Health Issues with New Cat - worried :(

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting on this board.

In mid September I adopted a kitten from a well known local rescue. Allen is currently 5 months old, buff/beige/white in color, and he's my little man who I have become very attached to.

I noticed, probably 2-3 days after I brought him home, that his poops were starting to soften (his litterbox and food/water are in my bedroom, next to each other). Some looked fine, others looked very mushy. He had a voracious appetite; I started him at 1/4 cup of hard food AM and PM, then upped it to 1/3 cup, then now to 1/2 cup because he would just clean it up and act like he was starving. He gets Purina Indoor Cat Chow, which is what his foster mom feeds all her cats. However, she also had wet food in his diet, which I do not feed him. He also guzzled water like crazy, which I thought was related to the diahrrea dehydrating him.

Eventually, his poops turned into outright diahrrea. No blood or anything, but just pure gooey messiness. About a week ago I noticed what looked like little rice pellets all over my bed, which is where he sleeps with me every night. It turned out to be tape worm, and on Friday he got an injection at his vets for it. The whole day Friday he seemed to be somewhat out of it, maybe related to the shot, as all he did was sleep on my bed up and through dinner. Normally he is down with me on the main floor being a nosy pest

After the shot, his appetite has literally been cut in half and he doesn't seem to down water like crazy, either. But I'm still worried. Last night I was on the couch doing homework and he, out of nowhere, hopped into the Papasun chair we have and peed all over it. I yelled and he sort of hopped down and went up to my room, where I closed the door.

We've had potty issues before, but I'm 99.9% sure that they were related to him not liking the litterbox being on the first floor (my bedroom is upstairs). He was very timid when I first got him and didn't have the confidence to go up and down the stairs by himself then. Now he is very confident in his surroundings and believes he owns everything he sees!

Now it's 6:51 AM as I type this, because I got woken up to the sound of him having bad diahrrea again. I mean it is bad to where I can HEAR every detail of it. And maybe I'm just being paranoid, but once he finished and hopped back on the bed, I noticed that the pink skin around his eyes looked a darker, almost red color.

How long would it take for the shot to take effect? I'm hoping that the diahrrea is related to the tape worm and will go away when it is out of his system. At the vets he was given a Droncit .5cc injection for the tapeworm.

Does anyone have any insight as to what is going on with my babe? Should I give the shot a few more days and see if it works? Am I just being a worriesome new mom?

Thanks

Welcome to TCS and congratulations on your new kitty! What's his name? Do you have pictures?? We're crazy for pictures around here.

Some questions to begin with. When you got him, did you take him to the vet and have a thorough check up? Has he been dewormed for round worms and hook worms? Did the vet do a fecal float? (That tests for worms, but not tapeworms.) Often, it takes more than 1 deworming to totally get rid of the worms and they'll either throw them up (gross!) or poop them out. Tapeworms are common if the little guy's ever had fleas, so did you or the vet treat him with a topical flea treatment like Revolution? If not, you'll probably want to do that to stop the cycle of fleas.

I have a little boy who's about the same age as Allen and we also went through the poop problems. Have you tried giving him Bene-bac to help with the diarrhea or some other type of probiotic? You can usually find it at PetsMart, Petco, and maybe even at a feed store. At 5.5 mos, kitties are teething and they're permanent canines (fangs) are coming in. I think Tumbles' diarrhea was related to that. Ever since his canines have come in, his poops have been perfectly normal.

Has he been neutered? If not, you'll want to get that set up soon. I think that perhaps their changing hormones might affect their system as well. Don't quote me on that; it's just my observation.

As for food, adding some really good kitten food to his diet will really help him. It could even be that the food he's currently on doesn't agree with his system. We feed Wellness kitten canned or Innova EVO kitten/cat formula canned. Tumbles gets 3 or 4 wet food servings a day and then he munches on dry food throughout the day. For dry food, he gets Taste of the Wild, but we've previously fed him Royal Canin kitten. If you decide to change food, make sure you do it gradually as that can also cause the poops to change.

It's important that you feed him some canned food everyday as totally dry food will sap water from his system and he'll drink more. Later on in life, it can lead to a host of problems. The water in the wet food will help keep their hydration levels up and mimics their natural diet more.

