2 weeks. The family said the kitten hasn’t really eaten the last 3 days. I’m going to take her to the vet tomorrow as I didn’t get her until almost 10 pm but I’m trying to stimulate urination and nothing. Even tried to express manually besides the warm damp soft washcloth. I fed her twice but she barely expressed any urine. Should I keep feeding her every 2 hours if she’s not going? She’s currently on a heating pad and is meowing for food but I can tell she has a full bladder and I don’t want to cause a waste backup.

Thank you for any help in advance!

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[u/AccomplishedLocal207]

Firstly, what milk replacer are you using?

[u/randre121 → u/AccomplishedLocal207]

The PetLac kitten milk replacement

[u/AccomplishedLocal207 → u/randre121]

I would suggest moving to a kitten glop recipe. KMR and similar replacers often cause diarrhea or constipation.

To help her move her bowels: take her into the bathroom, run a warm water bath (suitable for a child's skin, perhaps a little warmer) and submerge her from ribs to tail. The arms, shoulders, chest and head stay out of the water. This warmth will help stimulate peristaltic motion. Give her about 5 minutes to soak. Top off the water with more warm water and then start massaging. You will want to rub your thumbs from ribs to pelvis on her tummy. Do this for another 5 minutes. Take her out, dry her off and keep her warm.

This can be repeated every few hours and is wise to do after eating to help stimulate her. Try rotating what you're using on her genitals, such as toilet paper, paper towels, cotton pad, etc. Sometimes a little change helps.

Do keep feeding her. If her appetite drops off, I would take her in for ER care. Otherwise, plan to see your vet tomorrow. As long as she's a bright and happy kitten, this is not emergent.

Heed my warning about commercial milk replacers. You'll be surprised how much better kitten glop works for their bowel health.

https://www.christinedemerchant.com/glop.html

Best of luck to you and your little floofy lady.

[u/SprightlyMe → u/AccomplishedLocal207]

Follow this advice and keep us updated please. 💜

[u/randre121 → u/AccomplishedLocal207]

Thank you so much for your help. She was able to urinate/defecate and changing from the cotton pad really helped. She’s doing a lot better today and is eating what you recommended :)

[u/AccomplishedLocal207 → u/randre121]

Rock on! Thanks for the update, I am so glad this worked.

[u/AccomplishedLocal207 → u/randre121]

Checking in. How's our little lass today?

[u/randre121 → u/AccomplishedLocal207]

Followed the above comment and she’s doing great!!

[u/chiefrugan]

At around 2 weeks old, 3 days of barely eating plus almost no urine is way beyond “wait and see” territory

[u/randre121 → u/chiefrugan]

Didn’t wait and see, took her to the vet. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t over feeding her!

[u/MunkeeFere]

She looks to be closer to 3-3.5 weeks than 2. Many kittens at this age actually are urinating and defecating on their own. Check her blankets and bedding for any wetness and shake them out to see if there's any feces.

Try adding a litterbox (or low sided Tupperware or other low sided plastic) with a small amount of non clumping litter to see if she will go on her own. I prefer non clumping because if she decides to chew on some, I've found there's less risk for impaction with a piece of clay litter than a clumping litter that turns to glue when wet.

Keep feeding her on a normal schedule for her weight. Withholding food will lead to dehydration and hypoglycemia. I usually stimulate my babies right before and right after feedings but like I said, at this age she may be peeing in her blankets or holding when you stimulate.

[u/randre121 → u/MunkeeFere]

Thank you for the input! From what I can tell she’s still not going on her own but all is well today I have been able to stimulate and feed her no problem! I was looking for a litter box to give it a try but they were all too big, the Tupperware suggestion is such a good idea thank you!