Diarrhea in 12 week old kitten

I've noticed my kitten has been having diarrhea the past couple of days. I'm not exactly sure what could be causing it, but I have a few ideas.

I've been adding a little bit of another kind of food to her current food, to try and get her off of it and onto other things. Maybe the change in diet is bothering her stomach? Maybe I'm not adding small enough amounts?

She loves those Petsmart pom pom balls, and the stuff gets everywhere. She did have a strand in one of her loose stools. I don't know if that can cause diarrhea or not? I took it away from her today and vacuumed.

I was giving her kitten milk for a little while, since she won't touch wet food. For extra fluids. I stopped giving it to her 3 days ago, but the diarrhea is still happening.

She goes about 4 times in 12 hours or so. There doesn't appear to be any straining. She doesn't cry while going. She hasn't had any accidents outside of the litter box. She is still very alert and playful. She's eating and drinking water just fine. Her skin has plenty of elasticity. However I am still concerned. I plan on calling the vet tomorrow on my break, since they are closed today. I was just wondering what everyone else thought and if there is anything that I can do for her today?

She was tested for worms on the 4th and she didn't have any, however she is on a dewormer just in case. She had her first dose on the 4th and will get it again on the 18th.

Thanks! :-)

Note: She doesn't touch wet food, have tried different kinds and flavors. She's currently eating Science Diet kitten formula, and I've been mixing in a little Purina kitten chicken flavor. Dry food. Thanks

The dewormer can cause diarrhea.  I'd give everything a little time before I got too worried. 

And are you transitioning her to Purina?  Purina is not a high grade food and can cause loose stools. Would it be possible to try a slightly higher end food?  We feed Simply Nourish, which is a good, mid-range food. It is only sold at Petsmart as it is their brand. It costs a bit more than Purina but not as much as much as some other foods.....if cost is a concern. 

Can the dewormer still cause diarrhea a week later?

Yes, I was transitioning her to purina. I was doing it because it was cheaper. However I would rather spend more money than to have a sick kitty, so I'm considering leaving her on Science Diet at least for a while until maybe she's a year old? Or would you suggest keeping her on the higher end stuff? I'll check into the Simply Nourish, thanks!

Sometimes a sudden change in cat food can cause this, I also had this problem when I saved a little kitty from these kids that were giving her milk.  Milk is not good to give a kitten unless its her mothers milk.  I also would suggest transitioning your cat to a hollistic oriented cat food like science diet or other premium cat foods.

SiameseSnowShoe said:

I also would suggest transitioning your cat to a hollistic oriented cat food like science diet or other premium cat foods.

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Science Diet is far from holistic. I'd look for something with better ingredients, preferably grain-free, but I think the long term goal should be to transition over to a quality wet food. Here are some tips on how to do that: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf

As I was reading the comments here, I was thinking to myself, geez, Science Diet? Yuck..just my opinion of course, we all have our faves but I think it's crap.

If you want to learn lots of info on the true meaning of listed ingredients in cat food, go to my website catalesrescue.org. roll over the nutrition link, in the dropdown menu click cat food, then on the left of the screen it says (highlighted in blue) under learn more, click visit this great site. Then look at ingredients, also see quick list. It rates foods according to price, quality, etc.

VERY informative stuff, ESPECIALLY the true meaning of ingredients. WOW...even roadkill??!

I chose Natural Balance for my personal cats, and would have all my rescue cats on this as well if we could afford it, but do recommend our adoptors this food, as well as grain-free canned.

Science Diet has terrible ingredients.

Many vets have carried this in their office, also recommending it, but the makers of this food give it to them for promotional purposes.

Forgot to mention, Natural Balance is very affordable!

An FYI too, the better quality the food (less filler crap) the less they will eat, less poop, etc. you won't go through as much, so in the end, healthier cat for the same price, with less vets visits.

How is your kitty doing now?

Thanks for everyone's responses!

Sadie is doing much better. I took her to the vet and they gave her something for the diarrhea. A few days after taking the medicine she had a 3 pieces of rope like material come out in her loose stool, after that, it went away. So I'm guessing that was the whole problem. I still have not figured out where she got it from, but it is possible she had it in her system before I adopted her, since I have never seen that material before. I would love to get her on wet food if possible, I will continue trying, she just does not want any part of it so far. I've kept her on Science Diet, because I had a free sample and was afraid of switching her and upsetting her stomach, I probably will slowly switch her to something, when I find the right stuff.
Thanks again :-)