Last two of my litter of five, please help

Our litter of five was found at the shelter at one week old. They had coccidea and ringworm.The first one passed the day after we got him. All were put on albon. The 2nd and third passed at approximately 6-7 weeks. They were on albon for a month. After Ranger passed away, the remaining two stopped having diarrhea, I stopped the albon. Ringworm cleared up, both were eating canned food and drinking kitten milk. Thriving. I left them with a babysitter for two nights while we went out of town.Picked them up Saturday. She had taught them how to drink from the dish. All Saturday and Sunday, it would take them a bit but they did it. Monday morning both ate well, Levi wouldn't drink from the dish. I let him go several hours thinking he would eventually drink like he had been. Then on the next feeding neither eat well. Vomiting and diarrhea start. I took them to the vet Tuesday. A stool sample is taken, no more coincides, no hook worms, no pinworms etc. The vet recommended I change them to science diet. Thinks it's their digestion..I think that's b.s. They were eating the canned food wonderfully with firm stools.
Sorry for the book, opinions please!!

I put them on only kmr for 24 hrs, then gave them a small amount of chicken baby food. Still diarrhea, no vomit yet, but has only been a few hours.

What was the cause of death for the other kittens? Have these babies been tested for Panleukopenia?

Any dietary changes between normal stool changing to diarrhea?

The others died of coccidea. They were tested for Hiv/leukemia, tested negative. Is the fpv included in that test? No food change at onset of vomiting and diarrhea, other than learning how to drink from the dish. Now I have gone back to syringe feeding them.

Panleuk is not the same thing as feline leukemia. And, no, it is not included in the combo test. PanLeuk is very similar to Parvo in puppies and os a very contagious virus that is often fatal in young kittens. Vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy are signs of PanLeuk. Symptoms are usually fairly sudden as well and kittens crash quickly.

I'm a bit baffled that all of the others succumbed to coccidia, unless the diarrhea was so bad that kittens died of severe dehydration.

These kittens need to go back to the vet. Talk to the vet about testing for PanLeuk. Also, has a fecal sample been sent to an outside lab to test for other parasites, or have you only had a fecal done at the vet?

A GI PCR panel will test for an array of parasites/protozoan that cannot be detected by your regular vet (Tritrichomonas, Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, Clostridium Perfringens, and Giardia...the latter can *occasionally* be detected in house.)

I would suggest you use pedialyte.  Bought or home-made.   Its no remedy as such for any disease, but a wonderful trick buying time.  And somewhat a stopper to some types of diarrhea.

Gives them both fluids and salts / electrolytes they do lose aplenty when having severe diarrhea / vomits.

Its essentially glucose sugar 15-18g / liter + kitchen salt 3g / liter...  You can elaborate it up a little, but essentially that is it.   Works for humans and works for cats.

An alternative may be a good quality minerale water.  Let the gas out, and add some glucose...

A third recipe is water from well cooked rice, and add salts.

I propose pulverised glucose sugar (buy it in your shop at bakery shelves, together with the other sugars.  Brand name may be Dextrose or Dextropur, or similiar.

Otherwise you can surely use some sport variation.  They are flavored but should work too.

You can use common kitchen salt, but if you can get the so called minerale kitchen salt, its even better - contains   K, Mg, Ca and the usual Na och Cl of course.

You can give the pedialyte a little between the feeding. Or use it as solution with the kmr.   Or as their drinking water if they had began to drink on their own, and eat cat food.

btw, Distemper is the everyday name for Panleukemia mentioned by our knowleable member CatPack.  Highly contagious and often deadly without massive vet help.  Even with good vet help is still dangerous.  A killer of many.

Good luck!   @gapeach

I've had these kittens almost two months, wouldn't they have shown signs of something earlier and wouldn't our cat have it? The rescue's vet thinks I'm obsessive and that it's just because their food needs to be changed. I think he's an idiot and I KNOW these kittens. There is something wrong with them! Today they are the chicken baby food without vomiting. But still have diarrhea. I will see about getting some pedialyte soon.I just mixed the chicken baby food with some formula and a tiny bit of canned food. They wouldn't eat it but I spoon fed them some.

If it were to be PanLeuk and your cat is fully vaccinated, then, no, your cat likely will not contract it. The FVRCP vaccine protects agains PanLeuk...it's the "P" part of the vaccine.

Food could certainly play a role. I've had several kittens/cats that are completely intolerant of any dry food/treats. I also have several with protein intolerances and some that cannot tolerate carrageenan, agar-agar, guar gum, etc...

Re food intolerances:  try my favorite tip:  goat milk.  preferably fresh, but bottled should be OK.   Practically everyone seems to manage goat milk, even those who dont manage milk nor lactose.

Using  probiotics may also be an idea here too... cant hurt, may help.

Contacted the vet again, as they are somewhat lethargic and not eating etc. He wants another stool sample, says coccidea can sometimes not show up for 3 days. Put them back on albon for diarrhea. Deform them even though their stool sample was negative for worms and put them on special food.

If they still have Coccidia you need to ask your vet to have Ponazril compounded for you. It is the only medication that will kill the coccidia. Albon simply assists the body in fighting off the infection, it doesn't cure it.

If doing a fecal sample, ask for the sample to be sent to the outside lab and tested for the parasites I listed earlier.

They were supposed to call me and let me know if they have coccidia still, but haven't. These kittens are fostered through a rescue, so I don't get to make the decisions on what gets done. But I can certainly suggest. Gypsy is the only one who has vomited today and only once. I fed them the vet approved canned food mixed heavily with the baby food chicken they have been eating. They gobbled it up, so seems like their appetite is improving. I want to thank you very much for all of your advice!

Both just drank a normal amount of formula and still were hungry!! Gave them some canned food with chicken and they gobbled it up. Seem to be feeling much better. Haven't even given them the albon yet. May hold off and see what their stools look like in the morning.

Honestly, I have seen/dealt with literally hundreds of kittens with coccidia, and have never had any die from it.

The only way for that to happen is due to extreme diarrhea where they get very dehydrated, but eating and drinking doesn't allow that to happen.

Your first priority isn't the diarrhea at this point, it is their eating/drinking and becoming stable again.

If you have had them for 2 months, then that greatly reduces the chance of panleuk, but not completely. They should be vaccinated 3x, at 9 weeks, 12 weeks and 15.

The antibodies from mom wear off about then, and they are highly susceptible to any/all viruses.

Even brought in on your shoes can get them sick. Panleuk is so hearty and long living, a cat can pee on the grass last year and if you walk on it then it is now on your shoes. VERY bad, deadly, and really out this year again, at least in CA it is.

Lasts about 18 months on it's own, and extremely hard to kill.

Keep them eating well, once they are stable again for several days at least, then address the diarrhea.

Albon takes months sometimes, as it only inhibits the cysts from growing/reproducing, but ponazuril actually kills it, and VERY fast.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/284501/...a-how-long-before-albon-works/30#post_3634706

No more vomiting or diarrhea. They are 9 weeks old Monday,so vaccinations soon. The last two that died had severe diarrhea, they were still eating and drinking. The vet said fading kitten syndrome. Levi and Gypsy are feeling MUCH better! Eating, drinking formula and playing YAY! Thanks everyone for advice and encouragement. Now we need to get back to working on drinking from a dish lol.

They probably had very little antibodies from mom in the first place, they were dumped at the shelter with no mom, right as their eyes were opening. Our 2nd one that passed always urinated wherever he stood. Wondered if he may have had other issues.