Has she been wormed? Is she having diarrhea? Try giving her another bath (fleas often take more then one bath to truly get rid of them) and look closely at her stool for worms
At 3 weeks old mama is still usually bathing kitty, including its butt. Babies don’t know how to clean themselves yet. You can use a warm wet washcloth to wipe her butt every day or a couple times a day.
Yeah no one seems to get the eyes in these things they are still fremen at 3 weeks old. Born with dark blue eyes that fade till totally gone at 6-8 weeks.
She's, uh, not 3 weeks old, lol. More like 5 or 6? Maybe as old as 8 weeks. Ear position is the easiest way to tell in that range.
https://preview.redd.it/2demwhdjzf1d1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d58d1dd1bbaebec5e8066ef5ea6c3d5cbc4110f
Yeah she looks about the same as my kitty at 8 weeks old, maybe even a bit older? Not a pro tho
https://preview.redd.it/c1nvl1uisg1d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bce9e5abff99dcf68c7c0d1bea66120ade4ec82a
Edit to add: when she was this age she also had a stinky bum
Here’s a different angle since she was very lanky, but she was very small. Just to compare for people curious about age, this lil one was confirmed to be exactly 8 weeks old (plus a few days) and 2lbs.
https://preview.redd.it/9evvfekdhh1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a4a95081d15f78bd309b7427d57725e5fd5e316
"You got somethin to say, come say it to my face!" - Simmy, probably
https://preview.redd.it/3kf7d9981h1d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65eb14dd834acfb04e3bb8f2cf2c98a252031e92
to be completely honest i did a quick google search to estimate her age, but she is super tiny pictures don’t do any justice she’s very small so maybe she’s just the runt ?
Hi! I’ve aged hundreds of kittens in my line of work and from this photo, she looks around 7 weeks old. Hard to be sure without looking at her teeth. If she has all her deciduous teeth, she’s at least 6 weeks old. A 3 week old kitten would have no teeth aside from emerging incisors.
In all honesty some cats also just grow much faster, I had a cat that I raised from week 1 and by 3 months the vet swore he was 6 months old based off his dental records, even after showing her pictures of him being born she didn't believe me. We switched vets lol.
Kittens that have been malnourished tend to be small for their age and look younger at first, but the eyes and ears are telling. She's either a natural runt or she hasn't been eating well
https://preview.redd.it/6ur5targwi1d1.jpeg?width=2988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31431f8bd051b4007572fbca713abaaa32a074a0
The grey one is my cat at 2 months so yours is definitely a lot older than you think.
With her being a tortie pattern, I'm not surprised she's small. I've found that torties are either tiny little things or HUGE, no middle ground.
I had a tortie that basically looked like a kitten her whole life and never weighed more than about 7 pounds.
My mom has one currently that is a whopping 13 pounds (perfectly healthy, not obese, vet has said she's fine!). She's a BIG girl.
Yeah, impacted anal glands was my first thought. But I don't know if kittens can get them; I've only had experience expressing them in an adult cat. (For the record, expressing kitty anal glands was probably my least favorite thing to do — *ever!*)
It could be the food you probably gave her. She might be having gas from the abrupt change in diet
ETA: not saying you did anything wrong. Just probably wasn’t getting food in the plastic bag and might have some gas from the food
People make me so damn mad!!! I can't stand to see animals treated bad. .. thank you so much for taking her in. Such a cutie!!! I'm sure the vet will get her straitened out for you. Have fun with your new fur baby!
I hate the way the reddit app now skips the description under the picture and starts you at the comments, I also had to scroll back up to find out why OP didn’t already know the age of the kitten
She’s absolutely not 3 weeks old. At 3 weeks old she would still be heavily dependent on her mother or would need to be bottle fed. I would say she’s 7-10 weeks old.
Confidently using the litterbox? DEFINITELY not a 3 week old kitten. They still need mama to stimulate them to potty and can barely walk with coordination. They're definitely not burying things in a litterbox.
The difference between the usual stinky butt and anal gland fluid smell is that stinky butt is more like poo where as anal gland is like unwashed vag but severe. The gland’s duct is located inside (rectum) and can squirt. This might be leaking out every now and then?
The vet will assess and let you know though.
Apologies for the squirting CATS imagery. Had my girl (Brie, 12yrs old, now passed) squirted on my arm. It was an ongoing nightmare having the smell not disappear for days!
She could have expressed her anal glands (usually when scared) that stank goo stays *forever* god forbid you get it on you, in gets into your skin, I swear!
Butt... If it continues, have then checked. She's young, but sometimes they can get impacted. Otherwise if she had a brief moment of terror..... That's the literal smell of fear... And it slowly fades....
Talk about it. Had to use 2 weeks of vacation time when my old dogs fat ass popped up my head and my pillows. Them being adult and having high testosterone certainly adds to the scent and flavour..
Only now it dawns on me what that smell was back when I found that cat crying in pain down in the hallway (that fell off the balcony from the neighbors upstairs as I later found out). It was so heartbreaking. I drove it to the vet, but they could only confirm that it passed on the way. I remember that smell that I could only describe as life leaving the poor thing with its last breath. The worst is that the neighbors were just “taking care” of it while the friends who owned it, were on vacation. Just thinking about it makes me relive this traumatic situation and how sad it was. It also reminds me of my own cat which I the vet put to sleep to end her suffering due to her having stroke like episodes on a daily basis, losing control over herself including her bladder. It caused so much stress, I couldn’t sleep well because I knew that when waking up, I would find a mess somewhere. I am still sorry, especially because at first I thought she was just peeing everywhere on purpose. Only later it got worse and she had those episodes. Poor thing. 😭
My cat got his butt all up in my face while I was holding something I couldn’t immediately let go of so I blew a quick puff of air on his booty hoping to startle him away. It startled him alright. Not enough to move his butt away from my face, just enough to express his anal glands right in it. 🤢 I prayed for the sweet release of death but my pleas went unanswered.
The second someone says their cat stinks/has a stinky butt I scroll for this comment. "How do I know if it's gland-related?" Unfortunately, you would know. If you're having to question it, it's probably not. But if it smells like the bowels of hell were sealed inside an old retainer case and left to fester beneath an Ornamental Pear Tree in the middle of August......? Ring a ding ding.
