Adopted 4 Mo. Old Kitten.

hollyjolly

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I have had my kitten, Oreo, for about a month. He is now 4 months old. When we first adopted him we kept him on the same food, Purina Kitten Chow. He is happy, playful, cuddly, and purs regularly. We took him to the vet a few days after adopting him where we found out he had an upper respiratory infection. He was on antibiotics and is now off of them. He also has not had his leukemia vaccine, but has tested negative and we were just waiting for the infection to be cured. Lately, a few strange things have been happening. He was getting wiskas wet food & soft treats.

1. He threw up twice

2. His poop smells HORRIBLE. (Not new, could this be food related?)
3. He had a stream of blood in his diarrhea.

I read online that if it's only a one time occurrence, not to stress so I'm trying not to.

He hasn't thrown up since about 4 days ago.

He had poop in his blood 2 days ago and not since.

We have just today bought him Science Diet food, recommended by our vet. Both wet & dry.
I just want to make sure I am doing the right things.

I adore this kitten, and want any advice I can recieve.

Answers to these questions and any random tips are more than welcome :)
 

stephanietx

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The throwing up could be from the antibiotics, if he's still on those. It could also be the change in food.  Be sure you feed him a high quality kitten food.  As for the food, personally, I'd take back the Science Diet stuff (it's really like McDonald's for humans and full of fillers) and get him a good quality kitten food.  I really like Royal Canin kitten for little ones.  In a few months, you can transition him to a grain-free type food.  Transition to the new stuff over a period of a couple of weeks.  Transition to dry needs the couple of weeks, but usually wet can be transferred a bit faster. 
 
 

eb24

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Hi HollyJolly, 

First, welcome to TCS and congratulations on the new addition! He sounds like such a sweetheart! 

It's not too surprising that he had a URI- most kittens do. It sounds like you got him properly treated- props to you!

As for the vomitng  and blood in his diarrhea. It's important that you make another vet appointment to rule out anything serious (like parasites). I think the advice that a little blood in the stool is not too concerning if it's a one time thing is because it could just be some rectal blood (from inflammation from a bout of diarrhea). Same with vomiting. All cats vomit (hairballs, ate too fast, ect) and so if it's short lived it's probably not too concerning. But, since you are having all of these things happening at once I think it is absolutely worth another vet visit. Getting him preventative treatment can save you a lot of time, money, and agony later if it ends up being something serious.

I know the vet recommended Science Diet for him but I would encourage you to consider other brands. Unless he is on a specific formula for a health problem, Science Diet is not very good food for cats as it's full of fillers, plant based proteins, and grains which are all things cats don't need in their diets. I would urge you to go check out our nutrition forum and read some of the threads there. Here is a link to a collection of really good articles on feline nutrition: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/248990/tcs-resources-thread-feline-nutrition-articles-and-threads . I mention it because you mention his really stinky poops. Getting him on a better diet can help tremendously with that! 

As for giving him the leukemia vaccine: Have you done any research on this? If you haven't it may really be worth doing. Vaccinating against FeLV is NOT a standard vaccine, and should only be given to cats who are super high risk for contracting it (aka ferals, cats who live with FeLV positive cats, ect). Also, know that if you do choose to give him that shot he will always test positive for having the infection, even if he doesn't really have it. So, collaring and microchipping are absolutely critical, as is keeping onhand copies of his vaccination record. Most shelters automatically euthanize cats who test positive, so unless they can properly determine that he is yours it's pretty much a death sentence. Make sure you consider all these factors before vaccinating him for FeLV! 

I think I just told you wwwaaaaayyyy more than you wanted to know- sorry! 
 Please, don't hesitate to post follow up questions- either here or in another section. I'm so glad you decided to join TCS and hope you will poke around and see everything that this site has to offer! 
 
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ldg

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The others have already given you good advice. :) I just wanted to say welcome to TCS, and congrats on the new addition! :D

I also wanted to share a link I wish someone had shared with me when we rescued our first kitties. It's a website written by a vet, about feline nutrition. http://www.catinfo.org

:wavey:
 

chopper

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i like fromm cat food and newman's own.

thank you so much for the info on prior vaccination for FeLV vaccinating;  i had no idea that a cat could test + for the virus since they were vaccinated against that virus.

muddies the water a bit with taking in a stray [my case] who sports an impression of a former 'collar.'
 
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eb24

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muddies the water a bit with taking in a stray [my case] who sports an impression of a former 'collar.'
It does a bit. I was thinking though (and someone correct me if I'm wrong because I am not sure about this) that, if he tests positive they could titer test him to determine if it's from the vaccine or from actual infection? I'm not sure but it's worth looking into. 

Also, I would hope someone who spent that much to vaccinate him would have spent the extra money to chip him too. 
 
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hollyjolly

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Thanks, everyone, for the WONDERFUL advice. :)

I will definately be taking the Science Diet back, I have read nothing good. But I will be doing research before I purchase this time.

I really appreciate the advice about the vaccine. The vet made it seem like he NEEDED it and my family all said they had given their cats the shot, but Oreo is an indoor cat so maybe it wont be necessary, after all. It's wonderful to finally have somewhere to go to ask questions. Thank you for all of the support. Oreo BRIGHTENS my apartment from the moment we brought him home & I want him to be healthy so he can be around for a long time :)

This is Oreo :)

 
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