Kitten with Colitis.... Advice needed pls!

So, I took my 12 week old kitten to the vet last night and after carrying out the parasite tests (which were negative) the vet thinks Tom has a bout of colitis. He doesn't seem to think its too serious, he's eating and running around and being totally normal, but he has soft stools with a little blood in and his guts are inflamed.

The vet has given me antibiotics and pro-kolin paste, and giving it to him is a nightmare! The antibiotics aren't too bad, but the pro-kolin he hates and the tube for administering it is so big it's difficult to put it in his mouth- a rather traumatic experience in all!!

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could possibly administer the paste to him? Could I mix it in with some plain yoghurt maybe??

He's also on Hills I.D dry food for two weeks, as which I can supplement with boiled chicken and rice. Does anyone have any suggestions of food to put him on once he has finished the Hills? I think it was the horrible dry food he was on originally when I brought him home that caused the problem- I read so many reviews that say it has caused wind, soft stools and tummy problems in kittens!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I mixed the pro kolin  well in with the food.  Choose something really smelly like fish.  Or use a fishy spread (we call it fish paste in the UK - it is for humans to spread on bread - there are a range of fish ones made by Shippams).  Anything really smelly will disguise the smell and taste of pro kolin, which is very bland anyway, and in a very small amount, should go down before they know it.

Regarding your kitten's food, from experience, I know the good people on this forum are more knowledgeable than I on this subject.  However, you may see that I have posted several times about food issues with my 10 month old rescue kitten - diarrhoea constantly etc.  Well to cut a long story short, I have found that (for him) just plain boiled chicken (I did not add rice) did not give him diarrhoea.  As soon as I added a reasonable amount of dry Royal Canin Kitten Food into the boiled chicken - instant diarrhoea!  I have taken him off dry food altogether, and am checking every single thing I give him in the future, for traces of any cereal - cereal gluten etc. which I understand, many cats are allergic too, and are nothing more than fillers, and cats do not need them in their diet.

Food is your biggest tool for getting him healthy.  Forget the Hills ID - its a bunch of marketing baloney.  I was given that for tummy upset for my cat, but luckily I had a bit of nutrition knowledge.  I straight away read the ingredients in front of her, then asked why it was good for sensitive tummies.  She didn't know.  I asked if she had any objections to me feeding cooked chicken for a few days and she was fine...then said 'but no rice'... to which I said 'but the Hills ID has brewers rice in it??!!'.  She couldn't answer, so asked if I would take a call from the Vet at Hills ID.  I took the call a few days later and I can tell you, that vet was simply a sales rep and answered (or avoided answering) my questions with the line 'I would never want to do anything that would hurt animals'.  She couldn't talk specifics about ingredients, didn't know about recent cat food industry rules etc.

My advice is grain free wet food.  If you can do it, go for raw food.  Here's a bit that I found on a subsequent search about Hills and cat nutrition in general, written by vet Dr Lisa Pierson.  I've found many other published articles that essentially say the same thing, so I don't believe its 'one vet giving the profession a bad name' (as suggested by my vet!):

http://www.catinfo.org/#Prescription/Therapeutic_Diets_

Also, while looking for this for you, I also noted Dr Pierson's comments re another ingredient that you'd want to eliminate, seeing that colitis is an IBD:

One ingredient that has caught my attention lately is carrageenan.  If one does a PubMed search of carrageenan, they will find many references to "carrageenan-induced inflammation" which is very disturbing in light of how common IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) is in cats.  Please see this link  to an interesting study showing carrageenan to be an inflammatory mediator in human intestinal cells.

Unfortunately, ~80% of the commercial canned products contain carrageenan.  If your cat has chronic diarrhea or vomiting, I suggest trying to find a food without this ingredient listed. 

Hope you can get you kitty well soon

Oh, PS MattyT,  I just read your post again and saw you are interested in specific food recommendations.  This is from Dr Lisa Pierson again, scroll right down to the bottom and there is a huge list of commercial foods and her thoughts/analysis.  If you are interested in understanding nutrition and labels etc., then read all of it, but if you wan to get to the list, scroll to the bottom:  http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods

Thanks Taxido, I will definitely get hold of some fish paste- I know the stuff so I'll pick some up from Tesco and now it's the weekend I can start on the boiled chicken!! I've been feeding him the pro-kolin mixed into Greek yoghurt at the moment because he loves greek yoghurt, and that's going down a treat, but I am aware that the lactose might be a problem!!