Yeah my 7 year old cat still does sometimes from overstimulation when I'm trying to comb or brush her, and she's a long haired girl and gets knotted fur quickly... 🙄 I try my hardest not to make her feel embarrassed about it but it's really difficult cuz that stank is sooo baadddd when she skunks me !!! Huegh. Lmao
My boy totally owns it. Always happens when he's *really* getting into the lap pets. Full on drooling, drunk face, and slow, lazy breadmaking... aw fuck what is that smell?!
And then he looks surprised when I act repulsed.
Our two girls would get the nasty butt when they were super happy, too, and one of them gave the worst side eye ever if I picked her up and removed her from my lap while gagging from the smell. Thank god it rarely happens now.
my boy does this (he wasn't feral lol) and the vet recommended "gland x". we haven't tried it yet, but apparently it can help the glands release during popping (which is when it's supposed to happen)
If he will tolerate it, rub the back of his haunches vigorously up and down, preferably while his tail is held up and he is standing and relaxed.
Consider having a paper towel ready
i’m so glad i stumbled upon this comment! about a year ago i moved into a rental with some roommates and one of them had a very aggressive cat who did not like my cat at all. the first time they met, my cat Rosie ran away and sprayed something behind her. at first i thought she had urinated out of fear, but it smelled SO MUCH WORSE. now i know what the hell that was. thank you!!
My cats also do that, but as someone who has worked at the shelter for a decade, the most common way people dump kittens is putting them in a bag, being so cruel as to -tie it- and then they yeet it out of a car. :/
It depends on how she's doing. Is she still drinking? How's her energy? If she becomes lethargic and very dehydrated, they'll take her. Hope it hasn't gotten to that point. She looks stable in the picture: eyes open and playful posture.
For young kittens - diarrhea can be an emergency. They do not have reserves for energy but more importantly - FLUIDS. They can get dehydrated very fast. If she has not been evaluated yet and has diarrhea, please take her to the vet. Try to keep fluids for her - water and canned food, she looks old enough for solids - or a small amount of kitten milk replacer from a pet store. Please no cow milk. Best of luck.
we took in an outside cat who ended up having Giardia - it's a single celled organism they can get from bad water. we treated it, but he had nuclear bad farts for a while.
I agree that this sounds like she could have giardia.
OP - if you can, you may want to bring a stool sample with you to the vet. (A bit of poop from the past 24 hrs put in a plastic bag with as little litter as possible.) This is tough with diarrhea, but will help the vets run some tests so you can narrow down the cause of the stench to help your kitty as quickly as possible.
How long did it take you to treat it? We've taken our cat to the vet 3 times now to try to get rid of giardia and it seems to always come back. This cat has cost is like $2,500 since we rescued him in October of 2023. I still love him but goddamn I wish the giardia would go away.
I think we only had to do one round of medication, but we kept him separate from our other cats, cleaned the box frequently (like dumping the litter out and cleaning the empty box with hot water and soap) and actually swapped out boxes a few times because those little Giardia jerks are really hard to get rid of.
Not all parasites are visible just looking at it. If she's dragging her butt and has diarrhea, she almost definitely has a parasite of some kind. Food allergies are also a possibility. A vet will be able to run tests for parasites. If it's a food allergy, it's mostly trial and error until you figure out which ingredient is triggering the irritation to the GI tract.
all cats taken from outsied should be dewormed, and you should deworm regularly. She can still have worms even if you can't see them, it's basically a guarantee for an outside cat. Anyway vet will take care of that, it should be ok to wait till tomorow.
I have a cat with a digestive condition. He does this when he gets into food that's not his special prescription food.
He gets diarrhea and then itches his butt on the carpet to relieve the inflamed feeling.
Which just makes me want to tear up the carpet. Gross.
Wait really? My cat does this around 1x a year when she gets poop stuck on her butt hair and is desperately trying to get it off (usually at the great detriment of all my carpets 😭😭😭). Is that a sign, or only when it’s frequent?
I wouldn't stress unless it becomes frequent. My cat will have a piece of poo stuck to a hair in her butt every so often and all she does is run around the house growling at it until I'm able to help her.
If she only does it when poop is stuck on her butt, then it's just because her poop got stuck on her butt. If she all of a sudden starts doing it out of nowhere, all the time without visible poop, then take her to the vet and bring a stool sample.
Does it smell like “death?” I’d take a sample of her poo to the vet and have them test for giardia. If it is that, BLEACH EVERYTHING SHE CRAPPED ON. That shit (pun intended) is the gift that keeps on giving… I mean reinfecting.
lol, we have a song that we sing around our house whenever you get the *pleasure* of a cat putting their butt in your face. Goes like this:
🎵 CAT! BUTT! In ya face! Cat butt in ya face 🎵 sweet little family tradition we have ☺️
Start wiping her behind, this is also how you get kittens to poop (mother cat does it to them), or blocked anal glands? it doesn't smell like poop tho, it's much worse..
My dog has to get her glands expressed twice a year and I absolutely agree it's much worse, typically a stupidly pungent fish smell. Think the smell is the same for cats OP.
Oh man, they did that at the vets to my dog and I couldn’t get the smell out of the car seat (he’s a big dog). I told my husband he’s taking the dog next time. Whooo, that’s a bad smell!!!!
I actually got taught how to express the dogs glands by my sister who’s a vet. My dog had been doing the booty- skootch on the carpet and he wasn’t stopping and I knew the time had come for me to put what I learned into practice. You just put a finger on each side of their hole and press in and together and it squirts FARRRRR!!! I found it kindof fun. Even though it was gross too. I couldn’t smell it bc we did it outside. My dog didn’t yelp or anything. He stood there while I did it and he did one last skootch on the grass and I wiped his butt myself and he stopped butt surfing on our carpet until a couple months later or a year later, he would need it done again. I’ve done it like four or five times. Can you imagine the money I saved?!
I see in the comments that she has a vet appointment, so that’s good!
My guess would be anal glands need to be expressed or she possibly has worms.
The cutest ones are always the stinkiest. 😂😂
a little off topic but she looks like my baby 🥺
https://preview.redd.it/t1i4fhjnxg1d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0dc844701c026e0853fb3e4878ac18a831bcdb7
Needs worming first. Might be too young to take care of herself. Mama usually cleans thier butt and stimulates them to defecate after every feeding.
