new adopted kitten having some diarrhea issues

so we've been beating around the bush about adopting another cat for a couple months. We knew we wanted to adopt and we wanted to preferably adopt an older cat who was already spayed or neutered. Well I was reading the paper and the local animal shelter was holding a half off adoption drive in august. Well by the time I found out it was already the 29th of august and we were leaving on a trip. The shelter agreed to still offer us the special price and they would just hold the cat we wanted. So we picked a black cat who was a few years old and neutered and declawed. We paid them, filled out the paperwork and went home. Well our trip got cancelled so I went to go get our new cat friday. Well even though they had a big sign that said HOLD someone adopted him out anyways . So we were looking all around for another cat and this little kitten kept pouncing around just being "kitten stupid" as I like to call it so after not liking the other cats there we asked about her and played with her and ofcourse fell in love. So we adopted her. I didn't take her home first off I took her right to the vets and got her put on revolution and have an appointment scheduled for tuesday for her. Anyways got home showed her her food and water and litterbox. She seems to have picked up on the litterbox but we noticed since she came home she's been getting diarrhea that seems to be getting worse. Now granted i'm sure she is stressed also the revolution is also a wormer and i know some wormers cause diarrhea also she came home with a bag of science diet but I have already started offering her nutrisource canned kitten food and i'm mixing blue buffalo dry kitten food in with the science diet dry. As long as she's eating/playing/drinking should I worry or can I wait until her doctor's visit on tuesday to ask them about it. I really can't afford to feed 2 cats all canned so that's why I offer the dry food too. Samara doesn't mind it but the new baby seems to hold out for the canned food I give her in the morning and at night.

I think as long as she's eating and drinking and playing you'll be okay until the vet appointment on Tuesday. When I adopted Behr, he was about 3 months old and he had diarrhea for most of the first week I had him. Of course it cleared up right AFTER I dropped off the stool sample at the vet's. :roll eyes:

I'm betting it's just stress. The cat I already had scared the wits out of Behr for the first couple of days. How does your other cat act with her?

well they don't really hang out, the two cats. Samara is a very testy cat she hides most the time however our new kitty, Sheila, and our dog have met and do ok. Her poop isn't getting any worse so that's a good sign and she even ate some dry food. It's funny I bought her her own food and water dish but she won't drink out of the dish she only drinks from the dog's dish.

It's possible that, if you started feeding the kitten a new food that is specifically a kitten food, it might be rich enough to upset the digestive tract. Worm medicine can also be a cause, and you vet should definitely test for coccidia and giardia with a fecal test.

I adopted a kitten about 2 months ago and she had diarrhea for about 4 days...It could have been from the dewormer as well or just the change in food. So I gave her a dropper of plain yogurt to help her and the next day she was already starting to poop more solid. If you have a pet store around that carries bene bac, that can also help.

Sheila is about 8 or 9 weeks old they guessstimate. Her poop has gotten more cow patty like but she still plays like a maniac, and is eating and drinking well. Her appointments at 11:15 tomorrow and I'll bring in a stool sample. She was at the shelter for a week and a half and was only eating the dry science diet kitten food so she has been eating just kitten food. Now I read BB is kinda rich so it might be the BB or the millions of other things that happened this week. Can't wait to get her into the vets tomorrow though.

Yeah, if she is drinking plenty she should be okay. The chief issue with kittens and diarrhea is that they can get dehydrated. If you pinch up her scruff and it doesn't go right back when you let go, that's a danger signal and get her to the vet--it's a sign she's not getting enough water.

Lots of stuff can upset a cat's digestion, especially a kitten's. Could be parasites, could be the new food. Olivia, the cat I took in a while ago because she had been starved nearly to death, had horrid diarrhea while she was gaining weight because she was just eating so much more than her digestive system was used to handling.

Originally Posted by Callista

Yeah, if she is drinking plenty she should be okay. The chief issue with kittens and diarrhea is that they can get dehydrated. If you pinch up her scruff and it doesn't go right back when you let go, that's a danger signal and get her to the vet--it's a sign she's not getting enough water.

Lots of stuff can upset a cat's digestion, especially a kitten's. Could be parasites, could be the new food. Olivia, the cat I took in a while ago because she had been starved nearly to death, had horrid diarrhea while she was gaining weight because she was just eating so much more than her digestive system was used to handling.

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thanks! She was a stray so possibly same thing with her she may just not be used to having so much food available to her. We'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

Originally Posted by lonelykitten

thanks! She was a stray so possibly same thing with her she may just not be used to having so much food available to her. We'll find out tomorrow hopefully.

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Hi, Lonelykitten! Hope your appointment goes well and the little one gets a clean bill of health!

