I don't know if it is just an odd quirk or if it means she is having pain but when my Bengal baby does her poo in the box she does not lift her tail up out of the way, she curves it into a hook under her and so sometimes she will poo right on her tail. If I am not standing there at the ready with damp paper towels to wipe her tail off it can be very messy.

Just remember, Trixie came to you very, very young and litter box habits are usually shown by the mom. It may be an odd behavior but obviously Trixie doesn't know to lift her tail. It should be instinct -- but unless she changes the behavior, you may be cleaning her. But ... hopefully, her poops are back to normal now and that will help. My Raiden still has diarrhea and it will run right down to his foot and I have to clean it off. He digs a deep hole but usually poops on the mound of litter.

I think she was already kept separate from her mom before I even got her at 10 weeks because her mom was already pregnant again when she was barely 8 weeks.
She is still back and forth between totally normal poop and mushy wet barely formed poop. it's not as bad as when it was entirely liquid but I just don't understand the back and forth. I think she might have issues with the Fancy Feast broth I bought for her so I am back to making homemade chicken broth for her. There are some strange ingredients in the Fancy Feast broth that you would not expect to give to cats, like Milk and tomato. the last thing she needs with her digestive issues is milk.
I hope she will figure out to lift her tail at some point. And that the mushy poo will stop. We have an appointment tonight. I think they are going to do some blood work to see if that turns up a reason for her mushy poo. She is very active and seems fine otherwise so I don't think it can be a deadly disease causing it. Did you say your cat takes a medicine for diarrhea? does it not help at all? We have had some meds for parasites that were also supposed to help diarrhea but it didn't seem to make any difference.

Yea, it might be "not having learned to poo", I used to have a cat that I got at a really young age that never really learned to cover her poo for example, but my guess is that it's a more general behavioral issue. In general, the tail is a baromoter to your cat's state of mind. Tail straight up, or curved up are confident stances. Tail down or curved down is a nervous or scared state. If it is nervousness, you can understand where that might be coming from, given her history. Going poo has been a really bad, probably stressful experience for a long time now. Pain, discomfort, and possibly stress projected from humans about her "going". The other possibility is that it could have to do with the placement of the box. Maybe it's in a spot that makes her nervous or scared. I think the best thing you could do is just try to make a conscious effort to de-stress her as much as possible, especially around the act of her "going". Be real self-aware about how you are projecting onto her, and try to get her back to a state where "going" is a perfectly normal and stress-free act.

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it probably does make her nervous to see me standing by with paper towels, I had not thought of that.
This is the only kitten I have ever bought from a breeder. All the kittens I had in the past were unwanteds from people who could not wait to be rid of them so they were all younger than her and none ever had this issue. Most were only 6 weeks.The youngest we ever had was 5 weeks because the woman said she was going to put it outside and leave it there if we didn't take him. He was fine as far as poo. The only trouble we ever had with him is that he always wanted to suck on your clothes, especially buttons, from not being fed by his mother long enough. poor little thing never grew out of sucking buttons but he lived a good long life otherwise.

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We saw the doctor last night and she is up to 2 and a half pounds. They said they would not recommend going ahead with the blood work or ultrasound yet because she seems to be gaining weight and improving so it may not be necessary They did say no more fancy feast broth for her as it could be contributing to diarrhea. only homemade broth but they prefer water. I have tried and am still trying to get her to drink water.
They still have not vaccinated her because they said there is a small risk that vaccinations will cause vomiting or diarrhea so they want to wait for her to gain a little more weight and for her mushy poo to stop. She did have normal poo this morning so I do think it was the weird ingredients in the fancy feast broth upsetting her digestion. I am supposed to call them next week to let them know how she is doing, and if she is not having any more diarrhea they will vaccinate her next week.

Fancy Feast is really not a great product. You can buy chicken and beef broth for felines through Chewy.com. There is also unsalted chicken broth that some stores carry. Naturally, water is the best for hydrating a kitty. As for the still sometimes mushy poo -- there is just an underlying cause. I don't know how young a bengal can get Inflammatory Bowel Disease but since she is gaining weight, I do not think that is the issue. It could be more of a food issue. So many cat foods have other things like vegetables, rice, potatoes, cranberries and stuff that no cat would ever eat on its own. Try to stick with something with just the meat and broth and no by-products. There are so many on the market you should find something Trixie will eat without a problem.

