Kitten Has Diarrhea - Help!

sybilsmom

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Hello,
I adopted a six month old kitten from the Humane Society approximately one week ago. Everything has been going great except for the fact that she is having issues with her bowels. The Humane Society provided me with her health history and when they first got her, they treated her for "soft pudding-like stools". They supposedly remedied it with a bland diet. They didn't really provide a follow up stating whether or not she got better (I'm beginning to think she didn't in fact improve while at the shelter) and just suggested I keep her on a "digestive health" cat food.
I bought the required cat food and sure enough, her first BM in the litter box was more like a cowpie as opposed to normal cat feces. Initially I didn't think much of it since she was probably stressed from the move (which I know is a contributing factor) as well as her diet shifted slightly. I took her to the vet the next day and the doctor didn't seem too concerned either. She said it's likely that Sybil has a sensitive stomach and will take a week or two to get regular. She did send a fecal sample to a lab to test for giardia and coccidia (which I haven't heard the results yet) and sent me home with some FortiFlora and Hills I/D wet food.
Now let's fast forward to today. She hasn't shown any improvement and when I got home from work today, the stool was actual diarrhea as opposed to just soft. What's even worse is she hasn't developed good litter box habits and doesn't bury her feces. So she ends up getting her paws and tail in it and tracks it all over. I feel terrible for her and I just want her to be better. She is still very energetic like a typical kitten and doesn't outwardly show that she is in pain. I might also be overly paranoid and anxious as this is my first cat and I'm not totally sure what to expect. Do I need to give the diet adjustment more time? Should I take her back to the vet ASAP (I'm calling the vet tomorrow regardless)? What about natural remedies? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 

mrblanche

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The first thing you need to do is get a fresh stool sample (sounds like that won't be too difficult!).  Get as much as you can, in a pill bottle or zip-lock bag, and get it to the vet as fresh as possible.  Have them check for giardia and coccidia.  Both are treatable, but long-term dangerous to the kitten.  There is a third one, tritrichimonus foetus, which is harder to detect but still dangerous and treatable. 

All of those are worse in cats that are under stress, such as going to a new home.

By the way, it may take more than one round of testing for the lab to find the culprit; the signs are not in the stool all the time.

It's almost cheaper to just treat the kitten for those parasites.
 
 

curiosityscat

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Yes! Get the kitten to a Vet quick, because diarrhea can easily cause dehydration (even death) and long-term be the root cause for various health/organ issues later on, especially during this crucial developmental period. The Vet can get any fluids into the kitten that it may (probably) needs. I am no Vet, so the following is just my opinion and I highly recommend you go to the Vet. Having said that, it sounds to me like the kitten has worms. It sounds gross and is, but keep an eye out for the kitten licking itself a lot in the anal area, and look out for actual worms. When worms get bad (enough to cause diarrhea), they are typically to the point that an animal will be pooping them out in stool and even (*gag) having difficulty with hanger on worms immediately after they poop. Also, where they lay down, commonly you will see little white/yellow things that look like tiny grains of rice (which are actually dried up worms).BUT, it could be a number of health problems (although I lean toward parasites like worms considering the age and commonality of worms at that age in shelter pets (no offense to, especially when adopted from a Humane Society where it is common for an animal to be infected with fleas and/or possible have eaten a flea and gotten infected as new animals are coming in all the time, and fleas jump on/off people, animals, bedding, etc. very easily.The "bland diet" treatment (just my opinion) sounds like a cop-out, unless the kitten is so young that they felt treatment could be life threatening.I know when I got my youngest male cat Stilpho, he was born outside under a house and to semi-feral parents, so he was covered in fleas, and although I picked them off and killed them, they still made the little guy very ill. When I took him to the Vet, I was told they could treat him, but due to his age, the treatment could actually be fatal. I chose to have him treated regardless, and in my own case, I am glad I did, because he survived and thrived! He is absolutely health (*knock on wood*) and doing fine today.Best Wishes for a speedy recovery and long life to your feline baby and you!!
 
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sybilsmom

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First of all, I want to apologize for the double post. I typed it up on my phone and I received an error when I first submitted it. So I inadvertently posted it twice - oops!

And thank you everyone for the advice and suggestions. This morning her BM was more "normal" and there was no liquid/mucus like the surprise in the box last night. I'm calling her vet this afternoon on my lunch break to set up a time when I can take her in. Worst case, I will take her to a 24/7 emergency vet if I can't get her in this weekend.

I'm not sure if it's related - but I completely eliminated her dry food last night and just gave her a half of can of the Hills

Prescription I/D with an entire packet of FortiFlora. Would that still firm up her stool even if the root cause is parasites/worms? I really hope it's just diet as that isn't as threatening as something invading her body. Anyway, I have the boyfriend on poop patrol while I'm at work so we will see how she does.

Also, just curious - do cats actually like the taste of pumpkin? It seems pretty gross to me and Sybil is a fussy eater!

Thanks again.
 

catspaw66

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I have two kittens that came (through my brother) from a shelter, and they had diarrhea for the first several months of their lives.  They were given pumpkin, among other things, including antibiotics specific to Giardia and they liked it.  In fact one of them has developed a taste for anything I am putting in my mouth, even lettuce and tomato sandwiches

They are now about 8 months old and are the terror of the house.  They still have some problems with semi-loose poopies, but I scoop the boxes every day and kinda keep an eye out for obvious indications.
 
 

planetx

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I had a rescued mother cat and kittens and was driven to despair by their diarrhea. Treated them for parasites, changed diet - nothing worked but time. There are various viral infections that can cause it, and it's just a matter of waiting it out - around 3 months in our case. All of mine are fine and normal now.
 
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