What is stimulating a kitten?
Stimulating a kitten seems like a strange behavior, but it is actually completely natural and normal. Stimulating a kitten involves putting a damp cloth or paper towel (that is usually warm) and pressing it against the kitten’s chest, genitals, and butt. This causes the kitten to pee and poop. Now you are probably wondering why kittens need to be stimulated in the first place. Read below to find out.
Why do kittens need to be stimulate to poop
Kittens need to be stimulated to poop and pee because they do not have the power to do it by themselves. Therefore, in the wild, mother cats will stimulate their kittens by licking them in the genitals and buts in order to help them poop and pee. By licking this region, the kitten’s muscles are stimulated and then have the strength to push out poop.
Many cat behaviorists believe this is a trait that can be linked back to evolution. They think that a kitten is much safer if they can only pee and poop when their mom initiates it by stimulating. If a kitten could poop and pee on their own, they might wander off by themselves and then be in danger of predators.
Since this is a natural phenomenon, it is very important that kittens are stimulated if they cannot poop or pee on their own. Most kittens under the age of 4 weeks will have to be stimulated. This is especially true for kittens that have been removed from their mothers.
You should know that a young kitten might start pooping in the house all of a sudden.
How to stimulate a kitten?
Stimulating a kitten is fairly easy. All you have to do is put him/her on her back. Then, take a towel or cloth and run it over some warm water. Then, gently rub the cloth in a circular motion around the kitten’s genitals or bottoms.
After around 30 seconds, the kitten should start pooping or peeing. Stimulating a kitten is very important, because it prevents the kitten from becoming constipated. Constipation is a very serious condition for young kittens, and in extreme cases it can result in death.
Other reasons kittens are stimulated
Kittens aren’t only stimulated in order to go poop or pee. A mother can also stimulate a kitten in order to encourage it to drink some milk. This is very common when kittens are a couple days old and still haven’t opened their eyes. This behavior is also common in other mammals, such as goats and cows.