AC

results are back in and she has been diagnosed with coccidia and recieved a week supply of liquid albon. Took her in this morning but the results didn't come back until this afternoon. She is none too happy that mommy had to give her the medication. She also had ear mites pretty bad but since I had given her the revolution that also treats the mites and the vet said it didn't appear the mites were alive anymore so the revolution worked. So she goes back for another round of vaccines in a 2 weeks and they'll recheck her poop and ears. So atleast now we aren't sitting around wondering what's going on. Hopefully the medicine will help her. But we got all the required documents to the shelter so Sheila is officially ours !!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by lonelykitten

results are back in and she has been diagnosed with coccidia and recieved a week supply of liquid albon. Took her in this morning but the results didn't come back until this afternoon. She is none too happy that mommy had to give her the medication. She also had ear mites pretty bad but since I had given her the revolution that also treats the mites and the vet said it didn't appear the mites were alive anymore so the revolution worked. So she goes back for another round of vaccines in a 2 weeks and they'll recheck her poop and ears. So atleast now we aren't sitting around wondering what's going on. Hopefully the medicine will help her. But we got all the required documents to the shelter so Sheila is officially ours

!!!!!!!!

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Yay on all counts!! And congratulations on your newest family member!

AC

So happy to hear her diarrohea and ear mites have cleared up!

The good news is that albon doesn't taste very bad. I've seen some kittens that would eat it without it being squirted in their mouth.

Keep in mind that many cats have coccidia without showing symptoms. Stress will make it flair up. The albon just suppresses it long enough for the cat's immune system to get control of it.

well Sheila does not like it at all! She had 1 ml yesterday and needs to take .5 for the next 6. Her diarrhea isn't clearing up yet but hopefully soon. She's still the most active, playful and craziest kitten I have ever seen though!

Hello,

Can you please tell me. Was it just becuase your kitten was new to the surroundings. I just got one last night and he has the same problems, but like yours, mine eats great, drinks plenty of water and plays and purrs. It has only been 30 hours since I got him, but the smell is awful. Mind you, I clean the litter as soon as he goes to make sure he doesn't have any accidents. Sorry for replying to this so late after your posting, but I just searched on line and came across your post. Please help. Thank you so much, Lissa

Lissa, since this thread is old, you may not get an answer to your question. You might want to start a new post, but in the meantime, are you feeding the same thing the kitty was eating prior to adoption.  Too quickly changing a kitty's diet can cause diarrhea.
 

Hi Stephanie,

Thank you for getting back to me. Apparently what happend is about two weeks ago somebody drove by in the middle of the night (well after midnight) rolled down their car window and dumped this kitten and maybe another one, out their car window and drove away. An elderly couple heard the noise, saw what they did, but they were in the 70's and couldn't really go after them, but apparently the neighbours saw it too, but nobody got a license plate number. Anyway, the kitten (s) ran away, but the elderly couple kept hearing a meow for nearly two weeks, but didn't see the kitten until a few days ago. They let it in their mudroom because they have 3 dogs and couldn't let it in the house, but at least it was warm. However, not knowing cats, they gave kim what they thought best, which was warm milk. Then, they went out and bought a purina food the next day and had been feeding him it for about three days and sent him with me. They pleaded with me to take him because I had just lost my cat recently (she was nearly 20 yrs old and I miss her so much). Anyway, I brought him home and you know the rest. He is eating great, drinking lots of water, plays (my husband went out and bought him some toys) and I am going to take him to the vet next week. Sorry for the long reply, but just thought I would share the whole store. Thank you so much for getting back to me. It has been a long time since I had a kitten. Thanks again Stephanie. Take care and Happy New Year, Lissa ) (and Harold aka, Prince Harry - My husband named him because he is a ginger cat).

It's also a possibility that he has worms.  I would get him to the vet and get him checked out and dewormed.  He also needs to be tested for the nasties and meet the vet.  Diarrhea can lead to dehydration, so you don't want it to go for too long without clearing up or being addressed by the vet.
 

HI Stephanie,

Thanks very much. I called the vet's office and have an appointment tomorrow morning at 11:20am. Hopefully, I will have everything sorted out by then. Thanks again for answering. I do appreciate it. Have a great night.

Lissa

Hi Again Stephanie,

Just to let you know, we took him to the vet today, and pretty much he got a not so bad bill of health, all considering, especially with how I got the poor guy. Anyway, he is on antibiotics, broad range, one that apparently kills a lot of things (Metronidazole) 0.2mg every 12hrs. He hates the taste,but hey if it works, great. The vet also put him on Advantage, although she said he will only need this one treatment because he doesn't have any active fleas on him, but she said she saw some dirt and to be on the safe side, as it also kills round worms etc.. I have to drop off a stool sample on Monday, but all is well. He is eating great, sleeping well and playing and the vet said considering everything, he looks pretty good, although she said that he might be up to 6 months old, but because he was malnourished, etc.,he looks a lot younger. It was by his teeth she was able to tell. Thanks again for your help. Take care, Lissa