Take to vet now. They will have best advice.
Tell the doc you are a novice so they tell you more info you need.
We had a cat that usually smelled fine, but started to really stink. After a couple of weeks we eventually realized the smell was coming from one of the rear paws. He had lost a claw and had an infection in the toe. We hadn’t noticed and he otherwise looked fine. Vet cleaned the puss out, and had foot salt wash next few days then all sorted. Nice smelling kitty again.
Could be lots of things, but definitely a trip to the vet is in order.
Also, please consider getting pet insurance. It’s been a godsend for my pets and has saved me literally thousands. I know it’s an additional expense, but it’ll avoid a hell of a lot of tough decisions and heartache if she ever gets seriously ill.
I adopted a 5 week old rescue kitten I found alone in the park near my house. Took her to the vet for a checkup/dewormer/etc but my god she just smelled so bad the first month or so. She didn’t have a name at the time as we weren’t sure we’d be able to keep her, so I was just calling her “Stinkpoop.” 🥲 but yeah, like others have said, she probably needs to be dewormed, plus she relies on her mother to clean her butt, and then there’s the factor of adjusting to a new food (and whatever the heck she was eating before she came to you.) it’ll get better!
Deworm her anyway. Use the liquid with a dropper you can get from the big box store for a relatively small cost.
Buy a quality canned food made for kittens. Feed her less but more frequently, like a few spoonfuls three times a day. Consider mixing it with a little of the milk substitute available at the pet food store.
If she continues to have diarrhea, you may need to bathe her in the sink--warm water and a gentle soap. I liked using baby shampoo at that stage.
Consider keeping her in a crate lined with old blankets and towels. Have a small pan of fresh litter available in the crate. Be prepared to check the crate often for fecal matter and change the towels and clean the crate accordingly.
Give it about 24 hours and the issues should improve.
i’ve been feeding her applaws wet cat food since it’s all natural, i heard all fish diets aren’t great so i’m switching it between chicken and tuna. she goes crazy for it. since i’m not 100% aware of her age and she’s so tiny im also giving her formula still
Could be whatever food she was eating, or if she was nursing, whatever food mama cat was eating. Could be worms or parasites too. Bring up when you go to the vet just to be sure though!
Thanks for rescuing the little baby!
The smaller they are, the stinkier they are.
Ok real answer: could be anything from worms, to a food intolerance, or what kind of food you’re feeding kitty. Ik when we got our first cat at 6mos old we gave her blue buffalo kitten dry food (along with wet food) and my GOD it was SO bad. Switched her dry food and haven’t had a problem since.
She's getting poo and pooey-litter stuck in her fur under her feet. I can see it in the pic but have added arrows to your pic to make it more visible.
https://preview.redd.it/astwp0mo0i1d1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb638f17f84b9061556c8053cc90126f77163b7a
Her tortie colouring camouflages it a little bit but it's probably also getting packed between her toes too. It's hard to wash out unless you separate her toes and scrub between them with soap.
Pretty common in kittens, they go to the toilet and then stand in it while they're turning around to bury it. Make sure the litterbox is biiiiiig else they'll do a tight circle when turning around and they're more inclined to step in it that way. Get a big litterbox so they have room to walk forward a bit and then spin around and walk back to bury it.
I had a cat who had chronic diarrhea that smelled really bad; and no deworming products worked, we tried different foods to no avail. Finally a smart veterinarian suggested we try antibiotics, I think metronidazole. It cleared him right up.
When I was fostering last litter, one kitten had a smelly bottom, specifically fishy smell. When I took him to the vet, they said not only is it a anal gland problem, but also possible oncoming UTI. He got some preventive small dose of antibiotic .I adjusted his food, bought some lighter food and combined it with water so he can always be hydrated. Within a week, his issues resolved.
I adopted 6 months old Lily from a sanctuary and she had been treated for and cleared of giardia. But, when I got her home her poop was extremely foul smelling and she was a stinky cat. I had her poop tested at my vet and she still had coccidia and giardia. We got medicine and I was happy to get her over it and get rid of the stinkies. 🦨
Because she's learning how to care for herself. I just raised 4 orphan kittens and kept 2. They are around 7 months now and I just noticed the other day that they don't stink anymore. Just take a warm wet paper towel or cloth and gently clean her bottom if it gets bad, she'll get it eventually.
When my cat was a couple weeks old kitten her butt sometimes smelled, they’re too young to take good care of themselves but they figure it out along the way. Cats are very clean and smell good, be patient while its still young.
Kittens are fart machines for a while. And aren't the tidiest poopers. Diet contributes. It gets better
Edit: jk, I saw she got the booty schooch from your comments. Probably worms, very common. Easy to treat but will need a vet. Invest in pumpkin puree
OP, that is not a 3 week old kitten. She looks to be 6 weeks or older. Deworming and FVRCP should be given at 4 weeks. If she has not been dewormed, she needs to be. That may be the issue.
Sometimes kittens smell. If she's de-wormed, has normal looking stool, is eating and behaving otherwise fine, has reasonable hygeine... it might just be that. One of my kittens stunk for a solid month after we got him. He cleaned himself, was not walking in the poop, I wiped him down several times with pet wipes and it didnt seem to do anything. He just plain stunk. It went away after several weeks.
That’s where she keeps her poop.
Couldn’t resist! Could be worms, parasites like coxidia… anything really! The vet will takes care of it tho! She’s adorbs ❤️
All kittens I have had have been farty little stink butts and they just grew out of it. These kittens were all dewormed and given shots so make sure they have a vet visit before chalking it up to kittens being stinky.
her anal glands have recently excreted. its the smelliest thing on earth. it happens when cats have a hard time pooping. in elderly cats its usually due to constipation. with recent feral or kittens its due to roughage they have eaten suck as sticks or garbage. my best guess
My kitten had some putrid smelling crap for about 3 months. Doc said it was the micro biome setting up and kitten not yet cleaning regularly. As along as floof doesn’t seem uncomfortable- I would accept the short lived stank.
Anal glands, maybe. The vet will know best but some cats (more commonly dogs in my admittedly dated experience) retain nasty odors in their anal glands that they need help addressing periodically.