With a kitten so young, it's important to have multiple litter boxes since they're like kids and when they have to go, they have to go NOW! Also, he might be one of those cats that likes to poop in one box and pee in another. Ideally, you should have one more box than cats, so if you have only 1 cat, 2 boxes. Also, he might not like the kind of litter you're using, but with the inappropriate peeing problem, you might want to add some Cat Attract litter to what you're using now. They have a kitten formula, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. You can also find that at PetsMart, PetCo, and other pet supply stores.

Originally Posted by AllenBoy

his litterbox and food/water are in my bedroom, next to each other

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Just wondering. Would you like your food and water sitting in the bathroom next to the toilet while someone uses it?
You cannot do this with a cats food and water, either move the food and water to the other side of the room or out of the room entirely.

The injection would have taken effect Friday night and already done its thing now. BUT it would only treat tapeworms. I have no idea why the heck your vet would only use droncit. You need to get the kitten back in for a proper deworming, two doses a couple weeks apart with a broad spectrum that takes care of roundworms, too. While being treated for roundworms you will have to clean - roundworm eggs can stay in the environment (anything around the litter box... such as his food is right now) and reinfect a cat. This means vacuuming - if carpet, mopping if wood or linoleum/tile, completely replacing litter after each deworming and scrubbing the litter box out. Wash your bedding if he ever goes from the litter box to your bed.
Your other option is keeping him on a flea topical like Revolution for a couple of months. (you'll still need to clean up any eggs)

Do have the vet do a full fecal panel on him - have him checked for protozoa infections. Giardia, coccidia, and tritrichomonas foetus can all cause soft stools in cats and can sometimes be common in kittens that have come from a rough background (mother cat was stray, they were in a shelter at some point, etc). He could also be having problems with a bacterial overgrowth (again, could be a litter box next to the food issue) - the vet should check for that, too.

Have the peeing checked into - a urinalysis will check to see if he has a UTI or crystals in his urine. These can be serious for a male cat because they can easily become blocked up, stop being able to pee entirely, and die within hours.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

they'll either throw them up (gross!) or poop them out.

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Actually this is not true. Your modern dewormers that the vet uses kills the worms and then they're digested unless there's a lot of them. This is why most people never see anything in the litter box after a deworming.

He's been neutered, and has never had fleas while I've had him. I already have him on topical Revolution once a month.

I will definitely look into getting the Bene-bac. Is there a wormer you all would suggest that I could get over the counter and give it to him myself?

The vet has also done two fecals, once at his first appointment and one last Friday. Both tested negative for tapeworms and anything else.

Originally Posted by AllenBoy

Is there a wormer you all would suggest that I could get over the counter and give it to him myself?

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No.

Originally Posted by AllenBoy

The vet has also done two fecals, once at his first appointment and one last Friday. Both tested negative for tapeworms and anything else.

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Ask the vet specifically what was looked for. T. foetus is not normally checked for unless requested or one has a very smart vet (not often) that doesn't mind making you spend more on a special fecal panel. Chances are protozoa where not checked for.

If parasites and bacterial overgrowth is ruled out completely, then it's a food issue.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

No.

Ask the vet specifically what was looked for. T. foetus is not normally checked for unless requested or one has a very smart vet (not often) that doesn't mind making you spend more on a special fecal panel. Chances are protozoa where not checked for.

If parasites and bacterial overgrowth is ruled out completely, then it's a food issue.

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The second fecal test was done when I went in Friday and told them that I was 99.9% sure that Allen had tapeworm, so they knew what to look for in the sample they got from him. I'd been finding the tapeworm proglottids on my bed comforter for a few days before. My sister's cat, gotten from the same rescue a year and a half ago, had the exact same thing. Funny enough, Goose's fecal came back negative as well.



This is the little stinker, btw:

Originally Posted by AllenBoy

Funny enough, Goose's fecal came back negative as well.

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Cute.
Tapes usually don't show up in the small amount they take at the vets office for a fecal. They usually take a bit slightly larger than a tapeworm segment is itself - so how could a segment be hiding in it? Roundworms can be missed if the sample is taken at the wrong part of their cycle - an off day when no eggs have been released.

