Abdominal distension in kitten

This is a bit of a complicated query...We're living in the Philippines, in one of the provinces. We're working as volunteers, and have adopted a kitten 2 weeks ago. The vet estimated his birthday as 21st Feb, so that would make him roughly six weeks old. From the time that he came to us he had a very big (distended) belly. It is very firm, and very round. We thought this would be partly due to worms and partly to malnutrition. Since he has been with us:
1. He has eaten well - infant dry food mixed with a heaping tablespoon of normal whiskas wet food (they don't have kitten formula here and the only human formula is dairy, and when we found him he was eating dog food, so.) about 2-3 times per day. Not tons of water, but he drinks - always has fresh bowl.
2. Energy levels are completely normal from what I can tell - he probably sleeps about 14 hours per day, but is bonkers the rest of the time, attacking our feet and hands, playing with crumpled up sheets of paper, pouncing on imaginary foes, etc.
3. His bowel movements seem fine - if a little dry. He goes between 4-8 times per day - more when he eats more, less when he doesn't.
4. His growth has been tremendous – he gained 300g in about 2 weeks. His fur is shiny and clean, and a nasty scab on his ear has cleared up and is now growing fur again. In general, he appears incredibly healthy, and does not seem to be in any pain.
But the belly hasn't gotten smaller. When we first had him dewormed on 3/21, it went down a bit for a couple of days, but not completely, and it grew again within the week. We took him to be dewormed again yesterday - 4/2, so nearly 2 weeks from the previous deworming, and the vet did not seem optimistic. He said that it could be the liver, and that he could die. He didn’t find any worms or eggs in the fecal sample, either. The thing is, it’s a bit hard to communicate here sometimes. I’m just hoping that someone might be able to offer slightly better/clearer advice? Right now the vet’s just telling us to wait it out – to see if the 2nd deworming shrinks his tummy, and if not, expect the worst. What I don’t want is for our little guy to suffer. And we’ve gotten really attached. Can anyone advise? Is there something we might suggest to the vet? Is there a possibility this is benign?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

I wish you all the best and hope that the little guy will make it through or, even better, that whatever bothers him isn't at all serious.

Our cat used to be a stray and she had a hard, round belly when she first came. After a couple days, she started coughing and sneezing horribly, too. All the symptoms went away, including the big round belly, after the second deworming.

Prior to all this, we had her stool tested for parasites and it came perfectly clear, with no parasite signs at all.

I'm sure someone will come with a lot better advice. This is simply all I know from my very limited cat experience.

for the little guy!

With worms and wormings you will usually find that your kitty is also gassy. If it were FIP, the belly would be more like a water bottle, i.e. not hard.

Sometimes kittens need help with their liver function and there is a powder that you can get to sprinkle on their food that improves liver function and kitties like its taste. It is not forti-flora altho that is a good pro-biotic. I cannot think of the name but I will try and find out and post it. I had to use it on my kitten when she was very ill with giardia, coccidia, and another parasite and had to take antibiotics for many months. She recovered and is on my lap now, several years later. I hope it will work out for your kitten too.

I know you've had him treated for worms, but have you had him treated specifically for tapeworms? Tapeworms require a separate deworming medication.