Keeping Kittens - Guide to Caring for Kittens

Kitten Care > Kitten Health > Treating Mild Diarrhea in Kittens

How to Treat Mild Diarrhea In Kittens

A kitten with diarrhea is at risk of dehydration. You can treat mild diarrhea in kittens at home with natural remedies. If you are not sure how severe your kittens diarrhea is - please contact your vet.

Treating Kitten Diarrhea

Twin kitten names.
Photo by worak.

If your kitten has bloody stool, has eaten houseplant (many are poisonous to cats) or has been experiencing diarrhea for over 24 hours - take her to the vet. Also if your kitty has any other symptoms along with her diarrhea, take her to the vet. Cats are very resilient - if she is showing she is unwell, she may have been feeling rotten for quite awhile.

These are some simple things you can do to ease the discomfort for your kitten with the runs.

Don't Feed Your Kitten for a Day

Putting your kitten on a 24 hour fast in the case of the mild runs - can put her intestines on the fast track to getting better. Make sure you still give your kitten water, as dehydration is a danger associated with diarrhea in kittens.

When you start feeding your kitty again start her on a bland diet. Try mixing cooked white rice with boiled meat (hamburger or chicken). You could also use potato, pasta or buy lamb and rice cat food from your pet store.

Give Your Kitten Plenty of Water

It is important to keep your little guy hydrated. Kitten diarrhea poses the real risk of dehydration. Fortunately preventing your kitten from getting dehydrated is easy. Make sure your kitten has access to clear fresh water. Change the water regularly, cats aren't a fan of stale water at the best of times - let alone when they are feeling poorly.

Add Fiber to Kittens Food

Adding a bit of fiber to your kittens food will help firm up her stool. Try a small amount of wheat bran (1/8 teaspoon) to your kittens food. Extra fiber for a kitten diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) will help ease the common diarrhea problems associated with IBS.

Get Rid of Cat Food With Dye

A lot of cat food is highly processed. Food that include artificial dyes and ingredients can be identifies by these characteristics: looks like real chunks of meat, comes in many attractive colors or stays moist and "edible" in the container for months.

The "nonfoods", the processed part of the kitten food is what your kitty is struggling to process - and why they are getting diarrhea. Although switching a kittens food can cause diarrhea, long term it is better to change your kittens food from the highly processed cat food to a natural brand. This will prevent further episodes of diarrhea.