kitten with continuous diarhhea

Hello, everyone. I adopted a kitten during Christmas (she was about 2 months old then, approx beginning her 7 month now). We didn't notice any unusual stool problems at first, but then about a month later she started to have diarrhea. The first round there was a bit of blood present and I promptly brought a stool sample in to the vet, everything checked out fine. The vet has since done rounds of forti-flo, prescription diet, etc, however her stool is STILL almost completely liquid. She is in great spirits, not lethargic in any way, eating and drinking properly and so forth. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'm really not sure what to do at this point. Thank you in advance for any advice!

What's she eating?
and sorry if this is gross, but how bad does her poo smell, fouler than foul, or normal cat poo?

There are things that can cause diarrhea that don't always show up in a stool sample. Giardia is one possibility. I'm surprised that your vet didn't prescribe antibiotics just in case it was as simple as that.

I did have a young cat that had bloody mucus in her stools that were always a bit runny (not as bad a diarrhea). She had colitus, and that went away as she got a little older.

Since cats hide their illnesses too well, it doesn't really matter that she appears to be normal. I would have more tests run on her to get to the bottom of this. Long term diarrhea could cause other problems related to dehydration that will take a toll on her.

Have you talked to your vet since the original treatment? Poor baby!

Originally Posted by Arlyn

What's she eating?
and sorry if this is gross, but how bad does her poo smell, fouler than foul, or normal cat poo?

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Hi there. We were feeding her Purina dry kitten food, but once the problem started, the vet put her on I/D prescription bland wet food diet with 1 packet of forti-flo a day for a week (we've done this twice now). It doesn't seem to make much of a difference, so the vet had her go back to the dry kitten food w/1 packet of forti flo. When she goes, it smells VERY bad, much worse than my other kitty.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

There are things that can cause diarrhea that don't always show up in a stool sample. Giardia is one possibility. I'm surprised that your vet didn't prescribe antibiotics just in case it was as simple as that.

I did have a young cat that had bloody mucus in her stools that were always a bit runny (not as bad a diarrhea). She had colitus, and that went away as she got a little older.

Since cats hide their illnesses too well, it doesn't really matter that she appears to be normal. I would have more tests run on her to get to the bottom of this. Long term diarrhea could cause other problems related to dehydration that will take a toll on her.

Have you talked to your vet since the original treatment? Poor baby!

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Hi there. I've been in constant contact with the vet, but we haven't really gotten to the bottom of anything. She said that since she's still eating, happy, gaining weight, playful, et cetera that some times kittens do just have loose stools (hers is the consistency of pudding, not sure if that is technically categorized as diarrhea). I'm waiting for a call back as of now to see if I should bring her back in. It seems so weird to me to just wait to see if it clears up as she gets older. She's had it for several months now!

If it smells really bad, I'd suspect Giradia, your vet has to test specifically for this protozoan parasite as it will not show in a typical float test.

You might want to try her on a bland diet of roasted or boiled white-meat chicken (no skin) with or without a little cooked rice. Withhold all cat food. Give bite-sized chunks of the chicken to her slightly warmed, with a little water for broth. You can also mix in a small amount of pumpkin, (plain canned pumpkin, with no spices) try 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon. Pumpkin is known to work well for constipation but is also very effective with diarrhea.

A woman I know who was fostering a litter of 5 kittens had this problem as well. The kittens were tested for every parasite - it was always negative. They had been on a prescription diet dry food. The woman changed their diet to a high quality canned food and the diarrhea was gone.

Try the chicken first for a few days - see if it helps. If it does, gradually introduce tiny bits of a high-quality canned food with the chicken and slowly increase the amount of cat food.

You may also want to get a second opinion from another vet if you feel you're not seeing progress with your current one.

I hope things improve for your little one soon.

Thanks for your advice, everyone. Vet took an internal fecal sample and is culturing it right now. Also put her on some different meds and as of yesterday, everything was back to normal...hopefully it will stay that way!!!!

Daisy had Giardia...it seemed like it took forever to resolve...but it finally did. to kitty for a quick recovery, whatever the cause of the illness is.

Lola had Giardia as a kitten. Once we got that cleared up she had normal poops.

Originally Posted by seattlite

Hello, everyone. I adopted a kitten during Christmas (she was about 2 months old then, approx beginning her 7 month now). We didn't notice any unusual stool problems at first, but then about a month later she started to have diarrhea. The first round there was a bit of blood present and I promptly brought a stool sample in to the vet, everything checked out fine. The vet has since done rounds of forti-flo, prescription diet, etc, however her stool is STILL almost completely liquid. She is in great spirits, not lethargic in any way, eating and drinking properly and so forth. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'm really not sure what to do at this point. Thank you in advance for any advice!

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Please see my earlier post of today entitled: Chronic Diarrhea -- Test for Parasites

Hope it's not T-F but worth checking out. Best to you and your little one

I wish I had learned this when my cats were kittens and I don't know if it will work for yours, but taking mine off all dry (even the very best ones) has worked like a charm.

I know give them 1/2 small can three times a day of "Wellness" turkey. Other brands may work as well, but I'm too scared to try at the moment since this bout has been almost a year and my one cat (Teddy) finally dosen't have pudding poop and diarhhea over the pan sometimes.

They are really pests since they are use to having the dry all the time for 11 years, but they are getting use to it and it is worth it for the sake of their health. Hope this helps - I am so ELATED not to have to clean his bottom and the messy pan and know their is nothing else going on!!!

IDEXX Labs has a Comprehensive PCR Test Panel for Diarrhea

http://www.idexx.com/animalhealth/la...rrheapanel.jsp

We are starting to use them to test our litters and Breeders.

Most vets will do the ELISA test so you have to ask specifically for the PCR test. PCR Testing will "amplify" the DNA of the organisms found in the stool. This gives a more accurate result.