My foster kittens have diarrhea. Is pumpkin a safe home remedy?

Hi there and thanks for posting. I am sorry to hear Winnie is not feeling well. I would recommend Winnie have a fecal test done at his veterinarian soon to rule out bacterial or parasitic infection which can be common in young cats and kittens. This is not typically a very expensive test. In the mean time, you can give Winnie some plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in his food twice daily to help firm up his stool, but I would try your best to get Winnie seen by a veterinarian for a fecal test very soon. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Kitties can't digest human milk well. This is likely what gave your little one diarrhea. I would switch back to the KMR and start mixing in small amounts of wet kitty starter formula food. You can also mix in 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) to help harden her stools and continue feeding her kitten only food. If he stools are not getting better after 24-48 hrs then its best to take her to your vet for a short course of antibiotics to get her bacterial flora back to normal. I hope that your ktity feels better soon! Best wishes and take care!

Make sure she has plenty of water. You can add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin (NOT pie filling) per 10lbs body weight once or twice daily. Mix well into the food. Canned is preferred since it contains more moisture which will aid defecation. Too much pumpkin may cause diarrhea. It should not cause pain. If Mishka is painful, have her examined by your veterinarian.

It should be okay to give her a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin twice a day. Just make sure it doesn't have any added flavoring or sugars. If that doesn't help, talk to your vet about trying Miralax.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend that bottle fed kittens start to be weaned at 3 weeks due to constipation issues with formula. If it has been a week since she has pooped I recommend a vet exam for an enema if needed. Constipation can be deadly for neonates. I would start canned kitten food. You can try a 1/4 tsp or less of plain canned pumpkin but extra fiber can go either way (more constipated or loosens the stool). I wish Kachie the best!

Canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just the straight-up pumpkin) or liquid paraffin can be used, and should work straight away in the following 8 hours from administration. DO NOT TRY to give an enema as it could be dangerous and cause electrolyte imbalances and colon perforation. If constipation lasts more than 24 hours from administration of those or 48 hours in general, a check up at your local vet is required.

Usually a probiotic would help diarrhea, however some probiotics and digestive enzyme supplements are more like treats with a lot of other ingredients that might cause stomach upset. As long as Kitty is eating and drinking normally with no vomiting I think it’s okay to wait 1-2 days for it to resolve. If the diarrhea is very frequent or watery or has blood present you should see your vet right away. It should be fine to try pumpkin now, but sometimes excess fiber makes diarrhea worse so I would stop after two tries if you don’t see improvement. And even though it isn’t pleasant to think about, cats lick their own feces all the time when they’re grooming. Nothing to worry about!