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My 4-week-old kitten has green loose stool with blood. What to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | unneutered | 1 month and 3 days old | 1.5 lbs

Hello. My girlfriend and I recently adopted two orphaned kittens. Someone scared the mother off and managed to touch the kittens, we took them in as they couldn't care for them. they were 3 days old then, now 4 weeks. Green loose stool with trace of red blood, no symptoms in kittens, just playful and full of life. Defecated in the shower instead of litter box. No puking and still eating lots, no signs of worms in stool. Feeding KMR and some wet/dry kitten food mixed in and softened. Thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Anna M., DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 23rd, 2017

Sounds like you're taking great care of these kittens! Kittens can be quite susceptible to diarrhea, and can dehydrate quickly, so it's good to watch them closely and respond quickly. As long as the kittens are feeling fine, eating, playful, etc you can simply monitor for today - since they're relatively new to eating "real" food I wouldn't change anything there - but if the diarrhea continues tomorrow I would take them in to the vet. By 4 weeks of age they should be getting dewormed as well; even though you aren't seeing worms, they likely have them (if they haven't been dewormed yet) and are passing microscopic eggs. That can be a contributing factor to diarrhea. Your vet can help determine the source of the diarrhea, and can give fluids under the skin if need be, as well as probiotics and medications to firm the stool. You can also discontinue the KMR as soon as the kittens are reliably eating kitten food. If they struggle with the kibbles you can crunch them up even smaller. Kitten food is more complete and balanced than KMR, so that's the best option for them once they're willing to eat it. Hope this helps!

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hello, sorry to hear about your kittens. Even though you are not seeing worms in their stool, they may still be infected with an intestinal parasite including worms or some microscopic parasites such as Giardia. You mentioned they had this episode in the shower, so if they were stressed due to being bathed, then this can also cause them to have loose stools. They are old enough to be weaned off the KMR and it sounds like you are transitioning them to wet/dry food. I would recommend taking them to the veterinarian so that they can test their stools for worms and treat them if necessary. You may bring a fresh stool sample to their appointment to help them expedite the testing. Hope this helps.

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