How often do kittens poop: is it normal, when to worry?

Small kittens, like small children, have their own bowel habits during the early stages of life. If you decide to get yourself a one-month-old kitten, or your ward cat has brought you a litter of cute little lumps, then you should know how to properly care for them. While everything is more or less clear regarding the nutrition of kittens in the first months of their life, questions may arise with the process of evacuation. One of the most common ones is: “How often should a kitten poop?” The health of your pet depends on the answer to this question, so you need to be especially competent in it.

Do newborn kittens defecate?

Some people will find this question strange. Can kittens not poop? But where then do the products of their vital activity go?

In fact, kittens have been peeing and pooping since birth, but owners may not even notice it because the mother cat comes to the rescue. She simply licks the feces from her babies. During the bathing process, the cat involuntarily massages their tummies, which improves blood circulation and digestion.

The stool of animals during the first month of their life is homogeneous, similar to condensed milk. Therefore, it can be quite difficult for owners to determine how often kittens poop during this period. But this does not mean that they do not defecate at all.

What to do if a kitten grows up without a mother cat?

It doesn’t always turn out that a small pet grows up next to its mother. In this case, you should become the baby's mother.

It is you who will have to feed the animal and help it with bowel movements. It should be remembered that food for a kitten up to a month should only be liquid or semi-liquid. This has a significant impact on the process of emptying it. If you do not know what to feed a one-month-old kitten, it is better to contact a veterinary pharmacy. There they will help you choose the optimal “baby” food for your ward.

If you don't know how often little kittens poop, pay attention to the appearance of their bellies. When it is swollen, it means that the baby has problems with bowel movements. Perhaps he simply cannot yet, due to his age, do without outside help.

A bloated stomach will cause him pain. You are required to gently massage his abdomen, avoiding strong pressure. Then you need to take a piece of gauze and soak it in warm water. Use the device to slowly massage the outlet of the rectum. These manipulations should help the kitten begin to relieve itself. Perhaps in the future he will no longer need your help.

The kitten rarely goes to the toilet

From time to time, babies have problems with constipation, and they may not be able to cope with bowel movements on their own. If the animal does not poop for 2 days, you should be wary.

Often the reason lies in improper feeding. It is necessary to follow the recommendations of the breeder or veterinarian, introduce new food gradually, and do not forget to drink plenty of fluids.

Stress from moving can cause constipation in a small pet; increased attention from the owner will help here. The little ones will need a gentle circular (clockwise) tummy massage.

Accustoming to adult food and litter box

How often kittens poop at 1 month is easier to determine, since now this process becomes more pronounced. This happens because at approximately this age, that is, at 3-4 weeks, pets begin to be switched to more solid food. Consequently, the process of defecation also becomes more complex and organized.

At the same time, it is necessary to accustom the baby to the tray. This is how you need to act right from the first emptying, otherwise it will be more difficult to do this in the future.

Monitor your pet's behavior carefully. Usually, before the process of defecation, the behavior of animals acquires certain features. Their so-called “search activity” is activated. They can rush around the room, look for a suitable place to relieve themselves, sniff the space around them and, finally, scratch their paws on the floor.

This is how most kittens behave. However, there are also “quiet people” who silently do their business somewhere in the far corner under the bed. So be careful.

Frequency of bowel movements

Despite a more organized defecation process, determining how often a one-month-old kitten should poop is still difficult, but not impossible. On average, this happens three to six times a day.

The difficulty of determining is that the stool in animals at this age is mushy. It can easily be confused with urination, especially if you are training your pet to use a litter tray.

In general, how often kittens poop at this age is not important. The main thing is that the structure of the feces does not contain undigested food residues, mucus, blood and other impurities that may indicate a malfunction of the digestive system.

If your kitten is active, playful, cheerful, and his belly is soft and not bloated, then you have nothing to worry about. So you are doing everything right!

How to understand that a kitten wants to go to the toilet

The mother maintains the hygiene of the offspring for about the first four weeks, then the young animal begins to solve toilet issues on its own.

In order for the kitten to remember well where its latrine is and not make mistakes, the owner needs to learn to recognize the signals of a pet that wants to go to the toilet.

In order for the kitten to remember well where its latrine is and not make mistakes, the owner needs to learn to recognize the pet’s signals

It's easy to notice:

• if the baby runs around the room, intensively sniffs objects and the floor, uses his claws, then he is looking for a place where to do big or small things;
• if the kitten scratches the floor and tries to dig a hole for the toilet, then you urgently need to transfer the animal to the tray;
• the eyes of an animal that is in a big mood are frozen and as if glassy.

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Kittens at a tender age already understand where their toilet is and, due to the cat’s innate cleanliness, they want to go there. If there are misfires, then it is an accident or illness.

Difficulty defecating in kittens

The transition to adult food and the need to defecate independently, and even in a designated place for this, can lead to a number of difficulties. By how often a one-month-old kitten poops, you can determine whether he has difficulty defecating.