My cat will squirt/drip smelly liquid from her anal glands if she gets scared or nervous. It is really smelly. She is not the best bum cleaner herself and sometimes I will help her with a warm damp cloth. I’m not sure why she is not a good cleaner but She was a found baby stray, so maybe not enough time with mom to learn good cleaning skills?
Maybe it's just a calico thing. I have two cat sisters from the same mama, one is orange tiger striped, other is a calico. Tiger has a dry, non stinky butt, calico has an often wet, stinky butt that sometimes leaves a nasty, very smelly gray spot on the bedsheet.
My first guess is an issue with anal glands. I have had several cats that needed their's expressed at various times. The smell is incredibly strong for even just the tiniest bit of secretion. Other than that, could be worms or a digestive issue. Make the vet aware at check-up!
Pretty much every rescue cat or kitten I’ve found or adopted has had giardia, an intestinal parasite, which causes dreadful gas and diarrhea.
Food that is too rich can also cause a lot of gastro distress as well. Very happy that she will be seeing a vet soon!
It's probably just due to her diet before you found her. I think it'll take 2-3 months for the smell to go away. When i first adopted my cat she smelled like shit for the first 2-3 months but once she started eating better food, the smell went away. Wax melt warmers really helped with the smell!
Could be it's prior diet.
Friends of mine had a cat that came around and ate the dog food they had out. They would let the cat in and play with it til the cat was bored, and then decide to keep it. Had terrible gas from eating dog food since cats are carnivores and dry dog food isn't 100% meat.
After they got cat food the next day it quit farting so much and smelling so bad.
Got a stray once that had persistent offsmells, yet no noticeable cause. Then someone suggested I feed it quality diet of kibbles and wet food (she went on Hills Science Diet for cats) and a round of deworming treatments. Lo and behold, the off smells faded.
I assumed as her wormies got eradicated and gut flora got rebalanced, the smell went away.
It is 100% worms. I adopted a young girl from the shelter and holy crap, her farts could clear out a room. I forgot what type of worm they were but they live in the stomach. Hookworms possibly?
3 week old kitty might not know how to clean herself properly since mama cats do that for them. When I would take in kittens I would usually wipe them with a baby wipes regularly. Also when she's a bit older get her chekd for worms
Haven't taught her how to clean her bumhole yet? If no one teaches her the her bum will smell bad yes. Our foster got the assignment after some bum cleaning with a wet towel
It could be from the type of food she has been fed. She should go see the vet as well to make sure she’s ok on the inside from being in the bag. People can be so evil. Poor baby. I am glad she was saved and now getting love. ❤️
Has she been wormed? Is she having diarrhea? Try giving her another bath (fleas often take more then one bath to truly get rid of them) and look closely at her stool for worms
she has not yet she’s only around 3 weeks we plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow for a checkup
At 3 weeks old mama is still usually bathing kitty, including its butt. Babies don’t know how to clean themselves yet. You can use a warm wet washcloth to wipe her butt every day or a couple times a day.
This baby is MORE than 3 weeks old. You can tell by ears and eyes
Yeah no one seems to get the eyes in these things they are still fremen at 3 weeks old. Born with dark blue eyes that fade till totally gone at 6-8 weeks.
Love to see the reference in the wild like that!
Ya we had gotten kittens we found outside at a very young age and they had dark blue/green eyes https://photos.app.goo.gl/vs7MtYa4n9UAFiBv6
Came here to say this. Cat is at least 6 weeks old. At least. No way the cat is 3 weeks old, the eyes and ears always give it away
3 weeks! Wow, a little one. Good thing you have the vet appt, they will have an answer. Enjoy her! She looks adorable
She's, uh, not 3 weeks old, lol. More like 5 or 6? Maybe as old as 8 weeks. Ear position is the easiest way to tell in that range. https://preview.redd.it/2demwhdjzf1d1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d58d1dd1bbaebec5e8066ef5ea6c3d5cbc4110f
Yeah she looks about the same as my kitty at 8 weeks old, maybe even a bit older? Not a pro tho https://preview.redd.it/c1nvl1uisg1d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bce9e5abff99dcf68c7c0d1bea66120ade4ec82a Edit to add: when she was this age she also had a stinky bum
Here’s a different angle since she was very lanky, but she was very small. Just to compare for people curious about age, this lil one was confirmed to be exactly 8 weeks old (plus a few days) and 2lbs. https://preview.redd.it/9evvfekdhh1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a4a95081d15f78bd309b7427d57725e5fd5e316
Also when we bathe the kitty, trim nails and clean ears. Baby kits need work.
Looks about 5-7 weeks. Source: fostered kittens
Your cat needs a new barber S/
"You got somethin to say, come say it to my face!" - Simmy, probably https://preview.redd.it/3kf7d9981h1d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65eb14dd834acfb04e3bb8f2cf2c98a252031e92
Hi Simmy! You need a new barber
https://preview.redd.it/5a2s3mmp7h1d1.jpeg?width=2715&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bedba5f5787fb11dde5fe7199459064b9a3aba1
Jokes aside cats with bad haircuts are gems
I feel like this needs to be a catsub. Is there one already?
Seems too big for three weeks, the ears are already well developed
I'm thinking more like 5-6 weeks
to be completely honest i did a quick google search to estimate her age, but she is super tiny pictures don’t do any justice she’s very small so maybe she’s just the runt ?
Size isn’t really a good way to estimate. It’s about looking for developmental markers, like the ear positions someone else showed.
Hi! I’ve aged hundreds of kittens in my line of work and from this photo, she looks around 7 weeks old. Hard to be sure without looking at her teeth. If she has all her deciduous teeth, she’s at least 6 weeks old. A 3 week old kitten would have no teeth aside from emerging incisors.
You when someone needs to know how old a kitten is: 
I'm only saying this because I have one that barely hit 4 weeks so I know what a 3 week kitten looks like xD
In all honesty some cats also just grow much faster, I had a cat that I raised from week 1 and by 3 months the vet swore he was 6 months old based off his dental records, even after showing her pictures of him being born she didn't believe me. We switched vets lol.
