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My abandoned kitten is constipated, meowing, and struggling to eat.

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | unspayed | 1.12 lbs

She was abandoned by her mother and we just brought her in yesterday and she was fine, but she's been meowing all morning, I think she's constipated. My vet told me to help her poop with a cotton pad by stimulating her anus but she only pees and her butt smells bad too. Feeding her is another problem but I just ordered a nursing kit but I'm not sure if it'll work.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Davis

Veterinarian

Published on April 16th, 2018

Please clean the rectal area with a warm wet cloth. That will help her to poop. If not you can tickle the anus with a q-tip dipped in Vaseline. For feeding use kitten milk replacer with a nursing bottle. You should feed every few hours during the day, and once in the night. It’s important to keep the little kitten warm and fed. Kittens that get cold and don’t have good nutrition can get weak quickly and die. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your kitten.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 6th, 2018

    Kittens should always be helped to poop and urinate. Take a warm-moist paper tissue and gently stimulate the anus and genitals to entice it to eliminate. You should do this after every meal. You can turn on warm water in a gentle stream and let the warm water run over his anus, while gently rubbing it. This may be enough to help it eliminate feces. If he does not get rid of his poop, then he will need to be seen by a vet who will have to administer an enema.

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