Kitten's diarrhea going on a week now. Something I'm doing wrong? A new Vet?

I've been caring for a 2-3 week old orphaned kitten since Friday and he's had diarrhea the entire time. We are using a vet we aren't familiar with as the vet we used for our little doggie (long gone) has retired. I've never raised a kitten before, much less an orphaned one so I don't know if I'm doing something wrong and/or the vet is doing all the usual things for the problem or not.

Here's what's been done so far ...

The afternoon we found the kitten I took him right to the vet. They tried giving him canned food and when he refused to eat it, they sent me home with 2 cartons of Nurturall-C Milk Kitten Balanced Milk Replacer with instructions to feed him 1 Tblsp every 3 hours. That evening the kitten had dark brown diarrhea so I called Sat. morning and they said that was normal from his diet change and should clear up in a couple of days. However, by Monday morning it  hadn't cleared up so I took him back. They tested his stool for parasites, found none, but said he may be too young to be shedding them and gave me Albon to be given at 5 drops every morning for 10 days. I mentioned that I was having trouble getting him to eat the full Tblsp at a feeding so they offered him the canned food and this time he ate it and they gave me Hill's a/d critical care canned food to supplement the Nutruall-C. However, after tasting the canned food, he refused his formula altogether, would only eat the canned. Called the vet and they said okay for him to only eat the canned. By Wed. the kitten was crying every time I cleaned his bottom and it was a bit swollen, so I took him in again. They checked him for parasites again, negative again, but they dewormed him and gave me Metronidazole to be given at 0.2 mls 2 x day for 7 days while continuing the Albon. Plus gave me some ointment for his bottom.

Does that sound like the usual protocol or should I try another vet? Or is there something else I should be doing myself? Other than the diarrhea, he's eating well, drinking water and is very active. His bum is all healed up. He is using the litter box now so hasn't had any more accidents in his nest for several days. I change his bedding at least once a day and have been tossing the litter from his box daily, then disinfecting it before refilling in an attempt to keep him from reinfecting himself with anything in there. I also clean his bum, feet and tail with a warm unscented baby wipe each time he goes, so he doesn't end up with anything in his mouth when he grooms himself. I keep checking the skin on his back for dehydration and so far it continues to spring back nicely. He had gained 4 oz by Wed, putting him a 12oz so it was encouraging that at least he wasn't losing, but I'm so worried he won't survive if I don't find a solution soon. Please help!

He sounds a little older than these 3 weeks.

Can you get hold of goat milk?  Fresh is best, but bottled will do.  Goat milk is known to be mild -  it cant hurt, may help...

You seem to make your outmost to take care of him, and give him the best chances!

Good luck!

I will google my area for some goat's milk and if I can't find any, we have a farmer's market in town every Sat. morning. I'm sure someone there might have some or at least know where I can get it.

The vet estimated his age at the 2-3 weeks, but hubs and I were thinking the same as you that he's older than that. Of course neither of us know kittens, but from all we read he seemed older with him already eating on his own once we gave him the canned food and taking to the litter box so easily. Plus we read their canines come in at 3-4 weeks and he has them now, only ones still missing are is his top and bottom molars. Perhaps his having looked so scrawny and being very weak when we first brought him to the vet had him thinking he was younger.

Thank you so much for your help and the good luckies!

Connie T said:

. Perhaps his having looked so scrawny and being very weak when we first brought him to the vet had him thinking he was younger.

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Yes, it was probably so.   Kittens born outside tend often too look younger than they are - as they are often somewhat undernourished.  Even if they have a good mom, mom has seldom enough with food for them having to contend with what she can find.  And also, must go away for hours to find more food.

Walmart and the like have usually bottled goat milk in their diary products departament, tell me our american forumists.

Otherwise you will prob find some at this farmer market.  You may perhaps even find there a source for fresh goat milk.  This is even better.  I myself think it may contain some immunization agents from the goat - which is of course good.

If you seek after other food sources,  Gerber baby food, stage one and two are often mentioned by our american forumists.  Preferably the chicken and turkey variations, without any additives.

Good luck!

Found a farm about 45 minutes away that sells fresh goat's milk! They said they won't be available tomorrow, but can come by Sun if I don't find any at the farmer's market in the morning. Meanwhile kitten's poop seems to be firming up some this afternoon, but still not as it should be. Also talked to the vet and he said to bring him in the morning if it wasn't back to normal by then. Will also grab some of the baby food as that hill's food says right on the can only for intermittent use.

I did not know that about outdoor kitties, but it certainly makes sense. When we found him we assumed his mom was in the process of moving her kittens, so we hid out and waited for her to come back. However he was in such distress, we decided after awhile that even if she did show he would still need medical attention. Plus we have been caring for an outdoor adult fixed male abandoned by some neighbors when they moved away so we worried too he might harm it if he found it before mom came back. Still feeling a bit guilty about interfering, but hopefully we did the right thing.
 

Thank you again for all your help, it is so very much appreciated!

Connie T said:

. When we found him we assumed his mom was in the process of moving her kittens, so we hid out and waited for her to come back. However he was in such distress, we decided after awhile that even if she did show he would still need medical attention.

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You did completely right here,  in every way.  Also, the biggest gift to such a kitten is to socialize it, foster and adopt it  (here also the medical attention as an extra twitch).  Ideally it should be done a couple of weeks later, but you happened to do it now.  So what?

Nay, the biggest disadvantage  with such a helping, is many of these founders run to the nearest experienced rescuer, and leave these found kittens in the rescuers hands.  As if she hasnt anything else to do...  With kittens the rescuer  knows DO have a mom desperately searching after them. IF they had just waited a couple of hours...

