Kitten w/severe diarrhea :/

I recently brought home a little playmate, Lady for my 4 year old male cat, Pia.
I adopted her, and they told me that she was healthy. The moment I brought her home I changed her food. From the moment I brought her home she had diarrhea. She never had one solid stool. I thought this was perhaps from the car ride, WRONG!
A week into having her in our family, I called the animal hospital where I adopted her. They said it was do to the food change. I then called a week after, and they never got back to me. Frightened, I took her into a local vet. They tested her stool and nothing showed up. They said they believed she had Coccidia. She has been on medication now for 9 days.
Today she continues to not have solid stool. I am infuriated!! I do not know what to do. I feel helpless for her. I am outraged because everywhere I have read the place of adoption had to have known she was sick! I am also very angry because she must be in pain.
She is not loosing weight, plays normally, seems very happy, drinks a lot of water (probably from being dehydrated).
I am not sure if I should take her back to the vet I had her at or go somewhere else... or if I should march back into the place I bought her and demand they help her.
I am really in a bind because I am not sure if she was sick knowingly prior to adoption. I have had her for a month and 3 days. What if she has been sick longer? :/
Also, I am going home for Christmas on the 20th. I already bought my plane ticket, and it is non-refundable. So, I am pressed for time.
Thus far, her issue has destroyed over a $300 litter box that had to be replaced, the CatGenie. I have to have this because I'm allergic to cat urine. I can't leave her out and about without supervision. She has to use a regular litterbox so the new one isn't ruined. She is kept in the bathroom overnight with food and water. She is fed separately because she requires special powder on her food given to me by the vet.
I am terrified that her life is on the line and infuriated at the place where I got her because they should be helping, right?!?
I am currently 23, unemployed, and didn't ever ever anticipate this happening. I can't afford to keep taking her to the vet. I refuse to give up and figure out a solution.
If this is not Coccidia, then what could it be?

PLEASE HELP!
I have already spent over 300 on the litterbox

Welcome to TCS, but I'm sorry it's under such a difficult situation. I'm really sorry that you're having to go through this.

Personally, I'd take her to a different vet and get a second opinion. Has she been dewormed? If not, that's a good place to start. Also have a fecal done to test for worms.

What meds is she currently on? What food are you currently feeding her? It's possible the food is too rich for her little system.

stephanietx,

Thanks for the quick response. I have had her stool checked at the previous vet and nothing came up. She has been dewormed.
She is currently taking Albon. It is a 1 oz bottle. She is to take 2 ml a day. Like I stated before, she has been on it for 9 days now. She also is taking FortiFlora. It is a feline nutritional supplement. There are 30 pouches and each pouch contains 1.06 oz.
I have her and my other cat on Natural Balance Original Ultra Premium Dry Cat Food. It is for Kittens-Adults. The ingredients are all natural. Maybe it could be the food?
Whatever is going on neither my other cat or my boyfriends dog are sick. THANKFULLY!!
I am just very very scared.

How old is she?

I would call up the place and tell them shes been sick-what was she eating before I got her? Whatever that is I would have her on ASAP.

Shes lucky to not have gotten more dehydrated/sicker if shes been like this for a month.

catsallaround,

Lady is approximately 7 months old. I just called the vet where I took her and am waiting to hear from the vet on a possible new medication or what I am to do. Meanwhile, my boyfriend called the adoption/hospital where we adopted her. The receptionist told us that she would be covered for an office visit minus medications. We are waiting to hear back from the actual Vet to make sure this is a confirmation before driving out there. The doctor's office is 45 minutes away and Lady gets overly stressed in a vehicle... not something to put a sick kitty through.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I'll keep everyone posted when I found out more detail!

Albon is a sulfa drug and it's possible she's allergic to it. Also, it's used to treat bacterial infections. Ask your vet for Metronidazole for help with firming up poops. You can also try adding some plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie spice), plain yogurt, or acidophilus tablets (crushed up and mixed with food.) You can find it in the supplement section of Wal-Mart.

Here's a list of the side effects I found on 1800petmeds.com:

What are the possible side effects of Albon:
Sulfa crystals may appear in your pet's urine. Your pet should be allowed to drink plenty of water while taking this medication. Other side effects that may occur include KCS or dry eye, anemia, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhea, joint inflammation, kidney damage, and skin rash. Stop the medication and contact your veterinarian if any of the above symptoms occur. Other side effects may also occur. Talk to your veterinarian about any side effect that seems unusual or bothersome to your pet. If your pet experiences an allergic reaction, signs may include facial swelling, hives, scratching, sudden onset of diarrhea, vomiting, shock, seizures, or coma. If these signs occur, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking that your girl is allergic to this med and needs something different. Insist on it!

