Hello!
Hey, everyone.
Today, I'm going to teach you guys how to
stimulate kittens to go to the bathroom.
When kittens have a mother, their mother uses her tongue
to lick the area all around their genitals and on their little butts
to help them pee and poop.
But when they are an orphan, like Bee here,
you have to help them do that.
No, you do not have to lick them,
but you do have to help them go to the bathroom every single time they eat.
The way you're going to do that is by
gently rubbing them all around this area to stimulate elimination.
At home, I prefer using a soft tissue like this and just to keep a box of tissues next to me.
I'll bring some Kleenex with me in a packet,
just throw it in my bag so that I have something to use when I'm on the road.
But even if you're out and about with your kittens,
you can grab a roll of soft toilet paper to use.
You don't want to use anything that's too rough.
you don't want to use, you know, a paper towel or a hand towel
from a public restroom or anything that's going to be too rough.
You want something that is nice and soft.
You also might want to grab some organic baby wipes.
Something that's fragrance-free and gentle to help clean them up after they've gone to the bathroom.
And then of course grab some hand sanitizer or some soap
just to make sure you're keeping yourself clean after you do this.
So I grab my tissue and I'm about to stimulate him.
Some people will dunk this in a little bit of warm water
just to make it wet.
You don't necessarily have to do that.
The most important thing is that it's soft and that you're not rubbing too hard.
And I prefer to do it with them on their back so that I can see what's going on,
it doesn't make quite as much of a mess.
You can easily tell when they're done.
I do this every time before I feed them.
You'll be surprised how fast this food passes through their bodies,
especially when they're this little.
And I just very gently stimulate. You can see she kind of relaxes when you start to do it.
You can see that the tissue is becoming wet.
I'm going to just keep rubbing until I see that she's no longer peeing.
And you can see that she's also going to poop.
Now kittens should pee every single time that you feed them,
but they should only poop a couple times a day at this age.
When they get older it's normal for them to poop maybe once a day.
And it's normal for bottle baby poop when they're this little to be pretty yellow.
The important thing is that it has [a] solid form.
So you can see that his is, you know...
somewhat solid but a little bit loose.
Not the most perfect poop but not too bad.
So that's what a bottle baby poop looks like.
So now I'm going to take my organic baby wipes, and I'm just going to clean him up.
One thing that happens with kittens is they get something called urine scald.
So when you're peeing them you can see the pee is kind of going all around,
and even if it seems like it's dry,
you still want to wipe the area because they're so sensitive
that if urine is building up in this area, it can actually burn their skin.
And you can end up with a kitten that has a very raw, irritated backside.
Which is not good for anybody.
If you do find that your kitten has a really sensitive butt,
or is really raw down here,
you can help give them a little bit of comfort with a soothing product.
Something like Aquaphor is really good. This is just an ointment.
But of course the most important thing is to help just keep them really, really clean after they pee and poop.
So she's a good example of a nice, clean looking kitten.
Her butt looks very comfortable, her fur is soft.
If you get a kitten that has serious mess back here,
something I like to refer to as a poopsplosion.
If they've got a lot of poop or a lot of urine residue back here,
then you're going to want to do more of like a dip in warm water
with some dish soap or some baby soap just to keep this area nice and clean.
So once they hit three weeks old you can introduce them to a litter box and get them trained.
But until they reach that age, it's your job to help them go.
Be really careful if you see diarrhea in these guys.
Diarrhea can be a big issue for a tiny neonate because they can dehydrate so quickly.
So if you're seeing diarrhea, make sure that you're also supporting them with fluid.
Sometimes you might even have to do subcutaneous fluids on a kitten that has diarrhea.
And of course try to address the problem
by making sure you're feeding the correct amount,
that you are treating them for any parasites they might have,
and talking to a vet and getting a fecal analysis
if you're concerned about what their poop looks like.
So I know this lesson might seem a little bit gross
if you're not used to helping little kittens go to the bathroom,
but this is such an important part of their care routine.
So you have to be comfortable doing this.
You have to be comfortable doing it many times a day, every time they eat.
Remember that you are saving these little guys' lives
and giving them an opportunity to survive when they don't have a mother.
So thank you for saving them and check out the rest of my videos to learn how to care for them.
What you doin'?