A prolonged absence of stool (more than two days) or problematic bowel movements indicates that the kitten is constipated. The reasons are poor nutrition or a small amount of water consumed by the animal. However, things can be much more serious. Constipation may indicate a disease, and not only of the gastrointestinal tract.

You can help your little pet by adding a little vegetable oil to his food. The presence of vegetables, cereals and fermented milk products in the diet will also have a laxative effect.

If these methods do not help, then use medicinal laxatives such as Duphalac, Festal, Espumisan or Vaseline oil.

In the case when these methods do not help, you have to use the most radical one: give your pet an enema. At home, you can only administer a specially designed microenema. Only a veterinarian gives a deep cleansing enema, since you yourself can harm the kitten.

How often should a kitten poop: normal bowel movements by age

Each period has its own defecation norms. Before 3 weeks of age, a healthy animal usually poops 3-6 times a day. The tummy should be soft and toned. The stool has a mushy consistency.

Each period has its own defecation norms.

If it contains mucus, blood, undigested food, or is too dry or greasy, then this is a reason for the animal to be examined by a veterinarian. When calculating, you should understand that babies can sometimes relieve themselves in the most secluded place.

As a cat grows, its nutrition changes, the thickness and density of feces increases, and feces become almost the same as those of adult animals. The number of visits to the tray is largely determined by what is included in the diet.

If it contains more plant fiber, then the kitten will poop less than when fed food with a predominance of proteins. Typically, a grown animal defecates 2-3 times a day.

Diarrhea in kittens

Another, no less unpleasant defecation disorder in kittens is diarrhea.

Before diagnosing your pet, you need to figure out how often kittens poop and whether it’s diarrhea at all. Many owners believe that if a kitten’s stool becomes liquid, then this is diarrhea. However, it is not.

Diarrhea is not only watery stool consistency, but also a frequent urge to defecate. An additional symptom may also be bloating.

The causes of diarrhea in an animal can be helminthic infestations, poor nutrition, infectious and inflammatory diseases. On a psychological level, early separation of a kitten from its mother can provoke diarrhea.

If a kitten has diarrhea, it is advisable not to feed it for about 12 hours, but to give it only water. By the way, he must drink. Not drinking water can lead to dehydration.

In this case, a sorbent such as Smecta or Enterosgel can be used as a medication.

If attacks of diarrhea no longer recur, then after 12 hours the pet can be fed. First, a little boiled rice or three-day (!) kefir is given. Fresh fermented milk products can only worsen the situation. The next day, boiled chicken meat, and so on, expanding the diet.

In any case, self-medication is not recommended for either people or animals. Therefore, if there are various disturbances in the process of relieving yourself in your little family member, you need to show him to the veterinarian.

What to do if there are deviations

Violation of the frequency of toilet visits by a small kitten is usually associated with stressful situations. Such factors disappear by themselves when the animal goes through an adaptation period. The situation is more complicated when urination is impaired due to health problems. In this case, the kitten can either walk too often or too rarely.

Frequent urination

If a kitten pees frequently, then most likely he has developed cystitis, a disease of the urinary organs, or urolithiasis. The baby will often run up to the tray, but the volume of urine will be catastrophically small. Sometimes there is blood in the urine.

Frequent urges can be caused by drinking too much in hot weather, as well as diabetes. Urinary incontinence is accompanied by a large amount of fluid released and no bleeding. The same signs are characteristic of marking territory.

Cystitis most often occurs in adult kittens. The reasons may be:

• drafts;
• sand in the kidneys;
• impaired metabolism;
• mineral imbalance;
• sexual infections;
• predominance of dry food, lack of liquid and proteins.

Deviations from the norm should be studied and treated in veterinary clinics

Cats of any age can get urolithiasis. Signs of the disease are:

• unsuccessful visit to the tray;
• a tiny amount of urine;
• presence of blood in the urine;
• vomiting and high fever;
• lethargy and apathy.

There are cat breeds that are genetically predisposed to this disease. Among them are Scottish Fold, Persian and Siamese breeds.

Also, frequent urination can be associated with diabetes, stress or enuresis. In any case, assistance to the pet must be qualified and timely. If there is the slightest sign of a pathological condition, you should immediately contact a veterinarian. He will prescribe a number of diagnostic measures and adequate treatment.

A kitten who pees frequently will undergo the following tests:

• blood biochemistry;
• Analysis of urine;
• X-ray;
• comparison of the amount of urine and drink;
• Ultrasound;
• hormone test;
• determination of acetone levels and acid-base balance.

These types of studies will help to identify the nature of the disease of the genitourinary system, make a diagnosis and decide on treatment.

In addition to adequate therapy, it is important to carry out a number of preventive measures for the full functioning of the genitourinary system. Regular medical examinations, proper diet, physical activity, and the optimal amount of drinking will ensure normal urination and healthy urinary tract of the kitten.