I just cannot believe she weighs less than 3 pounds. That means she is still underweight. Gaining is great and we hope that continues. Your vet is probably right in waiting on giving the vaccinations -- as long as she isn't around any other cats. Hopefully, you are happy with your vet as it sounds as if he/she is giving great advice..

Honestly, you have been a real trooper through this ordeal. It hasn't been cheap either after spending much money on Trixie to begin with. Honestly, you have my thanks. Not many owners would go through all of this without throwing up their hands and returning the cat. But Trixie has found a great "mom". She might not have been so lucky with someone else at the helm. Bless you!

Thank you for the encouragement.
I did look on chewy.com but there were so many broths I didn't know what to get so I grabbed the fancy feast broth from them. It wasn't until I read the fine print on it that I saw it had some weird ingredients like milk and tomato. I'm just sticking with my own because I know for sure it is only water that I simmered a chicken in and skimmed the fat off. My husband will just have to deal with eating more chicken sandwiches lol.
The doctor did say that even though she is very tiny for her age they don't consider her underweight anymore, that the 2 and a half pounds is a good weight for her at this tiny size. They said she looks really good and has no more distended belly.
They told me to try a shallow dish of water and sink something in it that she can see like a quarter. I tried it but she is not interested in drinking.
I bought her wellness canned kitten food which I heard was a good one, but I do worry about switching her diet again, she has been switched so many times before I got her. and there are so many brands and they all claim to be the best I just don't know what to get. Anyway she did not want it. They did tell me fancy feast kitten food is probably too rich for her and may be contributing to the mushy poo, yet sometimes she will go for days with totally normal poo and then it gets mushy again.
The doctor said if I switch her food and she will not eat it to let her go without a while and when she is hungry enough she will eat. I told them that scares me because she is so little. they said I am spoiling her and that it was ok when I got her because she was so tiny but that she isn't going to waste away if her food is late. But I just don't know. They also said if I don't add broth and she gets thirsty she will drink water.. but when I get up in the morning her water dish is just as full as when I went to bed. so even though nobody is giving her broth at night she doesn't drink the water.
They also mentioned the possibility that she could be getting over salmonella from when she was eating raw gizzards and chicken before I got her. They said it can take a long time to get over even with antibiotics and that the antibiotics themselves could have contributed to the diarrhea.

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Thank you I will look at the link. I thought pumpkin was for constipation? My dear departed Kitty suffered from constipation and the vet told me to mix pumpkin into his food, but we ended up having to get a prescription for a laxative anyway.

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Thank you. I am going to look for it when I go shopping tomorrow so hopefully like you said I can find a can or 2 before I buy a case.

The Weruva pouches have a lot of liquid in them versus the cans. Your pet store should carry them. You can try the chicken with the pumpkin. Pumpkin has fiber which just helps with a healthy digestive system. Know that Weruva is not a cheap food by any means but the ingredients are great and like Brian said, it looks good enough for humans to eat. Other manufacturers make food in pouches, so you have a huge assortment to choose from. Just check the ingredients.

Hopefully a healthy cat will be hungry. However, not sure why your vet didn't mention cats can not go more than 48 hours without eating before fatty liver disease starts. The body starts pulling the fat from the liver to survive. When I took Raiden to an emergency vet after he hadn't eaten in 24 hours, I told the vet I was concerned about the fatty liver disease and he told me that many cat owners are not aware of it and by the time they bring their cat in, it's too late for the cat. And I would think a 2-1/2 pound kitten would be especially susceptible.

On your visit to the pet store, pick up a variety of foods-- one or two of each and try them out. I understand the changing of the diet thing but if you choose the foods with only the meat and broth and vitamins and supplements, there should not be a huge difference. Basically, you can chose from beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, rabbit, venison, duck, fish of some type-- and I might also suggest you buy a ceramic or stainless steel water fountain for your Trixie. My Raiden loves drinking from his.

I haven't tried the Weruva yet but I did have some "luck" getting her to try the Wellness that the vet recommended. It was a disaster and made her poo so much worse. 5 times in one day, where as it had been down to once a day with normal bowel movements too in the same day.
We are about to try a prescription for Purina EN that is supposed to be more palatable than the Hill's Science. Do a lot of Bengals have issues with mushy poo? I notice that on the probiotics is a picture of a Bengal and on the prescription food is also a picture of a Bengal. just a coincidence?
On a brighter note she is finally drinking water! Out of all things a Dixie paper plate! I wish I had tried it before I wasted so much money on so many bowls and a fountain that she wanted nothing to do with.