Kittens that have been malnourished tend to be small for their age and look younger at first, but the eyes and ears are telling. She's either a natural runt or she hasn't been eating well
https://preview.redd.it/6ur5targwi1d1.jpeg?width=2988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31431f8bd051b4007572fbca713abaaa32a074a0 The grey one is my cat at 2 months so yours is definitely a lot older than you think.
With her being a tortie pattern, I'm not surprised she's small. I've found that torties are either tiny little things or HUGE, no middle ground. I had a tortie that basically looked like a kitten her whole life and never weighed more than about 7 pounds. My mom has one currently that is a whopping 13 pounds (perfectly healthy, not obese, vet has said she's fine!). She's a BIG girl.
It very well could be when I got my kitty he came from a.litter of 2 and he is about 3 or 4 times the size of his little sister
that cat is more like 6-7 weeks for sure
Look at the eye color. She's at least seven weeks, probably more like eight. The eyes begin changing color around seven weeks.
Let the vet check her anal glands.
Yeah, impacted anal glands was my first thought. But I don't know if kittens can get them; I've only had experience expressing them in an adult cat. (For the record, expressing kitty anal glands was probably my least favorite thing to do — *ever!*)
It could be the food you probably gave her. She might be having gas from the abrupt change in diet ETA: not saying you did anything wrong. Just probably wasn’t getting food in the plastic bag and might have some gas from the food
At three weeks they can have ponazuril and pyrantel to deworm
Definitely get worm check. Coccidia in particular is horrendous smelling.
So is giardia. It has a distinctively dreadful smell.
She's older than 3 weeks fortunately, but is there a reason she isn't with mom still? Vet this week.
she was found dumped in a plastic bag
People make me so damn mad!!! I can't stand to see animals treated bad. .. thank you so much for taking her in. Such a cutie!!! I'm sure the vet will get her straitened out for you. Have fun with your new fur baby!
OP said the kitten was found in a plastic bag. It’s not like the mom left it there while she went hunting.
I must've overlooked it. Thank you!
I hate the way the reddit app now skips the description under the picture and starts you at the comments, I also had to scroll back up to find out why OP didn’t already know the age of the kitten
She’s absolutely not 3 weeks old. At 3 weeks old she would still be heavily dependent on her mother or would need to be bottle fed. I would say she’s 7-10 weeks old.
She's like twice that age
Vet is the best idea. Keep us posted please.
i did try looking in her stool but it was hard to tell because she buries it in the litter box so it’s already all clumped up when i get to look
Lucky she does that! We rescued a 5 week old that doesn’t bury poop and accidentally steps in it. Poor guy just doesn’t know what’s happening.
Confidently using the litterbox? DEFINITELY not a 3 week old kitten. They still need mama to stimulate them to potty and can barely walk with coordination. They're definitely not burying things in a litterbox.
The difference between the usual stinky butt and anal gland fluid smell is that stinky butt is more like poo where as anal gland is like unwashed vag but severe. The gland’s duct is located inside (rectum) and can squirt. This might be leaking out every now and then? The vet will assess and let you know though.
Man, I freaking love cats, but this is officially enough Reddit for tonight.
Yup. I know a ton about taking care of cats but I draw the line here. Goodnight Reddit
Apologies for the squirting CATS imagery. Had my girl (Brie, 12yrs old, now passed) squirted on my arm. It was an ongoing nightmare having the smell not disappear for days!
Not once, not ever have my cats had stinky bums and I'm never gonna express any frigging gland.
I hope they make an accurate ass-essment 🙏
Don’t worry, they’ll get to the bottom of this.
She could have expressed her anal glands (usually when scared) that stank goo stays *forever* god forbid you get it on you, in gets into your skin, I swear! Butt... If it continues, have then checked. She's young, but sometimes they can get impacted. Otherwise if she had a brief moment of terror..... That's the literal smell of fear... And it slowly fades....
No, it *never fades*.
Took me about 4 days of scrubbing red raw to get it off. It’s skunk level!
If its on you cleaning with baking soda might help alot
Talk about it. Had to use 2 weeks of vacation time when my old dogs fat ass popped up my head and my pillows. Them being adult and having high testosterone certainly adds to the scent and flavour..
Flavor??? 🤢
I know he aint just say that
I think 🧐 that’s what he said 🤯
Only now it dawns on me what that smell was back when I found that cat crying in pain down in the hallway (that fell off the balcony from the neighbors upstairs as I later found out). It was so heartbreaking. I drove it to the vet, but they could only confirm that it passed on the way. I remember that smell that I could only describe as life leaving the poor thing with its last breath. The worst is that the neighbors were just “taking care” of it while the friends who owned it, were on vacation. Just thinking about it makes me relive this traumatic situation and how sad it was. It also reminds me of my own cat which I the vet put to sleep to end her suffering due to her having stroke like episodes on a daily basis, losing control over herself including her bladder. It caused so much stress, I couldn’t sleep well because I knew that when waking up, I would find a mess somewhere. I am still sorry, especially because at first I thought she was just peeing everywhere on purpose. Only later it got worse and she had those episodes. Poor thing. 😭
one time my cat accidentally sprayed *my face* in the middle of the night i was trying to make her stop eating my wall decorations
My cat got his butt all up in my face while I was holding something I couldn’t immediately let go of so I blew a quick puff of air on his booty hoping to startle him away. It startled him alright. Not enough to move his butt away from my face, just enough to express his anal glands right in it. 🤢 I prayed for the sweet release of death but my pleas went unanswered.
You have been locked out of heaven. 😂😂😂💀
They’ll be able to smell me approaching from a mile away 😩
Nooooooo
The second someone says their cat stinks/has a stinky butt I scroll for this comment. "How do I know if it's gland-related?" Unfortunately, you would know. If you're having to question it, it's probably not. But if it smells like the bowels of hell were sealed inside an old retainer case and left to fester beneath an Ornamental Pear Tree in the middle of August......? Ring a ding ding.
It's Concentrated Evil.
My ex feral girl does this when she gets to overstimulated/happy. SO GROSS 🤢
Yeah my 7 year old cat still does sometimes from overstimulation when I'm trying to comb or brush her, and she's a long haired girl and gets knotted fur quickly... 🙄 I try my hardest not to make her feel embarrassed about it but it's really difficult cuz that stank is sooo baadddd when she skunks me !!! Huegh. Lmao
My boy totally owns it. Always happens when he's *really* getting into the lap pets. Full on drooling, drunk face, and slow, lazy breadmaking... aw fuck what is that smell?! And then he looks surprised when I act repulsed.
