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Rescued kitten vomiting & runny poop. Should I wait until morning?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | unspayed | 2 lbs

Found and rescued stray kittens(3) 2 days ago. They were fine eating, drinking and Using litter box as we attempt taming. This morning, one of the kittens vomited 2 times. She was eating, pooping normal until today. Her poop is runny today for 1st time. . She has no fever, her mucus membranes are pink and look okay and her respiratory rate is normal. We don't have a get since rescue happened on weekend,. Should I attempt to find emergency care or is it safe to wait til morning?

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2 Answers

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Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on July 30th, 2017

I think you can safely wait until morning unless the clinical signs seem to persist or get worse. Small cats can definitely dehydrate or become hypoglycemic rather quickly, so persistent vomiting and diarrhea can become a problem. I would also consider separate the sick kitten from the healthy two until you have become certain that there is no infectious or contagious disease. Hope this helps!

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    Answered By Rebeccah Wood

    Licensed Veterinary Technician, Registered Laboratory Animal Technologist

    Published on

    Hello there, and thank you for rescuing these sweet kittens! As long as the kitten who vomited and has some runny poo is acting normal, is still hungry, and has nice pink, moist mucous membranes (which they appear to be from the picture), it's probably safe to wait till tomorrow morning for her to see the vet. Most kittens coming from outdoor environments have some measure of parasites, which could be causing her gastrointestinal upset. Additionally coming into a new home with new food can also cause a bit of an upset stomach. It's best, of course, to have a veterinarian make these determinations, so I'm glad that you're bringing the kittens in tomorrow. If anything changes, such as the kitten continues to vomit or becomes lethargic, you may need to bring her into an emergency hospital today. I hope this doesn't happen, and I wish you the best of luck in caring for these sweet kittens!

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