And tammyp, thank you so much for the information and links- I have checked his wet food and it is completely grain free so I will put him back on that. My only issue with the wet food is that Tom has an automatic feeder for during the day and while he is little he has four feeds a day, two of which come from the automatic feeder while I am at work/asleep- is it okay to put the wet food in one??

Hmmm, I don't know about the wet food in an automatic feeder; I just don't know what the contraption is!  My concerns would be freshness - how long would the wet food be opened and un-refridgerated while waiting for the automatic feed?  And now I'll let someone else deal with that one!

By the way, I'm so glad I saw your post and responded, finding out about carageenan in the process.  My health specialist SHOULD have told me about this given I have colitis...am now embarking on finding all the human foods and pills that have carageenan in them so I can avoid.  

My partner has ulcerative colitis as well, so I've just told him so we will be checking all our food as well!! Thanks again, so helpful

HELP- I JUST HAVE THE FEELING SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT!!!

He seems to be as full of beans as usual- I came home late from work today and he has been going mad since I got in which is good.

But... I don't know what it is that's worrying me, but I definitely don't think things are right... he had a few days of hard dark brown stools, but it has since gone back soft lighter brown and very very smelly. His bum seems quite pink/red as well, which may be due to excessive grooming (although I haven't seen him do that, I'm just guessing).

He's on his last day of metronidazole (tomorrow morning his his last dose) and I would have thought things should be improving but they're just not. I've also noticed he is drinking more than usual, but that may be down to the dry food he's on (normally I have him on two wet feeds, two dry feeds but at the moment he's on 4 dry feeds of plain Science Plan ID.

I also noticed that he has only been for a wee twice in the last 24 hours- and both were much bigger pees than normal- but again, he normally only goes maybe 2-3 times and the larger amount of pee may be down to the dry food and the extra water.

He doesn't really cry or anything when he gets in his litter box generally, although tonight I noticed him get in his box, scratch around, squat as though he was maybe going to pee, then make a little cry and walk off. He hasn't peed  anywhere else and when I put him back in the box he didn't go, although he later went back in of his own accord to pass some stools (softish and lighter brown, as described above).

I am REALLY worried. Like I said, he seems fine in himself, running around, affectionate etc, but I just get the feeling something is wrong and I am panicing a lot now- I'm actually on the verge of tears because I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong.  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I know a few people have suggested the raw diet, but since I work all day and Tom is currently on 4 feeds, it isn't practical- I can't leave raw food out for him in case it spoils- as soon as he is on 2 feeds, I will seriously consider changing this...

Ok, first things,  let's calm you down.  It's terrible when we are worried for our cat and feel helpless and confused.  Let's get you a plan of attack so you can transmit calm loving vibes to your kitty (your stress can stress them).  And on that note, if it's worth plugging in your Feliway diffuser just to make sure kitty is feeling calm and safe.

Now, if it is a urinary blockage, it is an emergency.  If he hasn't peed in 24hrs  he can die - male cats more prone to this, especially on a dry diet.  I work on evidence of pee in 12 hrs so I have emergency treatment time.  That means go to your vet.  Don't panic, just do - you'll either save his life, or it will turn out not to be an emergency in any case.

Cats are funny creatures who don't readily show signs of illness, so always go with your gut.  You do know your cat best and when things are 'off'.  And some cats deal with stress by running and playing, so that is not always a marker of health and vigour.

Next, for after you've assessed and treated if its an emergency:

IF its a urinary tract issue here's some reading so you know everything about it and what you'd like in terms of treatment:

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

At the least, I would change kitty's diet because this is going to give good health on a number of fronts.  I know feeding timing is a problem - how about 3 feeds a day, breakfast; when you get home from work; when you go to bed.  Many people do this for their kittens.  If you are super worried, you could set a night time feed and stumble out of bed to plonk down something already served and awaiting you in the fridge so you barely have to wake up.  Feed wet food only (and you can also add a little water to it if you want to increase H20 intake).  It doesn't have to be raw...you can work up to this.  For now, keep it easy.  I'm sure you have too much on your mind already so we want easy and stressless!  Grain free, carageenan free canned food ( and/or perhaps commercial raw that you keep in the freezer; it's just as easy).

