Forums » Smalltalk » Do any of you know much 'bout kittens? (Lil gross)

I know this is a strange place to ask it, but I'm wondering if any of you who've had kittens or have them now have experienced this problem?

I barely have 10 dollars to last me till jobtime and I can't at all afford to take him to a vet, even if he isn't mine. I want to though, so bad.

Basically, what I think happened is that he got into the bigcat catfood and it stopped him up. So he tried to use the bathroom far too aggressively and it made him develop hemorrhoids. He's very swollen there, bleeding at times (usually after he goes), and when he does go it doesn't stop. His belly's a little swollen too.

My roommate bought him some worm meds just in case but I'm still concerned because I don't want anything severe to happen to the kitty. He's so small.

So basically I'm asking: Does it sound like hemorrhoids, and if so, are there any at-home treatments that could help a little bit? Anything we can do as its owner to make things a little more comfortable and easy?

We have him a lil nest of cloth n' stuff in one of our larger bathrooms that we're letting him stay in so he could be near a litter pan at all times because I think my roommate believes he goes whenever because of this issue.

He's crying a lot too and it's really pitiful, but if he's standing next to something living he feels much better. He's a sweetheart.

This is far too severe for at home methods, and do NOT give him the deworming meds if his problem is unknown, they're very severe on the system and he already sounds bad off enough.

I'd hate to say this, but if you have no expectancy of money any time soon, it might be best to give him up to a shelter. They can do one of two things: Fix him up and adopt him out, or put him down. It depends on the severity of the issue and their resources.

I don't think you're a cruel or abusive person, but this isn't something he should live with, and home methods really aren't going to work for this.

I'm really sorry for what's happening and your situation.

I have to agree with Masha, this is pretty severe. He probably needs medical attention, but these are some non-intrusive things you can try.

If he has trouble going, you can feed him some fish with a little bit of olive or other vegetable oil to help his bowel movements (I do this often if I notice my cats have issues with pooping, and sardines in oil are pretty cheap here from the cheapest brands), but if he's blocked in some way it won't help and just cause him more pain. Make sure he actually poops before you change his diet in any way or you can make it worse.

If you have any aloe cream or vaseline you could apply it to the hemorrhoids to ease the irritation. This won't have any negative side effects for as far as I know.

I do want to say that trying these options might not do anything at all and they can cause more discomfort because there's no way for us to know what's actually wrong, but I also understand that not doing anything is heartbreaking, so I still want to offer some small things you can do before taking the kitten to a shelter or to someone else who can pay for his vet bills.

I'm really sorry, I love my kitties and the idea of not being able to get them treated is terrible. I'm fortunate enough that I have family who can help me out with emergency treatments like this if need be, and I really wish I could help in some way.

Aw, poor kitty. I agree with the others - this definitely sounds like something a vet should look at, if only to help pinpoint what the actual problem is. Treating for unknown illnesses can just make things worse in the long run.

You mention that the kitten isn't actually yours; I'm going to assume that whomever he belongs to doesn't have the money for treatment, either. There are some vets who use deferred payment plans or who can offer assistance with bills for folks who aren't able to afford the cost of getting the pet looked at. Maybe try phoning around to some local vet offices and see if they have anything like that?

Alright I'm on mobile so i can't make a huge reply. I just want to thank you guys for you're help! He's my roommates kitty. I found out they're going to be able to take him to a vet soon too. C:

I'm SO relieved to hear that! Yaay!