Diarrhea in Kitten

Hello everyone,

I am fostering two kittens (9 1/2 weeks old) for a rescue organization. I've had them now for 5 weeks. They both came to me with diarrhea, one kitten has gotten over his diarrhea since I've had him, but the runt (who's almost caught up to his brother in size) still has very smelly liquid poops and I've just noticed liquid coming out from his anus. I've taken them to the vet numerous times (last time on Monday), they've had their stools tested for parasites three times (all turning up nothing), they've been on a general de-wormer, probiotics, Nutrical. I've tried three different kinds of food: Purina Kitten Chow, Science Diet and we've just switched to Simply Nourish three days ago(which is a gluten-free food [the current theory is that he has a gluten allergy]). He's not having accidents, he makes it to the litter box. His poop is sometimes yellow-ish. I'm not sure this matters, but he has a bigger stomach than his brother (We haven't done any x-rays, but at this point, I don't want to rule out an intestinal blockage [not that he's throwing up]).

They're supposed to go to the pet store (where the organization I foster for shows adoptable cats) on Monday, but they can't one's still having poo problems.

The kittens came from us from a feral cat colony, they only got their mother's milk for about 2 weeks, and have been bottle-fed from 2 weeks up.

In every other way, he's a normal kitten; playful, cuddly... Not sure what's causing the diarrhea. Any ideas?

I've found that when my kitten has diarrhea, feeding him canned food tends to firm it up to normal, but if he eats dry food it comes back. I've been alternating between the two. My vet has also told me to try canned pumpkin. I hope this helps.

Thank you for the reply! I'll try switching to all canned (they're on a mix of both right now) to see if that makes a difference.

It could be food intolerance or a different type of diarrhea that's not tested using the regular fecal float. 
 

Is he gaining weight?

When they checked for parasites - they sent out the stool to check for T. Foetus, clostridium, coccidia, etc? Most of these function by shedding cysts, so with diarrhea, it can take quite a few samples to find them. I don't know the thread off-hand, but a TCS member had to send out a stool sample 4 times to find the culprit.

To rule out diet issues, I usually provide kitties with diarrhea chicken babyfood for a few days. I use Beechnut, because Gerber's now has cornstarch in it. It's not a nutritionally complete diet, but for 3-5 days, with a cat older than 7-8 weeks, my vet feels it's fine. I provide 5 billion CFU acidophilus probiotic daily (best if split into AM and PM if kitty isn't on antibiotics 2x a day), and use 1/4 teaspoon of slippery elm bark powder to soothe the GI system.

The way to use the slippery elm bark powder (SEB) is to mix it with a teaspoon of water, let it gel, and then mix it into food. This can be given 2x a day. It is a fiber, but with anti-inflammatory and healing properties: http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

If he's not blocked, it could be his GI system is inflamed. If that's the case, the combination of acidophilus and slippery elm bark powder (and the bland diet) should help calm things down.

If you're feeding dry food, I'd stop that altogether and when you reintroduce food (if you try this method), give him grain-free canned food that is low carb. Fancy Feast classics (only) and Friskie's pate (pate only) style foods fit the bill. They are animal-based proteins. Some of the Friskie's pates have rice flour, but Fancy Feast classics have no grains. They are both high protein, not crazy with fat, and have no peas, veggies or potatoes, etc. Cats, after all, are obligate carnivores. Any veggies could be a culprit for diarrhea in a cat or kitten. (For more info http://www.catinfo.org is an excellent website, written by a vet, if you're not already familiar with it).

Edited to add: it took me a long time to write the post given kitty interruptions here. :lol3: I would stop the dry food. :nod:

Frequently switching dry will also cause diarrhea. It is suggested to do dry food changes over a 2 week period, though I have done it over the course of a week without issue. Wet though is much better for them in the long run. Canned diets can be switched up for variety with out it causing problems like dry. If you use pumpkin, be sure it's pure puree and not pie filling. Good luck.