Any Ideas?

I adopted a male 10 week old kitten last week. When I got him I thought his belly was a little bloated and his anus was poking out a little bit and he had diarrhea plus he vomited once. He did not eat or drink anything and did not play much. I got his vet records and they showed he had been wormed 3 times, had been checked for heartworms, neutered and checked for Feline Luk and FIV. He had also had his first set of vaccinations. We took him to the vet who quickly did a stool sample. They also gave him iv hydration. He showed no signs of worms in his stool. They diagnosed him with a bacterial infection/giardia. They gave us ProActivate paste and capsules; an medication called Metronidazole and a cream for his anus.

I have had him on all of this since this past Friday (3 1/2 days). He does not have diarrhea anymore and he is playing and seems to be feeling good. He is eating and drinking. He was eating constantly at first, so I have had to regulate this. His anus is still protruding and it has a scab on it. His belly is still bloated. I have noticed him coughing on 3 occasions for a few seconds and then he stops and seems fine.

I am worried about his belly -- will it go down eventually now that he is being medicated for his infection/giardia? Is his irritated anus just a symptom of his intestinal problems and will that also go away? What could this little bit of coughing be about? Should I worm him again?

We really love this lil baby and have spent a good lil chunk of money on this little fella and I just want reassurance that he is going to get well from all of this. I am taking him back to the vet in 2 weeks for more shots, etc., but I am just wondering if any of you have experienced this with your kittens and asking that you share it. Thanks bunches!

It's possible that he has tapeworms, which the dewormer won't treat. Did your vet give him something specifically for tapeworms? If not, ask for that.

His stool was checked and the doctor said he did not have any signs of worms. Now, last night, he vomited twice near his litter box. I hope he gets betters soon. I feel so bad for him. He's having a rough start in life.

Giardia can be tough to cure. I had a kitten with it, and she had a little bit of a bloody bottom. It was missed by the first fecal exam she was given, and it took two rounds of a medicine called Panacur to get rid of it. This was a couple of years ago, at the time I think it (Panacur) was mostly thought of as a dog medicine (experimentally used for cats?), but it did the job and didn't make kitty sick.

The metronidazole might be what is making your kitten throw up. I've had the human version of it, and it made me throw up! Maybe you can ask your vet about using a different medicine for the giardia because of the vomiting.

I think the pot belly will go away when kitty's digestive problems are resolved.

Tapeworms don't show up in a fecal test. We saw a worm sticking out of Tumbles' anus as well as the little white rice looking segments on one of the blankets he was sleeping on. It can also take 2-3 (or more) dewormings to get all the parasites because of their growth cycle. Additionally, if you're dealing with giardia or another parasite, the treatment is longer. We dealt with worms, tapeworms, giardia, calicivirus, and a very nasty URI when we got Hannah 5 years ago. It was a LONG recovery process for her.

What are you feeding him? It's possible he could be allergic to the food and that's building up in his tummy as gas making him bloated. Also, has he pooped recently? He could be constipated which would possibly cause him to throw up.

Kitty is not constipated. The doctor gave us Hills Prescriptive Diet Gastroentestinal wet and dry food so it would be easier on his tummy while he gets better. I have not noticed any of the tape worm segments anywhere including where he sleeps or on his body or in his feces or vomit. I think its just the giardia. He has 14 days worth of medicine for that and then we are doing another Revolution treatment.

Prior to coming to me, he was wormed once with Panacur and then again with Strondid. He had a Revolution treatment and an Advantage-Multi treatment.

He was so malnutritioned when we got him, that once he got his appetite came back after rehydration, he was eating like it was going out of style. I think maybe he was gorging himself. I am not going to leave his food out during the night tonight and see what happens. We picked it up this morning before we left too.

We also have been putting animax ointment on his anus so I hope this helps it.

He is running around and playing and being a lil mischief maker otherwise. His belly looked like it had gone down just a little this morning. So hopefully, he is on his way to recovery.

Poor little guy. Post a photo if you can.