Too infrequent visits to the litter box

Rare urination is just as dangerous to a kitten's health as frequent urination. In such situations, the main cause is pathological processes, both in the genitourinary system and in the body as a whole. Almost 75% of cases of insufficient urine flow or insufficient discharge occur due to cystitis. Lack of proper treatment will invariably lead to a condition such as acute urinary retention.

Having such a diagnosis, a kitten may not walk for more than a day. This is a dangerous phenomenon that often ends in death. The bladder becomes full and bursts. Urine enters the abdominal cavity, which can lead to intoxication of the body and death of the pet.

Kittens need to be fed crushed food.

The pathology most often occurs in male kittens. For females, such a disease is not typical, although it is also sometimes detected. The main cause of the disease is stones that block the urinary tract. Experts identify other factors:

• blockage of the urethra by a blood or mucus clot. Occurs against the background of trauma to the genital organ or an infectious disease, in particular the bladder;
• abnormal kidney function. With renal dysfunction, the kitten’s body can no longer excrete urine even in minimal volumes. The cause may be a malignant tumor or perforation of the kidney;
• spinal injury or infectious disease affecting the spinal cord. The absence of a nervous connection between the genitourinary organs and the spinal cord leads to disruption of their functioning and the cessation of urination of the animal.

Urinary retention of any stage requires urgent treatment. In the clinic, a kitten may be prescribed the following procedures:

• catheterization using a special catheter that is inserted into the urethra. This will help empty your bladder;
• surgical intervention. Prescribed in case of ineffectiveness of repeated catheterization.

To prevent advanced cases of impaired urination, the owner of kittens must take preventive measures daily:

• animals must receive anti-infective vaccinations on a schedule;
• avoid hypothermia;
• provide access to an unlimited amount of fresh and clean water;
• the diet must comply with the kitten’s nutritional rules according to its age;
• an active lifestyle and outdoor games will also be beneficial.

For any pathological conditions or deviations from the norm, it is prohibited to prescribe medications yourself. Kittens must be treated by a veterinarian. He will also tell you how many times a kitten should poop and pee per day. This will keep your little pet healthy and alive.

Host mistakes

You can find out how often a kitten poops at 2 months by how many times it visits the litter box. But the animal does not always choose a pot to satisfy its natural needs. This may be the owner's fault. Here is a list of possible reasons:

1. Late trained to use the tray. The most optimal age for this is one month. Later it will be more difficult.
2. Dirty pot. If you don't clean the litter box in time and change the filler, the kitten may go somewhere else. Remember that cats are clean animals!
3. Wrong place. If the litter box is in a place that scares and the kitten doesn't like, he won't go in it.
4. Another tray. If you decide to change your pet's litter tray, be prepared for the fact that he may refuse to relieve himself in the new one. In this regard, cats are monogamous.
5. Foreign odors. The cat may not like the smell from the potty, and therefore he will refuse to go into it. Therefore, you need to exclude all flavors and wash the tray with plain water. It is also forbidden for several animals to go into one tray.
6. Don't punish. This method will not help you accustom your pet to the tray, but will only instill fear of the owner.
7. Doesn't shit where he eats. If your pet has chosen another place as a toilet, make his dining room there, after washing everything with odor eliminating products.
8. Health problems. If you follow all the rules, but the kitten still shits in the wrong place, you should contact a veterinarian.

Pathological deviations from the norm

The cat often goes to the toilet a little at a time

The animal may experience abnormalities in normal urination. Veterinarians distinguish between safe and pathological cases. Safe ones include:

• stress caused by moving or the appearance of a new pet or stranger in the house;
• acclimatization;
• change of feed;
• procedure of castration, sterilization or other surgical operations.

All these factors are temporary. After an adaptation period, the number of urinations returns to normal.

You should take full responsibility for kittens who have begun to go to the toilet less often for more serious reasons. Such children usually exhibit abnormalities resulting from the development of various pathologies. If the cat cannot pee for more than two days, or the process itself causes her pain, or the amount of urine is very small, then it’s time to seek help.

The main cause may be an inflammatory process in the genitourinary organs. Signs of pathology are:

• plaintive meowing when urinating or inability to go to the toilet;
• presence of traces of blood, sand or mucus in the urine;
• lack of urination;
• scanty discharge;
• lack of appetite, apathy;
• increased body temperature;
• swollen belly;
• dry and hot nose and ears.

Deviations from the norm can be caused by pathologies in the body

If there is difficulty urinating, the kitten may take a characteristic position while in the tray. It is worth remembering that an animal may not go to the toilet if it is dirty or if it does not like the litter in the tray. Pathological deviations from the norm require immediate contact with a veterinarian. If you let the situation take its course, the kitten may die.

Preventing constipation and diarrhea

You've already learned how often kittens poop and how to care for them. A loving owner should also take care of preventing problems with bowel movements. To do this you need:

• comb the animal regularly so that excess hair does not clog the intestines when licking;
• give kittens phytomines to cleanse the intestines;
• feed your pet a variety of foods, using foods rich in fiber;
• give space for your pet’s active life, which improves intestinal motility;
• contact your veterinarian in time.