And when you have time, it's worth finding a 'good' vet, who aligns with your philosophy and knowledge on cat care.  As you read and educate yourself, this knowledge base will form and you will have 'expectations' of what a good vet is.  For me, they need to support my knowledge on nutrition or at least be open to it - many actively rubbish it and focus on this rather than treating the presenting illness, or are aligned with pet food companies and push products on you as part of their treatment (without any evidence that this 'food' is medicinal).  They also need to be able to talk with me and answer all my questions (I'm a researcher who always has plenty of questions!).  And they can't be reactionary -they need to be scientific and feline specific in experience.  By this, I mean I don't want a vet who has a 'looks like this, then this' approach.  I want 'WHAT is it?' with testing/active questioning assessment.  The good news is, I've finally found someone - and I've been through4 vets in 2 years.  I finally found this vet, who is actually a feline specialist, by making an appointment to talk (no cat).  If you can find a vet you can trust, it's so much easier for when the crisis happens.

Best wishes and let us know what happens.

Hi,

I read your post and wondered if your kitten was better? I have had similar issues with my kitten who I got at 5 months old. She is now nearly 9 months old. The vet prescribed Royal Canin Gastrointestinal which seems to have helped a lot but anytime I try and introduce new food (both hard and soft) her stool has blood in it and is soft. Not diarrhoea but soft. Sometimes, even with the Royal Canin, blood is just at the end of the stool sometimes there is just blood on her bum. It's very strange. She is small for her age and I have noticed she barely drinks at all.

I have done a stool sample but it didn't show a parasite. Only the Coronavirus which is quite common amongst cats. There isn't any medication for this according to the vet

Do you still feed your kitten boiled chicken, is that the only food she can eat?

Any help would be much appreciated as I don't really know what to do next.

Hi Emma,

Has your vet explained why there is blood in your kitten's stool?  This is serious.  In a human, blood in the stool can mean ulcerative colitis, crohns, cancer.  ALL have to be treated, and can't be left to just be 'diet managed' - there is no diet management of these conditions.  In fact, if ulcerative colitis goes untreated (with medical drugs), it elevates the risk of bowel cancer - I speak as a human patient!

So, I'd be very concerned with blood in a cat's stool and want to get an answer on that.

As to my story...nope, kitten is not well yet.  I am in weekly contact with my vet, so I'm waiting to hear what is next, but I imagine it will be a PCR test.  This is sent off to a lab and is very sensitive (and expensive).  We had one done at the beginning of her illness, but sometimes there are false positives and vice versa, so, as we are still battling, we'll check and see again if pathology can come up with a cause.  I am fairly confident it IS some type of bug, as my big boy Kato also got sick with the same thing after a couple weeks (and he cleans Ava's bum!).  he is well again at the moment - we have just finished an anti-parasitic course of meds, and Ava was also good for 2 days...presently relapsed.

I don't believe in the Hills prescription stuff.  I was also told to use that, and in my distress, got some.  Thankfully Ava refused to eat it.  No vet has been able to tell me why it is 'sensitive' for the gut - indeed, reading the ingredients, it's pretty INSENSITIVE, and I'd never feed that sort of stuff.  My vet is  now saying she doesnt believe Ava's illness is diet related, and as we were struggling to get her to eat, I gave up on all the traditional 'easy on the tummy' foods like cooked chicken, and just we feed her what she wants (no kibble of course), so she is presently eating about 50/50 canned (no grains, fruit, veg, and MEAT as the primary ingredient), and raw (frankenprey model).  Despite being so ill, she has still managed to grow and put on weight.

Ava also has corona virus.  We will do everything we can to avoid loads on her immune system, and stress, as these are the known triggers that CAN mutate corona virus into the Fatal FIP.  So, as you are in the same boat, do whatever you can to get to the bottom of her illness - even if you need to seek more specialised opinion/diagnosis.  Always make sure the vet knows about corona virus - it may mediate their advice, for example, we are not desexing for some time, at least until 6 months - could be longer if Ava doesnt get well, as desexing is a stress, so we do everything we can to avoid excessive stress until their systems are coping better.

I truely wish you better health soon!  I'll be updating our progress on my 'kitten - clostridium- raw' thread.  By the way, you might want to start a thread to ask these questions....Carolina and LDG seem to know HEAPS of good cat health stuff.