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My 5-week-old kittens have diarrhea. What's causing it and what to do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | unspayed | 0.5 lbs

I'm caring for 5 five-week-old kittens. Their mom was feral and I took over caring when I noticed she had difficulty feeding them. They suddenly developed frequent light brown/tan diarrhea. A foster who cared for them last week said they had normal stool (kind of yellow tho). I have been trying different foods to see which they like best. Also they are tiny (like half a pound) but very energetic. They always meow when they see me. I'm taking them to vet tmrw. Any opinions on their condition?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 27th, 2019

The most common reason for diarrhea in kittens is worms. I suspect the vet will give them a general dewormer at their exam. I suggest you stop any milk replacer or milk products if you are using them as they can also cause diarrhea. At 5 weeks they can eat solid foods and don't need milk. I suggest you feed them this mousse for the next few weeks as it's easy to eat and easy to digest. It also comes as a dry formula you can use when they are a bit older. ( https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Canin-Mother-Babycat-3-Ounce/dp/B003P9WUAG ) ( https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Canin-Nutrition-Babycat-Pregnant/dp/B00ECQ98V0 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 5th, 2016

    In kittens, one of the most common causes of diarrhea is intestinal worms. I would get them deworming treatments from the vet if they aren't up to date on these, and that will help with the diarrhea should the bye suffering from worms. The diarrhea could also be caused by the change in food to cat milk and hard food. You can try feeding them a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amoutns several times a day to see if that helps clear up the diarrhea. At their age, they don't need cat milk, water is the only liquid needed. They also need to be fed a kitten formulated food. Kittens need higher amounts of calories, protein, and calcium than adult cats, and a kitten formulated food will provide that.

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