When Do Kittens Start Pooping?
At Scrumbles, we’re crazy about gut health and helping cats have regular pretty poops, so we’re super excited today to be talking about kitten poo! If you’ve recently become a pawrent to a new litter of kittens, you may have noticed that they don’t start pooping straight away. At first, they need their mothers or hooman caregivers to help them drop the kids off at the pool, but why is this? And, when do kittens start pooping? Let’s answer those questions.
Why Don’t Kittens Start Pooping Straight Away?
Kittens are born a mere 100g, or two chocolate bars in weight, and are blind and deaf. They also lack the ability to control their bladder and bowel so can’t wee or poop on their own. For the first few weeks of their life, they rely on their mother to stimulate their bodies to urinate or defecate after they’ve finished feeding. This involves their mother licking around their private areas to stimulate the muscles and nerves that control weeing and pooing. Once they’ve done their business, the mother will then usually eat what comes out as part of their grooming routine.
As gross as this may sound to us, this is normal feline behaviour and it’s best to leave your cat to follow their instincts and care for their babies. Cats are born to be pawrents so most of the time you won’t have to do much to take care of their kittens, as your mature feline friend will naturally provide them with all that they need.
How to Help Your Kitten Start Pooping
If you’re hand rearing a new litter of kittens, you will have to take on all responsibilities of their fur-mum, including helping to stimulate them to poop and wee. Don’t worry though, this doesn’t mean that you have to start licking them! Instead, using a warm damp cloth or cotton wool, gently wipe around their private areas to stimulate urination and defecation. Then simply wipe away the mess afterwards. Simples!
When Do Kittens Start Pooping on Their Own?
So, now that we know that kittens don’t start pooping straight away, when do kittens start pooping on their own?
Kittens start pooping on their own at around 3-4 weeks of age. They’ll also start walking and their sharp canine teeth will begin to poke through. At this point, you should start training them to use the kitty litter to reduce yucky clean-ups and carpet stains, and at four weeks you can start to wean them to solid food, making sure to moisten it well. By eight weeks your kitten should be fully weaned onto a nutritionally dense kitten food to provide them with all the essential vitamins and minerals that they need to grow into healthy, fully-fledged adult floofs.
What If My Kitten Stops Pooping?
So, now that we know the answer to “when do kittens start pooping?”, what happens if your kitten stops pooping?
Kittens should be stimulated to poop after every meal. If you or your cat is stimulating them and they’re not defecating, they may be constipated. If this happens try spending a little longer gently rubbing the area with a cloth to release a bowel motion. If this doesn’t work, and your kitten hasn’t pooped for 24 hours, you need to take them to your vet to be assessed and treated for constipation.
What Should Healthy Kitten Poop Look Like?
Healthy kitten poop should look like healthy adult cat poop, only smaller. It should be solid and brown and resemble a miniature lumpy sausage. The first time your kitten ever poops it may be more runny and have a dark green tinge to it. This poop is called meconium and is normal for all mammals. Meconium looks different to normal poop because it’s made up of materials ingested in the womb which gives it its dark appearance.
If your kitten is regularly having diarrhoea, you should have them seen by their vet as soon as possible. Regular diarrhoea can dehydrate a kitten’s small body quickly which can be very harmful for their health or even fatal. You should also have your kittens checked over by your vet if you notice anything else concerning in their poop such as blood or if it’s an abnormal colour.
Why Choose Scrumbles Cat Food?
Although looking at your kitten or cat’s poop may not be the most glamorous part of your day, it is an extremely impawtent practice to monitor their general health.
At Scrumbles we’re obsessed with gut health because we know how important a healthy gut microbiome is for a cat’s general health and longevity.
That’s why all of our delicious cat food and kitten food recipes are formulated with digestive health in mind to keep your cat’s poops pretty.
We use natural ingredients and never add nasty additives, fillers, salt, or sugar which disrupt cat digestion leading to abdominal pain, diarrhoea and an all-round less than happy floof.
We never scrimp on protein which is an essential part of any carnivorous cat’s diet as we use high levels of human-grade meat. We also add gut-loving prebiotics or probiotics to all of our recipes to soothe even the most sensitive kitty-cat tummies and improve digestibility.
We’re also dedicated to reducing our carbon pawprint on the Earth. With eco-friendly packaging and a commitment to sourcing all of our ingredients ethically, you can rest assured that your kitty’s diet isn’t costing you your values and morals.
All you need to do to improve your cat’s digestive health and make their poops look pretty at the same time is to try our incredible gut friendly cat food, and start noticing the difference today!
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