5 month kitten stopped eating-diarrhea-vomiting-

Hi All,

My foster kitten had a VERY healthy appetite--always meowing & gobbling more than his sister. He has stopped eating and grown visibly gaunt.

I took him to an adoption event on Sunday (he's been to many before) and when we got home he took a tiny bite of dinner.  He stopped meowing, purring and sat very quietly. 

Monday AM there was vomit outside litter box and diarrhea in litterbox.  Monday PM he barely ate a bite but I am at work all day, so not sure if he ate or drank dry food while I was out, some diarrhea in litterbox that night. 

Tuesday--again, not sure what he ate if any during the day and no more diarrhea so I don't think he went at all but I was able to get him to eat several cat treats.  He was somewhat playful but rested alot in between.  Seemed lethargic overall.

Wednesday, couldn't tell if he ate during the day but I mixed his wet food with chicken baby food and he gobbled it down at 7:30pm.  Woke up 4:30am, as he vomited up everything (looks like a lot more coming up than going down!).  Seemd to have alot more energy, was purring, but rested in between.

Today (Thursday) he seems active, happy, alert and playful. But I couldn't get him to eat cat treats or baby food this AM and he literally took 1 sip of water.  I have a vet appt today but was wondering what y'all think this is?  Unfortunately, I am trying to keep eye on litterbox but wasn't sure who used it this morning before I woke up.

Thanks for reading it all!

Hi and welcome to TCS!

Has he been tested for coccidia and giardia? They are very common in cats and are not covered by general deworming. Because of false negative tests it is advised to test a few times. Here is some info on giardia (http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/19/giardia-infection-on-pets.aspx). 

I think your best bet is to take him to the vet to be tested for coccidia and giardia and see if there is something else going on. If disease is ruled out I would try  to address the diet as a lot of cats do not do well with grains or even certain proteins. Here is a good article and video on treating pets with food allergies (http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...012/05/07/protein-diets-for-pets-allergy.aspx). Your kitten may also have IBD and here are some good articles on this (http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...012/09/24/pets-gi-inflammation-treatment.aspx) and (http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/inflammatory-bowel-disease/).  You may also want to try some supplements. I have had good success with vitality science products for my cats and dogs with GI issues (http://www.vitalityscience.com). 

It is very very dangerous for a cat not to eat and they can develop hepatic lipidosis in as little as a few days without eating. Here is an article and video on this (http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/12/13/feline-hepatic-lipidosis.aspx). If he can not keep food down I would ask the vet about cerenia and if he refuses to eat cyproheptadine-I am not sure if these drugs can be used in kittens so ask your vet about that. If he goes off food you need to start syringe feeding him. Here is a helpful thread on how to do it (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating). You can use any canned food blended with water and get a large syringe from the drugstore (29CC or above) feed him 29 cc at each feeding which is one ounce and you want to replace the calories he normally eats. The A/D canned food from the vet is the easiest to syringe feed with and it is high and calories. 

Good luck and keep us posted!

hi there,

vet can't tell whats wrong with him.  they checked him allover and took urine to test for infection, which was clear.
they gave him anti-nausea injection and told me to give appetite stimulant pill in 2 hrs and if not eating by tmrw AM to start on amoxi drops.
hope this works!

Great update really glad they gave you the shot and the pills. I find the appetite stimulant takes about a day to really kick in with adult cats at least. Try to see if he will eat treat and baby food the shot should stop him from getting sick. 

Good luck!