Coccodia

Hello all,

We became a cat mum and dad to Arnie and Winston this past Saturday. We got them from 2nd chance kitten rescue.

Arnie is estimated at 16 weeks and Winston at 14.

Winston is totally healthy at 3lbs 13oz and basically just a nutty 14 week old kitten eating all he can.

My request for advice is with Arnie.

He was found on a golf course and was found to have Coccodia. He was given 14 days worth of "Albon" while at the rescue and was improving.
According to his chart on the 14th July he was at 3lbs 1 oz.

Since we brought him home he has lost all interest in food.
You can feel every bone in his body and I brought some scales today and he is at 2lbs 11oz.
He is drinking *alot* ~ More then I would say is normal. His gums compared to Winston's, look white and he is lethargic and acts like a 18 year old cat rather then a 16 week old kitten. (I know that part may just be his personality and he might not be a playful cat)
His pee is also very strong and yellow.

I have been having to Syringe feed him baby food (The lady at the rescue said, sometimes you have to remind their body's they need food again and after a couple of days they will start eating again)

We were given some more antibiotics by the lady at the rescue and we have a vets appointment tomorrow as his 3rd distemper jab is due (Personally I hope they put it off for a week until he is a bit better) and we are going to ask her to check him out and see if there are any other problems to explain these symptoms.

I have been looking up on this and it is noted cats carry Coccodia in their guts all the time, and all the meds do is suppress it when it gets out of hand. It said that Coccodia could be brought on by stress. Well I consider a home move stressful, and it coincides with the symptoms coming back up.

The need for advice comes to the feeding part. For those who have experienced it ~ What kind of food do you recommend to tempt a kitten who has no interest it in it? I've tried various kitten tinned meat, baby food, even salmon!! He has turned his nose up at all of them.
He ate a morsel of my chicken today, So I am tempted to cook a breast up for him.

Also because he is so pitifully skinny (you can see his ribs, hips, spine all through his fur!) what do you recommend to build him up, because I don't think just kitten food is going to do it.
(Although it seems to be making Winston put on weight ~ He has gained 13 oz in 4 days!!!)

Thanks a lot in advance.

Chelle

Coccidia can be a real difficult thing to treat in some cats. It is cyclical in nature, and sometimes you have to retreat a cat a few times to totally clear it up. There are also strains out there that are resistant to Albon. It is good that you are getting him to a vet. You'll want to have the coccidia test repeated on him to make sure it is gone. I don't think they carry it around all the time (you might be confusing it with giardia) as you can get it out of their system.

The last time I had to deal with it, the vet put the kittens on a high protein diet and suggested a small amount of plain yogurt (1/2 tsp daily) to help out balance out their digestive system. You will want to talk to the vet about this also.

If the poor baby was found on a golf course, who knows the life he led before then? He might be one of those kittens that you need to spend extra time getting them over their medical needs, and once over them, you never know that they were ever sick. My Oscar was like that (and we found him at 4 weeks with coccidia).

If he still has it, you will want to keep the kittens apart because your healthy one can pick it up from sharing a litter box. You will also want to completely empty and replace the litter box as often as you can tolerate it (and I mean a couple times a day if you can arrange it). Bleach out the used pan, then clean it out with soap to remove the bleach. The bleach will kill the coccidia but you don't want your kitten using a pan with bleach in it. I bought some kitten sized spare pans and just rotated them in throughout the day.

Food tips? Until you get him healthy again, I really wouldn't want to suggest something that would be counter to any treatment from your vet. Once healthy, there are food experts on the forum that can make some good recommendations for you. Wellness is one that is often discussed.

Thank you for your advice.

He is just so .. quiet and indifferent to everything and that is what worries me.
He just wants to sit in a quiet corner and sleep. I offer him food and he moves away. He won't even lay on me today which is odd.
The difference between the boys is just amazing. Like I said, Arnie reminds me of an old cat who has just lost interest in life.
He is still showing interest in peeing and drinking though so that is something.

Tomorrow and the vets visit can't come soon enough to be honest.