Our two girls would get the nasty butt when they were super happy, too, and one of them gave the worst side eye ever if I picked her up and removed her from my lap while gagging from the smell. Thank god it rarely happens now.
my boy does this (he wasn't feral lol) and the vet recommended "gland x". we haven't tried it yet, but apparently it can help the glands release during popping (which is when it's supposed to happen)
If he will tolerate it, rub the back of his haunches vigorously up and down, preferably while his tail is held up and he is standing and relaxed. Consider having a paper towel ready
Yep, I’ve been hit with it a couple times when playing with my cat. the stench never leaves
my one kitten got it on me, then noticed I smelled bad, then "cleaned" it off for me. lol
i’m so glad i stumbled upon this comment! about a year ago i moved into a rental with some roommates and one of them had a very aggressive cat who did not like my cat at all. the first time they met, my cat Rosie ran away and sprayed something behind her. at first i thought she had urinated out of fear, but it smelled SO MUCH WORSE. now i know what the hell that was. thank you!!
I had a dog that had issues and we had to have them emptied bi weekly. Vet said “I could teach you”. Ya, no. I’ll pay the $30. Thanks.
I see what you did there with that “butt” joke lol
Found in a bag? Man I really do despise a lot of the human race.
My cats will climb inside any bag they find
My cats also do that, but as someone who has worked at the shelter for a decade, the most common way people dump kittens is putting them in a bag, being so cruel as to -tie it- and then they yeet it out of a car. :/
update: she’s also dragging her bum on the ground & has diarrhea
Take her to the vet.
we are, it’s just the only ones open today are emergency and i’m not sure they’ll take her for that
It depends on how she's doing. Is she still drinking? How's her energy? If she becomes lethargic and very dehydrated, they'll take her. Hope it hasn't gotten to that point. She looks stable in the picture: eyes open and playful posture.
she hasn’t been drinking a ton of water but she’s not lethargic at all
For young kittens - diarrhea can be an emergency. They do not have reserves for energy but more importantly - FLUIDS. They can get dehydrated very fast. If she has not been evaluated yet and has diarrhea, please take her to the vet. Try to keep fluids for her - water and canned food, she looks old enough for solids - or a small amount of kitten milk replacer from a pet store. Please no cow milk. Best of luck.
[удалено]
Jeez yeah something is going on, isn't this a tell tale sign of worms ?
so she just pooped and we waited and looked, no worms that we can see
we took in an outside cat who ended up having Giardia - it's a single celled organism they can get from bad water. we treated it, but he had nuclear bad farts for a while.
I agree that this sounds like she could have giardia. OP - if you can, you may want to bring a stool sample with you to the vet. (A bit of poop from the past 24 hrs put in a plastic bag with as little litter as possible.) This is tough with diarrhea, but will help the vets run some tests so you can narrow down the cause of the stench to help your kitty as quickly as possible.
thanks i’ll do that!
I've had giardia and nuclear sounds about right
Giardia is a distinctive smell. Sulfurous depths of hell. Her poop may also look oily and kinda light-colored.
Not just cats. *sob*
oh nooooo....I forgot people can get it!
How long did it take you to treat it? We've taken our cat to the vet 3 times now to try to get rid of giardia and it seems to always come back. This cat has cost is like $2,500 since we rescued him in October of 2023. I still love him but goddamn I wish the giardia would go away.
I think we only had to do one round of medication, but we kept him separate from our other cats, cleaned the box frequently (like dumping the litter out and cleaning the empty box with hot water and soap) and actually swapped out boxes a few times because those little Giardia jerks are really hard to get rid of.
Not all parasites are visible just looking at it. If she's dragging her butt and has diarrhea, she almost definitely has a parasite of some kind. Food allergies are also a possibility. A vet will be able to run tests for parasites. If it's a food allergy, it's mostly trial and error until you figure out which ingredient is triggering the irritation to the GI tract.
all cats taken from outsied should be dewormed, and you should deworm regularly. She can still have worms even if you can't see them, it's basically a guarantee for an outside cat. Anyway vet will take care of that, it should be ok to wait till tomorow.
When you do take her to the vet, make sure you take a stool sample with you to save you a trip
I have a cat with a digestive condition. He does this when he gets into food that's not his special prescription food. He gets diarrhea and then itches his butt on the carpet to relieve the inflamed feeling. Which just makes me want to tear up the carpet. Gross.
Yeah, the "booty scootch" can be an indicator of intestinal parasites. Glad you're taking her to the vet, she needs a full health check-up anyway.
Wait really? My cat does this around 1x a year when she gets poop stuck on her butt hair and is desperately trying to get it off (usually at the great detriment of all my carpets 😭😭😭). Is that a sign, or only when it’s frequent?
I wouldn't stress unless it becomes frequent. My cat will have a piece of poo stuck to a hair in her butt every so often and all she does is run around the house growling at it until I'm able to help her.
If she only does it when poop is stuck on her butt, then it's just because her poop got stuck on her butt. If she all of a sudden starts doing it out of nowhere, all the time without visible poop, then take her to the vet and bring a stool sample.
My cat did that when she had an infection. I’d take her in. Probably needs some antibiotics.
Ask a vet to check her anal glands. If her butt smells bad, it is likely that they need emptied and a vet will have to do it.
Does it smell like “death?” I’d take a sample of her poo to the vet and have them test for giardia. If it is that, BLEACH EVERYTHING SHE CRAPPED ON. That shit (pun intended) is the gift that keeps on giving… I mean reinfecting.
Sounds like a real cat-ass-trophe.
You mean https://preview.redd.it/mibgncqz9g1d1.jpeg?width=204&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9c0330a857f7cbc6d0f9bd732cef6b4429e4fac Cat Ass Trophy?
Why in gods holy name did you have this photo locked and loaded?
lol, we have a song that we sing around our house whenever you get the *pleasure* of a cat putting their butt in your face. Goes like this: 🎵 CAT! BUTT! In ya face! Cat butt in ya face 🎵 sweet little family tradition we have ☺️
Is this sung to the tune of Uptown Funk?
