New Kitten has constant diarrhea. Need some help.

New Kitten has constant diarrhea. Need some help.

We've had our new baby for about 3 months now. He is 6 months old. He's had soft stool and diarrhea for quite some time now. No idea what he was eating before, no information was provided to us.

Originally I gave him Purina Kitten Chow and half a can a day of Wellness Chicken or Wellness Turkey wet. Since he had the diarrhea problem that wasn't going away, I switched him over slowly over 3 weeks to a a food with better ingredients. Now he eats Wellness Kitten along with the same grain free Wellness canned food he was getting before, still same diarrhea problem.

We took him in to the vet. Vet prescribed him some anti-diarrhea medication (begins with an M but don't remember the name). He did very well on this medication, problem just about cleared up and he was doing great! But the medication only lasted 5 days. After the medication was gone, the diarrhea problem came back. Does this indicate a food allergy or a sensitive tummy maybe? What confuses me is it cleared up with the medication and then came right back when the medication stopped. I will be talking with the vet more about this.

The vet also did a fecal sample test and no parasites were found in the sample.

I am out of the country on business at the moment, my mother is taking care of my kitty at the (she lives with me), however she is not able to take him to the vet (basically she cannot get him into the cat carrier and refuses to do it on account of the previous cat we had before was a former feral and clawed her pretty bad. I've tried convincing her to do it, but some old ladies can be pretty stubborns). I will not be able to take him in until I get back in town which is in TWO WEEKS. *cry*

My mom just called me last night and told me my kitty has diarrhea again. Is there anything she can do for him until I get back? I've read that a probiotic might help. That's something that she could easily do until I get back and take him in to the vet.

Edit: Just wanted to add he has a good appetite, eats and drinks like normal. Not losing weight either.

Your kitten may have a parasite called Giardia, which is very difficult to eradicate. The fact that the problem cleared up on what was probably Metronidazole (flagyl) says this is very likely what you are dealing with.

Giardia is not easily seen in a fecal test. Often a much longer treatment of Metronidazole, plus other medicines at the same time are needed.

There is some good info out there on giardia if you want to do a search.

Metronidazole yes that's the one he was on.

He might also have IBS, and/or Food allergies, which was the case of my Cat, Bugsy... An allergenic diet is definitely worth a try... In this case, he will not be well until what is causing his sensitivity is removed from his diet; in my case it was chicken... (He is also doing better on a no corn, soy, wheat diet - essentially grain free)
Good luck!

He could also have TF, which requires a special fecal test. I'm thinking that Giardia is a more likely reason, but consider TF. http://www.highgait.com/page/page/3485008.htm

For now, can your mom call the vet and explain the situation? Perhaps they'll give her the meds without taking him in. If she could get a fecal sample & take it in, that would help. Also, Bene-bac is a good probiotic, or we use human acidophillus. Just add 1/2 capsule twice a day to canned food.

Definitely get some probiotics in him.

You need to get kitty in to the vet and point blank tell the vet that they must diagnosis this problem. If it's something causing some sort of colon inflammation, you could end up with lifelong issues with this cat if left unchecked too long.
Rule out protozoa, if that's not the cause start working with the vet to figure out if it's a food issue. If the vet doesn't seem too interested in pursuing this, find a vet who will.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Definitely get some probiotics in him.

Click to expand...

Sent my mom to a couple of local pet stores. The only probiotic for a cat she could find was Nutri-Vet Probiotics for Cats at Petsmart. Would that one work? Petco had Bene-Bac but it was the bird/reptile or small animal version and cats were not listed. We really only have Petco and Petsmart near us. All others are too far of a drive and would have to be ordered.

I'm not familiar with that product, though I wonder how good it is since it's salmon oil, too. hmm

As for the bene-bac - cats technically are a small animal. It's the same thing, just that cats would need a slightly larger dose, than say, you'd give to a ferret.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I'm not familiar with that product, though I wonder how good it is since it's salmon oil, too. hmm

As for the bene-bac - cats technically are a small animal.

It's the same thing, just that cats would need a slightly larger dose, than say, you'd give to a ferret.

Click to expand...

So the small animal one is ok? What is the dose for a cat?

Originally Posted by meowlover

Sent my mom to a couple of local pet stores. The only probiotic for a cat she could find was Nutri-Vet Probiotics for Cats at Petsmart. Would that one work? Petco had Bene-Bac but it was the bird/reptile or small animal version and cats were not listed. We really only have Petco and Petsmart near us. All others are too far of a drive and would have to be ordered.

Click to expand...

The small animal/mammal at petco & petsmart is fine, it is the same as cats... just different pictures... Look on the back for feeding instructions - Bene-bac. Reptile NOT fine.