Update:

This morning we called the adoption place and were told they would talk to the vet about possibly having a free examination as well as having a free test of the fecal matter. The doctor wasn't in yet and they told us they'd get back to us.
We also contacted the vet we took her to down the street. They said she should have improved by now and may need to be put on another medication. They told us they would get back to us.
So... We sat around waiting.. frustrated.. with no answers yet again!
We ended up calling back around 1:30 to the vet down the street. They said they were sorry and to drop off a stool sample for re-testing. The vet was out very ill, and the vet in was taking his schedule along w/the vet who was ill so they were very short handed.
Unfortunately, Lady did not poop until after they were closed :/ So, we will be up all night until they open waiting.
We then received a call back from the adoption place asking what the name of Lady was because they wanted to contact the vet we took her to.
It took an additional 3-4 hours and no phone call.
Now, we are both beyond livid. My boyfriend calls and asks them what is going on. They apologize and stated that they were side tracked! WHAT THE *%&$!!!!!!!!!
SIDE TRACKED?!? GRRR She's ILL!!!
So, they told him we could bring her in but they would just run the same tests. They also offered a free bag of food. The same food she was eating when adopted. The food is IAMS Premium Protection. The vets office is an hour away so there was no way I was driving two hours for food!
At this point I'm even angrier. So, I called and asked to speak to someone. They finally put a vet on the phone. She was firm, kind of rude, but did listen.
I explained to her what happened and she eventually apologized and stated that this was the 1st time she had heard of the matter and also never saw an e-mail from me. She said the kitten didn't have diarrhea when she was there and it could possibly be the food or Coccidia, or possibly something worse. She suggested getting another fecal sample done at the local vet to test again and to switch her back to the IAMS food. She said it would take 7 days to show ANY improvement.
SEVEN DAYS?!? NOT GOOD ENOUGH I TOLD HER!! What if it isn't the food! Then she's been really ill for who knows how long! WRONG!
So, I am going to see what happens at the vet I took her to before tomorrow.

While we were out tonight at PetCo & PetSmart looking for the food, we asked the vets there what their opinion is. They said Coccidia has a very distinct smell. Also, they told me that they find it nearly impossible for the adoption place to not have known she was ill unless she was in a large room with multiple cats.
At the adoption place they only keep two cats to a cage. So what she neglected?

Worse, when we got home she had thrown up!!!

So, here is what I am thinking as I can not do anything until 8 A.M. tomorrow. I am going to give them a fecal sample and see what happens. Her food has been switched. After this I am getting on the phone to find out my rights with PETA and whoever else I can find.

This is ridiculous. There is no doubt in my mind that this kitten has been neglected after talking to countless people who deal with animals on a daily basis.

I am utterly appalled at the fact that they would neglect such a harmless helpless little creature.

Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent before I strangle someone

Any responses would be appreciated.

And thank you so much to everyone for the advice already.

I find it difficult to be a young person and have people take me seriously because I am young. I'm 23. I wish they'd show some respect. Then again.. now they have.

Intestinal issues in cats and kittens can be very difficult to diagnose. I went through nearly 2 years of stress trying to figure out what was wrong with Franklin. His issues started almost as soon as I brought him home as a 4 month old, from a very reputable breeder. He was in no way neglected but did have chronic soft (think cow pie) stool. This eventually morphed into chronic vomiting. At first they found giardia in his stool. This is not easy to find as it isn't always present in every sample. It can take 2 or 3 samples to catch. That was treated but the soft stool returned. It was then thought that he had a protein allergy and he was switched to a novel protein, duck. That helped briefly, but the cow pies returned. Then they thought it was tritrichimonas foetus, another parasite that is very rarely tested for. The vet treated him, without testing, with a drug that is not know to cure the problem. Then I found a new vet and he solved the problem. Franklin has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He is now getting 5mg prednisolone every other day and it has been months since he has thrown up or had anything but a perfect stool.

My point in all of this is that your kittens issues may not be anybody's fault. It's up to you to be diligent and find a vet you trust and figure out what's wrong with you kitten. If you don't like what you hear from one vet, find another. I finally got lucky with the 3rd vet! Intestinal issues are tough to figure out but you can do it!

Just wondering. I have a kitten who appears and seems to test healthy. There are no other signa such as vomiting, hair loss, excessive licking, etc...

Did you ever have litter box problems from your kitten as a result of the diarrhea. I have two boxes with tow kittens sho get along, and sl long as I clean the boxes twice a day and keep them out of the bedroom and hall, things are great.

I had this exact same issue! I took my baby to the vet and they couldn't do a single thing except spend all my money! I figured it out all on my own and maybe you could try this yourself if you have not already. I got some free samples from dick van patten's Natural Balance Limited INgredient Diets. I figured out the green pea and duck was the only one that didn't give him the squirts (he is even allergic to seafood!) What I did was from the sample pack of food, on day one I gave him one pellet. On day two, 2 pellets and so on until day 10. Day ten he seemed to do okay so I added an extra 5 pellets to what I was giving him every day. Then every week after that I added another 5 pellets to what I was giving him, if that makes sense. I basically just introduced his food very slowly more so than normal.

After I switched over his food to this new food he no longer has any issues and all his stools are firm! Good Luck and I hope this works for you!