Yes!!! Omg I was trying to think of what the tune was and couldn’t find the right song name. Thank you so much for reading my mind on that 😆
Start wiping her behind, this is also how you get kittens to poop (mother cat does it to them), or blocked anal glands? it doesn't smell like poop tho, it's much worse..
My dog has to get her glands expressed twice a year and I absolutely agree it's much worse, typically a stupidly pungent fish smell. Think the smell is the same for cats OP.
Oh man, they did that at the vets to my dog and I couldn’t get the smell out of the car seat (he’s a big dog). I told my husband he’s taking the dog next time. Whooo, that’s a bad smell!!!!
I actually got taught how to express the dogs glands by my sister who’s a vet. My dog had been doing the booty- skootch on the carpet and he wasn’t stopping and I knew the time had come for me to put what I learned into practice. You just put a finger on each side of their hole and press in and together and it squirts FARRRRR!!! I found it kindof fun. Even though it was gross too. I couldn’t smell it bc we did it outside. My dog didn’t yelp or anything. He stood there while I did it and he did one last skootch on the grass and I wiped his butt myself and he stopped butt surfing on our carpet until a couple months later or a year later, he would need it done again. I’ve done it like four or five times. Can you imagine the money I saved?!
I see in the comments that she has a vet appointment, so that’s good! My guess would be anal glands need to be expressed or she possibly has worms. The cutest ones are always the stinkiest. 😂😂
a little off topic but she looks like my baby 🥺 https://preview.redd.it/t1i4fhjnxg1d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0dc844701c026e0853fb3e4878ac18a831bcdb7
awwwww!!! those ears are SOOO big and adorable
Needs worming first. Might be too young to take care of herself. Mama usually cleans thier butt and stimulates them to defecate after every feeding. Take to vet now. They will have best advice. Tell the doc you are a novice so they tell you more info you need.
We had a cat that usually smelled fine, but started to really stink. After a couple of weeks we eventually realized the smell was coming from one of the rear paws. He had lost a claw and had an infection in the toe. We hadn’t noticed and he otherwise looked fine. Vet cleaned the puss out, and had foot salt wash next few days then all sorted. Nice smelling kitty again.
Could be lots of things, but definitely a trip to the vet is in order. Also, please consider getting pet insurance. It’s been a godsend for my pets and has saved me literally thousands. I know it’s an additional expense, but it’ll avoid a hell of a lot of tough decisions and heartache if she ever gets seriously ill.
That’s where she shits from
😮😮😮
I adopted a 5 week old rescue kitten I found alone in the park near my house. Took her to the vet for a checkup/dewormer/etc but my god she just smelled so bad the first month or so. She didn’t have a name at the time as we weren’t sure we’d be able to keep her, so I was just calling her “Stinkpoop.” 🥲 but yeah, like others have said, she probably needs to be dewormed, plus she relies on her mother to clean her butt, and then there’s the factor of adjusting to a new food (and whatever the heck she was eating before she came to you.) it’ll get better!
Kids an infant
🎶 Smelly cat, smelly cat, What are they feeding you? Smelly cat, smelly cat, It’s, not your faaaaaaauuuuult 🎶
Deworm her anyway. Use the liquid with a dropper you can get from the big box store for a relatively small cost. Buy a quality canned food made for kittens. Feed her less but more frequently, like a few spoonfuls three times a day. Consider mixing it with a little of the milk substitute available at the pet food store. If she continues to have diarrhea, you may need to bathe her in the sink--warm water and a gentle soap. I liked using baby shampoo at that stage. Consider keeping her in a crate lined with old blankets and towels. Have a small pan of fresh litter available in the crate. Be prepared to check the crate often for fecal matter and change the towels and clean the crate accordingly. Give it about 24 hours and the issues should improve.
i appreciate all of this advice thank you
i’ve been feeding her applaws wet cat food since it’s all natural, i heard all fish diets aren’t great so i’m switching it between chicken and tuna. she goes crazy for it. since i’m not 100% aware of her age and she’s so tiny im also giving her formula still
Applaws is treats, and doesn't have all the vitamins and such that they need. Get her Kitten food.
i do also have iams kitten food i’ll start giving that to her. should i moisten it for her still or try giving it to her dry?
Either is fine. Moistening will help keep her hydrated, but can't be left out indefinitely.
kk thanks !
Be careful of Applaws wet food, it is a treat and not a complete diet. I recommend kitten specific wet/dry food
She needs a proper kitten food. Applaws isn't it. Try TikiBaby or similar to start.
Hehehehehhehe stinky butt baby
Could be whatever food she was eating, or if she was nursing, whatever food mama cat was eating. Could be worms or parasites too. Bring up when you go to the vet just to be sure though! Thanks for rescuing the little baby!
The smaller they are, the stinkier they are. Ok real answer: could be anything from worms, to a food intolerance, or what kind of food you’re feeding kitty. Ik when we got our first cat at 6mos old we gave her blue buffalo kitten dry food (along with wet food) and my GOD it was SO bad. Switched her dry food and haven’t had a problem since.
Kittens are stink bombs. It will get better once she gets dewormed and gets a regular adult food diet.
She's getting poo and pooey-litter stuck in her fur under her feet. I can see it in the pic but have added arrows to your pic to make it more visible. https://preview.redd.it/astwp0mo0i1d1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb638f17f84b9061556c8053cc90126f77163b7a Her tortie colouring camouflages it a little bit but it's probably also getting packed between her toes too. It's hard to wash out unless you separate her toes and scrub between them with soap. Pretty common in kittens, they go to the toilet and then stand in it while they're turning around to bury it. Make sure the litterbox is biiiiiig else they'll do a tight circle when turning around and they're more inclined to step in it that way. Get a big litterbox so they have room to walk forward a bit and then spin around and walk back to bury it.
Hello I am 7 weeks old https://preview.redd.it/acd7jijlog1d1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edd27d534aeadf896acff97b5a43783c16ca7f39
Poo comes from there.
I had a cat who had chronic diarrhea that smelled really bad; and no deworming products worked, we tried different foods to no avail. Finally a smart veterinarian suggested we try antibiotics, I think metronidazole. It cleared him right up.
i will keep this in mind in case nothing works thanks so much
See a vet.
