11 week old kitten loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea

We have an 11 week old kitten who is becoming progressively less energetic and over the past week we have noticed a loss in appetite and energy level, followed by some vomiting and diarrhea.

From Monday through Friday we noticed our kitten's appetite gradually decreasing and his energy levels slowly lowering, as he would spend less time playing and more and more sleeping or just acting lethargic.

Saturday morning he vomited up a small amount of food, slept it off and ate some more later in the day. Saturday evening he vomited all of the food he had eaten earlier.

Sunday morning and evening he again vomited, the morning all of his meal came up and in the evening there was no food in his stomach so it was just water. He vomited again early Monday morning, but ate a few hours later and has kept this down so far (it is now4:30pm and he ate at 9am).

Saturday and Sunday his stool became increasingly watery, from relatively solid Saturday morning to quite runny and light in colour Monday morning.

Monday his energy levels were at their lowest so we took him to the vet where they gave him x-rays that ruled out an obstruction, and gave him a shot of Cerenia, an anti-nausea medication and an 8-day prescription for a low dose antibiotic. The vet felt his abdomen and he seemed more sensitive than he should be, possibly being a sign of inflammation of the intestine.

We have heard that antibiotics can cause an upset stomach, diarrhea and intestine inflammation on their own. We just got home and our kitten ate some wet food before going to sleep. Should we delay administering the antibiotics to see how he does for a day after the anti-nausea medication? Or should we start giving him the antibiotics right away?

Follow your vet's protocol to a "T". Kittens can go downhill very, very quickly and I would not waver from your vet's instructions or antibiotics. What is the antibiotic? You can ask your vet about adding in a probiotic along with the meds or offer some human baby food in the jars - plain meat varieties - which will help firm up stools. But check with vet first before adding in anything anyone suggests online. This could be a viral infection that has turned secondary bacterial and antibiotics are necessary if your vet prescribed them. Kitten shots/ dewormings, etc. take a toll on them and if you rescued from a shelter then the kitten could have contracted something there that is now showing up. Stress is also a huge factor in sick kittens. Keep a very close watch on your little one and in close contact with your vet whom I hope you trust completely! If not, you can always get a second opinion. Many vibes for your little one to recover quickly

did the vet check for coccidia? that will cause all of those symptoms and the light colored diarrhea. we just had a litter of foster babies who had it and it was really hard to get rid of..

Did the vet run a panel for parasites and giardia?  That causes diarrhea. 

No the vet didn't check for coccidia, or any other parasites. They told us that if he doesn't improve within the next 2 days we will need to bring him in to do complete blood-work, stool sample, etc.

We got home at 3pm, he ate with a good appetite (gave him just a small portion so that he could keep it down). He then slept from 3pm to 6pm, at which point we gave him a bit more food with the antibiotic, all of which he ate. He was awake after that until about 9pm when he ate a bit more and went to sleep.  So far no vomiting and a bit more energy to wander around while he was awake, so we're taking that as a good sign. Stool is still soft and light in colour (he went just around 6pm). 

So he seems to be doing a bit better, hopefully not just because of the anti-nausea shot. Still a a lot more lethargic than usual, but he at least he tried playing for 3 hours, which was nice.

Thanks for all the input everyone, we will keep you updated.

wow, in an 11 week old he should have checked the stool first thing for parasites and worms. I bet your kitten has coccidia. he has every symptom mine had. the diarrhea had a really foul smell too! sometimes I think vets don't do everything in 1 trip so you have to come back. the vet we had did that and we just switched to a vet who tested the stool first thing and found the parasites. the first vet tried to tell us it was the food even though I told him we had not changed foods and they had been doing fine. if you have to go back insist on a stool check for parasites..

So for an update, kitten had a bigger appetite last night. He kept down the antibiotic but we fed him a small amount before going to bed and he vomited that during the night. He woke us up around 6am asking for more food, so we gave him a small amount but he didn't keep that down either. He then played for a little bit (not at all his regular high energy play though) and now he's back asleep (it's 10am).

Yesterday was a holiday here so we had to go to an afterhours clinic, but we've contacted our family vet and will be bringing in a stool sample this afternoon. Based on his symptoms we think you might be right about the coccidia or giardia, but hopefully they'll be able to tell us more this afternoon.

Thanks again for your help!

Good on the stool check - all kittens need to be dewormed and the deworming's should be no more than 2 1/2 weeks apart. Make sure you contact you vet everyday with these updates as well. Your kitten is so young and the vomiting needs to be noted by your vet. Keep us posted! for your little kitten. :rub:

Hi everyone, quick heads up, the more we read about symptoms the more we think it is giardia. Took stool sample this afternoon to the vet (should hear back tomorrow). Vet gave some anti nausea pills, and prescription food. He does not  like it as much compared usual canned food he eats, so we have been mixing the two a bit.  Vet does not want to give him fenbendazole until it is confirmed he has giardia which is fair (he is currently on half a pill of metronidazole every 24 hours from emerge vet).

Attached is an older pic of Yoshi, poor guy is so bony now   Hopefully will find out tomorrow what he has. It is so sad to see him lethargic when usually he is a tornado.

Also, forgot to mention 3 weeks he was dewarmed with his first set of vaccinations, and his stool sample was also checked at same time and came back clean, making his current condition exta confusing for us..

Did you get a diagnosis yet?

Aw what a cutie and I am sure soon you will have your little tornado back. :cross: :nod: Giardia is not easily detected and sometimes diagnosis can take multiple microscopic fecal examinations done by a vet on stool samples taken sequentially over several days. A recent diagnostic test - ELISA test - is now commercially available and makes the organisms easier to detect. We usually treat kittens for Giardia if all symptoms are present and they remarkably recover quickly then. More vibes for your little cutie pie to feel better soon

A quick update if anyone is interested.

On Wednesday vet called, said the stool sample came back negative for parastites, Yoshi threw up on Wednesday morning as well, so we were going to redo the test, but Wednesday was the last time he threw up. Thursday he started being more active, and his appetatte returned. Friday his stool was solid and dark in color as it used to be before he got sick, which is a great sign. As of today, he is still very active, and with good appetite, but his stool is starting to be soft again, and lighter in color (does not smell as bad, as it did in peak of his sickness). We are thinking it is a sideeffect of antibiotics (he has 2 more days of them). Tomorrow, will get some plain unsweetened yogurt with probiotics for him. Fingers crossed!

Thank you so much everyone!

Sounds like Yoshi could be on the mend!!! Oh I hope so. :cross: Glad to hear he is more active and with a good appetite. Antibiotics can and do cause stools to be a bit mushy so the probiotic is always beneficial during the duration of the medication! Keep us posted!

A quick update for anyone searching out this post in the future. Yoshi recovered fully, without any sideeffects!

Thank you all for your help!!!

What a happy ending to this thread! I'm so glad he recovered! ((Hugs))