should I be worried?

Alright, so before I left I posted on here about my kitten I had just adopted, and that he had runny stool that smelled worse then most do and had a bit of blood in it.

Needless to say I took him to the vet, the first one did a checkup when they fixed him, they didn't find anything, but they also thought he was a girl at first so I didn't trust their word to much.

After that I took him to out vet (the other vet was the shelter's vet) and he looked at him, but he was going away from a week and I was moving. He gave him a dewormer and said that if it wasn't that, there was something inside him.

Well that didn't stop the issue, so when I came here I took him to the vet the other cat visits. Very nice people, but they cost alot (I had a chip put in and his shots along with a stool test and check up and it came to $250)
Well that still didn't fix anything and the stool test came back as nothing being off. However he is still having the very very runny stool and there is still some light blood in it sometimes. To do blood work it would cost me another $50. I can do this, but it would mean skipping some school supples. However, before I do that, I want to know if I should or not. He isn't actting like anything but a happy healthy kitten aside from them, very playful and active, and he is purring alot....Should I get the bloodwork done? or should I just tell myself not to worry?

What are you feeding him? Some of the brands may be too rich for your kitten. I tried several of the best brands before I found one that my kittens would tolerate.

Very odorous feces with blood in it usually, USUALLY, points to coccidia, a very easily treated intestinal parasite. It's also very contagious through feces, i.e. litterboxes used at veterinary clinics. If another cat was infected, used a litterbox, and that box was washed, but not bleached, and used by your baby... bada bing... he has it. It's treated with Albon, which is given by mouth once daily for ten days. I'd bring in a fecal sample to your veterinarian and asked them to take a peek at it.
Another possibility is hemorraghic gastroenteritis, which is fancy talk for his tummy and intestines are upset and inflammed. Normally, the stool isn't odorous, however. If that's the case, it's also USUALLY easily treated with something like metronidazole or metoclopromide, or both, and a highly digestable diet like Purina EN, or Hill's I/D.

I'd bet on coccidia.

Just some possibilities...

Bloodwork is a definte reccomendation from me. It ensures that everything is functioning properly, and it will also make sure that he's not getting dehydrated from the runny stools.

Good luck with your baby!!!

Originally Posted by Chatterbox

Very odorous feces with blood in it usually, USUALLY, points to coccidia, a very easily treated intestinal parasite. It's also very contagious through feces, i.e. litterboxes used at veterinary clinics. If another cat was infected, used a litterbox, and that box was washed, but not bleached, and used by your baby... bada bing... he has it. It's treated with Albon, which is given by mouth once daily for ten days. I'd bring in a fecal sample to your veterinarian and asked them to take a peek at it.

Another possibility is hemorraghic gastroenteritis, which is fancy talk for his tummy and intestines are upset and inflammed. Normally, the stool isn't odorous, however. If that's the case, it's also USUALLY easily treated with something like metronidazole or metoclopromide, or both, and a highly digestable diet like Purina EN, or Hill's I/D.

I'd bet on coccidia.

Just some possibilities...

Bloodwork is a definte reccomendation from me. It ensures that everything is functioning properly, and it will also make sure that he's not getting dehydrated from the runny stools.

Good luck with your baby!!!

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oh they did a fecal test and said they didn't find anything, which is what I thought as well. Thank you for the advise, its a huge help

as for cat food, we have tried three different kinds. The first one was purine? kitten care, dry, the second was frisky's wet, and the last one we bought from the vet, its lams low res stuff, none of them made any change....

No problem, sorry I couldn't be of more assistance. So, would I get bloodwork done just for diarrhea? Probably not. But seeing as how it's a new kitten, I would recommend it because it ensures so much more. You can do a basic wellness or an indoor cat panel to Idexx or the lab, and it will tell you everything you need to know. If there's something with the stools related to elevated or decresed levels, it has that, and it will also take place of combo snap tests like FeLk or FIV, and will also check organ functions. It's normally around $60-$80. It wouldn't hurt to do it, just to make sure.

Originally Posted by othie

oh they did a fecal test and said they didn't find anything, which is what I thought as well. Thank you for the advise, its a huge help

as for cat food, we have tried three different kinds. The first one was purine? kitten care, dry, the second was frisky's wet, and the last one we bought from the vet, its lams low res stuff, none of them made any change....

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Changing dry food too quickly can cause diarrhea in some cats. If you are changing dry food you should do it gradually over a period of at least a week to 10 days. Wet food isn't usually a problem to change but there again it could depend on your individual cat.

I would suggest you stick with one dry food (a good quality one) for at least a month to see if his stool firms up. You could also add a little bit of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling, just the pure pureed pumpkin) to his wet food to help firm up the stools. I only recommend this because you have already had a fecal done and a vet check.

Once the stool firms up and stays firm for a couple weeks, then very gradually introduce some of the new food into his current food, increasing the amount a bit each day until you are feeding all new food.

Diarrhea also can dehydrate cats, especially little one, so make sure he is getting lots of water even if you have to syringe some into his mouth. I would recommend a water fountain - our two drink much more since I got the fountain.

I agree with above. Pick a good quality dry and stick with it. The changes you are making is not helping and may be what is causing the diarrhea. A little tiny bit of blood could be stress or from straining. Again stick to one food, don't offer any treats or anything for at least a few weeks to a month and see if things improve.

Also, it could be giardia which I believe there is a specific test for, I don't think it is just standard in the fecal. Might want to ask the vet about the possibility of that. Look around your area for low cost vets too.

Originally Posted by Jen

...Also, it could be giardia which I believe there is a specific test for, I don't think it is just standard in the fecal. Might want to ask the vet about the possibility of that....

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I'm glad that Jen suggested Giardia and, she's correct that "standard" fecal testing will not include this parasite...

As well, there's Tritrichomonas foetus...also requiring special testing. If youread through that reference, you'll see that it can be quite difficult, but not impossible to treat.

Because of the extra cost, if it were I, I would first cover all the other bases: select a quality high protein and fat, no grain wet food...add some pumpkin as Yosemite suggested, stick with that and see if things firm up. If the condition persists, I would test for those, one at a time.

Something that Chatterbox said may need some clarification...

...You can do a basic wellness or an indoor cat panel ...it will also take place of combo snap tests like FeLk or FIV...

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"Standard" blood panels do not reveal the presence of FeLV nor FIV...those do require the Snap test for diagnosis.

Originally Posted by BLAISE

Something that Chatterbox said may need some clarification...

"Standard" blood panels do not reveal the presence of FeLV nor FIV...those do require the Snap test for diagnosis.

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Sorry I guess I should have specified... I was referring to the Indoor/Outdoor Cat Panel.

I had a kitten with this problem, and it did indeed turn out to be giardia.