A problem made not by "the cruel nature" but made solely by these well wishing founders.

If the founder is willing to foster (and possibly adopt) herself,  putting in all the effort, time, love and cost herself, its quite another matter!.

What is a nuisance in a case, in yours case it is clearly the biggest gift of love one being can give to another.

You did completely right here,  in every way.  Also, the biggest gift to such a kitten is to socialize it, foster and adopt it  (here also the medical attention as an extra twitch).  Ideally it should be done a couple of weeks later, but you happened to do it now.  So what?

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Thank you, your having put it in such a manner goes a long way in easing my guilt, especially coming from someone experienced in such things. Definitely a lovely message to brighten the start of my day and very much needed! So often my thoughts have gone to that, the mom searching for her little one, him missing her and his siblings, him not getting the opportunity to learn from her expertise how to be a cat. From here out I will keep reminding myself of your kind words, not waste time feeling guilty and just focus on doing my absolute best to give him a content life.

As I sit here attempting to wake myself up with a third cup of coffee while staring at my house slippers on the wrong feet, but too tired to switch them, my hat off to rescuers everywhere! This has been one of the longest weeks of my life and it's given me a renewed respect and admiration for those who do this on a regular basis and so often with more than one kitten. I must admit at one point I considered finding a rescuer for this little one out of fear of harming him with my lack of knowledge, but thanks to people such as yourself and others sharing their expertise I've managed to muddle my way through so far. Now even feeling a bit better having read your take on what rescuers go through and knowing I was able to give one a break from caring for at least one more.

Update on little Reedus ...this morning his stool has thickened up some and is a tiny bit lighter in color, but will still take him to the vet for a quick exam and weigh in before the weekend. I definitely need to get one of those digital kitchen scales. He also managed to crawl to the top of the carrier and let me know I wasn't moving fast enough with his 3 am feeding so hopefully that means he is continuing to get stronger despite the stool issues. Another learning experience for me though to close that top door when I move away from the carrier as while it does lean back while open, I still cringed at the thought that it could have possibly slammed down on him. I'm still trying to figure out how he got a footing up as the inside bottom walls of the carrier are so slick and then curved inward at the top, but obviously still no match for a hungry kitten.

Hubs took this pic of him last night. His eyes are much darker in person, but I suppose the flash caused them to appear brighter. I scolded him for using the flash, concerned it would harm his eyes, but at the same time was glad he thought to take it. Despite his claim to never wanting an inside cat as he "didn't want anything sneakier than him around the house", he too has fallen head over heals in love!


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I adopted a kitten from the County 2 weeks ago now, her poop has never fully formed. When I got her they were feeding dry of course & I gave her only wet. The vet put her on albon & since there was no change she put her on flagyl & a dewomer (panacur), even though she was tested & didn't have giardia or worms. I gave the last dose of the dewormer on Thurs so I will give it a day or two to see if the runny poopy gets better.

If she still has runny poopy then I will experiment with different proteins as I've heard fish & chicken are the #1 food allergies in cats & I have been feeding chicken. Another thing might be ibs. It's super common in cats! Another option is to transition to raw meat. That might clear up her gut issues.

I would say stick with what the vet recommends & see what happens. That's all any of us can do. 

Hi msserena, thank you and congrats on your new kitten! While I hate that your little one is struggling with the runny poopies too, I do appreciate you sharing so I know my vet is pretty much doing the usual for mine as well. Another negative parasite test today. He said to continue the Hill's a/d as it is filled with added nutrients like the milk replacer and lots of calories to help him catch up. However, 1st 3 ingredients are pork liver, poultry liver & chicken, so perhaps my little one may be having issues with the chicken as well. Yes, I would imagine raw meat would certainly be the very best for them. So much to learn! The vet also said since he is doing well with drinking water, I should add a pinch of metamucil to the canned food a couple of times a day for the next few days to see if that helps firm things up. Have to say I was kind of surprised at that one, but guess like you said I will stick with what he recommends with that as well. Up another 2 oz since Wed. so that was good news. Oh and now says probably about 4 weeks old, just stunted from getting off to a rough start and being malnourished.

I wish you well with your little one and hope we will both be able to report all is well with them very soon!

pumpkin is ok for animals so you could always try some of that mixed in with the food. Be sure to get canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie filling.

Keep us posted!

pumpkin is ok for animals so you could always try some of that mixed in with the food. Be sure to get canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie filling.

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Thank you for that tip! Will definitely get some as less worry than with the metamucil. Have been giving him additional water by syringe after each feeding for fear he won't drink enough on his own while taking the met. Have seen a definite improvement though, his poop is still a little too soft, but at least formed now and medium brown instead of so dark.

StefanZ: I got a call from the lady at the farm Sun. morning saying to wait until Tues. to come by. Am going to look more just in case I need to find another source. Thank you again!

I like your kitty! My found litter of four three week olds drained me. It was like taking care of quadruples. Sadly one died. After this I changed their formula to baby formula. They thrived! Who knew?

Thank you SallyAnn! I'm sorry one of your little ones didn't make it, but so glad the others are thriving and wonderful to learn baby formula is an option for kittens too. They are a handful aren't they? I was worn out looking after one, I can't imagine 4!!! Reedus is acting like a big boy now, scarfing down canned kitten food, using the litter box on his own and keeping himself entertained. I almost don't know what to do with myself! Thankfully his potty issues resolved completely once I started him on the kitten food. I did finally get hold of some goat's milk, but the little snoot wouldn't touch it. I'm thinking maybe it reminded him of his formula which he so didn't like. Didn't go to waste though as it tasted wonderful in my coffee, very creamy!

Wishing you and your kitties the very best, enjoy!