New mother cat panting & has diarrhea. Is this normal post-birth?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is not unusual for animals to have some diarrhea after giving birth. As long as she continues to eat well, this should slowly resolve over the course of the next 3-4 days. If it does not, or if Naughtt develops any other unusual clinical signs, I recommend having her seen by a veterinarian, as an unrelated issue may be present. I hope this is helpful!

Panting can be normal after giving birth. Lactation will stimulate the uterus to contract during the first two weeks after giving birth, thus leading to the panting. Make sure Twitch is eating and drinking normally, has a normal vagina discharge, and has a normal temperature (between 101-102.5F). If this panting increasing, she stops nursing her kittens, she has a fever, or has any other concerning signs, take Twitch and her kittens into a vet immediately.

Decreased appetite is normal in the later stages of pregnancy. So no worries there, as long as she is eating portions of her food. Loose stool can also occur, but should return to normal after a few days, and she should still have normal energy level and not hide. Hiding in cats, when they typically are social cats, is usually an indicator that something is wrong. I would see how she does in the next day or two, and if the diarrhea does not resolve, then have her stools checked by your vet. She may have intestinal parasites, or it could be loose due to stress from the pregnancy. I hope that Mia's stools return to normal soon. Best of luck moving forward and take care. : )

Poor Ginger. The pregnancy itself can be stressful to your pets body and cause some diarrhea to occur. However it should resolve within a day or two if stress alone is the cause. If it doesn't improve or resolve then she may have intestinal parasites causing this. Try adding 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the filling) to her food daily to add fiber and encourage hard stool formation. If things don't get better then reach out to your vet to see if they will would like to see her (depending on how late stage she is) for treatment of the diarrhea. Some dewormers and medicines are safe to use when a pet is pregnant and some are not. Best of luck and I hope that the rest of her pregnancy is uneventful and results in happy healthy kittens.

I would be concerned she may be unwell - although vomiting and diarrhea can be seen generally if related to labor then delivery should start within a couple of hours - not 2+ days. I recommend you have her checked by your vet to ensure she is not carrying any infections which could potentially be passed onto the kittens

Bleeding for up to 48 hours post-labor is normal in cats, and should lessen over that 48 hour period. However, if you are seeing signs of illness or the discharge is not decreasing over time, it is best to seek vet care to rule out any more serious issues causing it. Yellow stuff out of the kitten's bottom is likely their first stool called the meconium, and is usually passed after they are born and start to nurse. This is normal, and the momma cat should clean it and herself up. However if she needs help, a warm wet washcloth can be used to help keep mom and babies clean. Again, if you see any signs of illness, the babies don't seem to want to nurse, are weak, or aren't growing, or the mother seems ill, a vet exam is always best.

It sounds like your cat has a case of colitis, or an inflammation of the colon, resulting in an increase in the volume and frequency of stools. 

 Colitis can be caused by many different things. Some of the more common causes include intestinal parasites (most likely in a pregnant cat), dietary indiscretion, food intolerance, irritable bowel disease, pancreatitis, a foreign body/blockage and viruses. 

I would recommend taking your cat in to your vet to be examined. They will likely want to check a stool sample and may recommend some lab work, a dietary change, and/or antibiotics. 

 I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.