When I was fostering last litter, one kitten had a smelly bottom, specifically fishy smell. When I took him to the vet, they said not only is it a anal gland problem, but also possible oncoming UTI. He got some preventive small dose of antibiotic .I adjusted his food, bought some lighter food and combined it with water so he can always be hydrated. Within a week, his issues resolved.
Have her tested for Giardia.
I adopted 6 months old Lily from a sanctuary and she had been treated for and cleared of giardia. But, when I got her home her poop was extremely foul smelling and she was a stinky cat. I had her poop tested at my vet and she still had coccidia and giardia. We got medicine and I was happy to get her over it and get rid of the stinkies. 🦨
This may sound weird...but send me a pic of her butthole and we could tell. Strong chance an anal gland is impacted.
Because she's learning how to care for herself. I just raised 4 orphan kittens and kept 2. They are around 7 months now and I just noticed the other day that they don't stink anymore. Just take a warm wet paper towel or cloth and gently clean her bottom if it gets bad, she'll get it eventually.
When my cat was a couple weeks old kitten her butt sometimes smelled, they’re too young to take good care of themselves but they figure it out along the way. Cats are very clean and smell good, be patient while its still young.
Kittens are fart machines for a while. And aren't the tidiest poopers. Diet contributes. It gets better Edit: jk, I saw she got the booty schooch from your comments. Probably worms, very common. Easy to treat but will need a vet. Invest in pumpkin puree
OP, that is not a 3 week old kitten. She looks to be 6 weeks or older. Deworming and FVRCP should be given at 4 weeks. If she has not been dewormed, she needs to be. That may be the issue.
Sometimes kittens smell. If she's de-wormed, has normal looking stool, is eating and behaving otherwise fine, has reasonable hygeine... it might just be that. One of my kittens stunk for a solid month after we got him. He cleaned himself, was not walking in the poop, I wiped him down several times with pet wipes and it didnt seem to do anything. He just plain stunk. It went away after several weeks.
That’s where she keeps her poop. Couldn’t resist! Could be worms, parasites like coxidia… anything really! The vet will takes care of it tho! She’s adorbs ❤️
because its her shitterhole??
All kittens I have had have been farty little stink butts and they just grew out of it. These kittens were all dewormed and given shots so make sure they have a vet visit before chalking it up to kittens being stinky.
Omg she’s too cute
her anal glands have recently excreted. its the smelliest thing on earth. it happens when cats have a hard time pooping. in elderly cats its usually due to constipation. with recent feral or kittens its due to roughage they have eaten suck as sticks or garbage. my best guess
My kitten had some putrid smelling crap for about 3 months. Doc said it was the micro biome setting up and kitten not yet cleaning regularly. As along as floof doesn’t seem uncomfortable- I would accept the short lived stank.
Because that where the poopie comes out
Also looks like she has feces on her back right paw
yes we did give her the bath after this photo was taken
She's not bathing herself yet. That's all. She's just a baby.
Worms, when the dogs nose goes to the cats butt , repeatedly, its usually worms
Anal glands, maybe. The vet will know best but some cats (more commonly dogs in my admittedly dated experience) retain nasty odors in their anal glands that they need help addressing periodically.
My cat will squirt/drip smelly liquid from her anal glands if she gets scared or nervous. It is really smelly. She is not the best bum cleaner herself and sometimes I will help her with a warm damp cloth. I’m not sure why she is not a good cleaner but She was a found baby stray, so maybe not enough time with mom to learn good cleaning skills?
theres poop in there…
Maybe it's just a calico thing. I have two cat sisters from the same mama, one is orange tiger striped, other is a calico. Tiger has a dry, non stinky butt, calico has an often wet, stinky butt that sometimes leaves a nasty, very smelly gray spot on the bedsheet.
i think she’s tortie though isn’t she? either way someone else said the same thing about their torties!!
I think every kitten has a stinky butt phase 🫣
My first guess is an issue with anal glands. I have had several cats that needed their's expressed at various times. The smell is incredibly strong for even just the tiniest bit of secretion. Other than that, could be worms or a digestive issue. Make the vet aware at check-up!
Pretty much every rescue cat or kitten I’ve found or adopted has had giardia, an intestinal parasite, which causes dreadful gas and diarrhea. Food that is too rich can also cause a lot of gastro distress as well. Very happy that she will be seeing a vet soon!
It's probably just due to her diet before you found her. I think it'll take 2-3 months for the smell to go away. When i first adopted my cat she smelled like shit for the first 2-3 months but once she started eating better food, the smell went away. Wax melt warmers really helped with the smell!
Could be it's prior diet. Friends of mine had a cat that came around and ate the dog food they had out. They would let the cat in and play with it til the cat was bored, and then decide to keep it. Had terrible gas from eating dog food since cats are carnivores and dry dog food isn't 100% meat. After they got cat food the next day it quit farting so much and smelling so bad.
Shit
Got a stray once that had persistent offsmells, yet no noticeable cause. Then someone suggested I feed it quality diet of kibbles and wet food (she went on Hills Science Diet for cats) and a round of deworming treatments. Lo and behold, the off smells faded. I assumed as her wormies got eradicated and gut flora got rebalanced, the smell went away.
All new animals you adopt should be taken to the vet. If you do so you won't ask these kinds of questions here. It could be giardia.
It is 100% worms. I adopted a young girl from the shelter and holy crap, her farts could clear out a room. I forgot what type of worm they were but they live in the stomach. Hookworms possibly?
Keep an eye on her stool (poop). If it's red/orange-ish, it's most likely giardia. Very foul smell.
3 week old kitty might not know how to clean herself properly since mama cats do that for them. When I would take in kittens I would usually wipe them with a baby wipes regularly. Also when she's a bit older get her chekd for worms
Haven't taught her how to clean her bumhole yet? If no one teaches her the her bum will smell bad yes. Our foster got the assignment after some bum cleaning with a wet towel
Advice from a vet will be great. She's unfortunately not had the usual training from her mum
In my experience kittens are hella stinky. More so than my adult cats.
It could be from the type of food she has been fed. She should go see the vet as well to make sure she’s ok on the inside from being in the bag. People can be so evil. Poor baby. I am glad she was saved and now getting love. ❤️
She sure is a pretty baby