Bene-bac I would recommend too.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

He could also have TF, which requires a special fecal test. I'm thinking that Giardia is a more likely reason, but consider TF. http://www.highgait.com/page/page/3485008.htm

For now, can your mom call the vet and explain the situation? Perhaps they'll give her the meds without taking him in. If she could get a fecal sample & take it in, that would help. Also, Bene-bac is a good probiotic, or we use human acidophillus. Just add 1/2 capsule twice a day to canned food.

Click to expand...

I just got off the phone with the vet. They are going to do a more extensive (and expensive, 4x's more expensive than the normal fecal test, ouch!) fecal test that is also testing for TF (test is something called a PCR). She also perscribed some more Metronidazole since that was working for him. My Mom brought in the fecal sample this afternoon, and now we're waiting to hear back tomorrow.

Also, she did pick up some small animal Bene-Bac from Petco... Would you recommend to give this along with the Metronidazole? Or just give the Metronidazole alone? Forgot to ask the vet that.

So... If the sample comes back negative again, am I looking at a possibly food allergy or IBS? Could there be anything else that's causing this?

Within a day and a half of starting him back on the Metronidazole again from the vet, his poops are getting a lot better. Shaped the way they are supposed to be, the color they are supposed to be. And thank god they don't stink like they did when he had diarrhea. Talk about a room clearer. Still a little soft, but definately a major improvement over the all out diarrhea.


We are still anxiously awaiting for the results from the extensive fecal sample. I'll keep this post updated.

The 2nd fecal test came back negative for everything, this was the more extensive test too... No TF, not giardia, nothing.

Now we are working with the vet to find out if its a possible food allergy. We are going to finish out his Metronidazole. Right now he is diarrhea free but if the diarrhea comes back she recommends trying a new source of protein he's not had before. She recommends Natural Balance Duck & Pea or a formula with rabbit.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays clear with the Metronidazole. But I'm guessing right now its an allergy to grain, chicken or fish. He only eats Wellness Kitten dry, Wellness Chicken wet or Wellness Turkey wet. Are there other possible common allergens in this food that I should be on the lookout for that could be causing this?

Zeke had this problem when I got him and in his case it turned out to be tapeworm causing the diarrhea. It didn't show up in the fecal sample or the sample the vet had sent out to a lab. I started seeing tiny little things that looked like rice grains in his bedding. He got a shot and the diarrhea stopped shortly after that. If it's not that, it could be IBS or an allergy. Both of my cats have been on the NB Duck & Pea forumla and have done well on it.

I had a foster from this summer til just a month ago that had constant diarrhea. Every parasite known to man was ruled out. It got to the point that I confined her to the spare bedroom with her brother so I could keep watch on the poop and how much she was eating, etc. just before this I had requested samples from Natural Balance. They sent a whole box full of different varieties. So on a whim, I put a sample bag of the Duck and pea formula in each of their bowls. I kid you not, the next morning I went in to feed them and Lilah was pooping and it was normal! Totally normal, not a little soft, just totally normal. I'm not saying the duck formula is a cure all, but its totally worth a try. The people who adopted her bought the same kind after i told them about her diarrhea, and they said she's been just fine since they brought her home.

Just wanted to give an update on how my kitty is doing.

Before we made the switch over to NB Green Pea and Duck formula, we first tried to see if one of the canned foods we were giving him was the cause so we could pinpoint what food was behind his diarrhea and avoid that food in the future. We stopped giving him canned food for a couple of days and his stool firmed up.

Next we gave him some canned NB Duck, then a couple days later canned NB Venison. No Diarrhea. Fantastic! We did this for about a week.

Then we added some Wellness Turkey canned formula into the mix, still no Diarrhea.

Finally added back in was the Wellness Chicken and instant diarrhea the next morning! Aha, we found the culprit!

So its chicken that he is sensitive to since the Wellness Turkey and Wellness Chicken have the exact same ingredients, same order and everything, just different first ingredients (either chicken or turkey).

Also we found out that he can tolerate chicken, just not when it is the main source of protein. He currently eats Wellness CORE dry food which has turkey, chicken, and fish, and he does not have diarrhea and is doing very well on it. He also eats Wellness Turkey canned which has chicken in it as well. But as soon as I add in Wellness Chicken wet the problem comes back.

I also tried giving him some NB Chicken and Green Pea wet food and he got the diarrhea again so I definitely know its the chicken doing it and not that particular brand of canned food.

So now that we have the problem figured out we can make sure we give our kitty food that doesn't upset his little tummy. It's easy enough to read the ingredients before buying kitty food. We're looking for a couple quality canned foods he likes that are chicken free, but he's pretty picky so its a little difficult. Turkey and duck pate is about all he'll eat in wet at the moment. But I'm so glad we found the problem. We love our little guy and want to do the best we can for him .

It just seems odd though that he can have chicken, just not as long as the main ingredient is chicken. Seems like a strange food intolerance to have, but I'm not a vet.

Thanks for the update! I'm so glad you've worked it out, well done!