Protozoa can be missed if there isn't a large enough fecal sample provided so that they can do the proper tests for them since the oocysts can be missed with just a plain fecal float used for looking for roundworms. The t. foetus I keep mentioning takes either being sent to an outside lab or two weeks for a cheaper test. Did you take in a stool sample? And did you ask them to check for more than worms?

What a handsome young man - I love his eyes!!! I can see why you're already such good buddies - and I hope his poo troubles end soon. I agree - nothing OTC unless the vet specifically recommends something - and I'm a big believe in making sure the vet is in the loop if I'm thinking of a supplement or food change - just in case.

Good luck.

He is such a handsome boy!! What a cutie and such a sweet face!

That's interesting that you've been giving him Revolution yet he still had tapeworms. I guess that the tapeworms could've been in his system all this time, but if you've got tapeworms, you've got fleas. Anyhoo...at least he's been treated for that.

Do call the vet's office tomorrow and ask what else they tested for regarding giardia and other bacterial types of things. You might want to see if he was tested for all those things as well at the first appointment.

Have his adult canines come in yet? How's the stress level in your home? Does he do well with everyone in the house?

I agree with the previous poster who suggested moving the litter box and the food. Also, don't put the water right next to the food.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

He is such a handsome boy!! What a cutie and such a sweet face!

That's interesting that you've been giving him Revolution yet he still had tapeworms. I guess that the tapeworms could've been in his system all this time, but if you've got tapeworms, you've got fleas. Anyhoo...at least he's been treated for that.

Do call the vet's office tomorrow and ask what else they tested for regarding giardia and other bacterial types of things. You might want to see if he was tested for all those things as well at the first appointment.

Have his adult canines come in yet? How's the stress level in your home? Does he do well with everyone in the house?

I agree with the previous poster who suggested moving the litter box and the food. Also, don't put the water right next to the food.

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It's a mystery, he's never had fleas.

I've moved his food across the room in another corner, it was quite amusing. He knew I moved it, but sat down in the spot where it has been, stared, and started meowing in a very pathetic, sad tone. He probably thought it would magically reappear if he stayed there long enough. Figured it out in the end though, so he's reasonably bright

He had two normal looking poops yesterday evening , but had another little bout of diahrrea this morning when he got up.

Here is my plan so far: I am going to pick up the Bene-bac and some Purina Kitten chow today after work. How long should I mix the kitten chow with his regular adult food? Also, I was thinking that if his digestive system seems to be on the sensitive side, I should look into something like Purina Special Care Sensitive systems?

He'll need to be on kitten food for a few more months yet, unless you purchase a kitten/cat food that's balanced for all ages. Personally, I'd recommend something a bit higher quality than Purina if you can afford it. Also, add some canned food to his diet.

It's really funny how they get into routines, isn't it? When we first got Hannah 5 years ago, we had to feed her in one of our spare bedrooms because she would eat her food and our other cat's food, too. To this day, she STILL goes to that bedroom when I get home thinking she's going to get something to eat. I NEVER feed her down there anymore and haven't for over 4 years, but she still has that in her little brain. They are definitely creatures of habit.

Kind of a bummer update:

Around last Monday, Allen's poos started looking nice and solid. He was adjusting nicely to his new kitten chow, and I thought we were on our road to full recovery.

On Thursday I drove to my parents house with him for a long weekend, necessary, and he was great on the drive up. Not a peep and slept most of the time. He's getting along great at my parent's place and even right now is sleeping on the couch tucked up against my mom (little traitor ). He's even getting along with the behemoth Merlin, who wants nothing to do with him

Unfortunately the diarrhea came back last night and this morning. Same old plain, gooey mess, no blood or mucous. Should I attribute this to stress of a new situation and give it a few days at back at my apartment to see if he regulates himself again? I was going to drive back tonight but of course, my car busts a radiator hose and can't get fixed until tomorrow, so he'll be spending one more night.

I called a lady from the cat rescue I got him from to get her opinion, and she said she would give him a few days before calling the vet. She says he might need one more treatment for tapeworms.

It could very well be stress related. Keep an eye on him and call the vet when you get back home.