Help! Kitten has Diarrhea and Won't Stop

I purchased a Ragdoll kitten from a breeder in early July of this year. I got her at 8 weeks (out of state) and she is now a little over 3 months old.

She has been having diarrhea ever since I got her. Breeder had her on Purina One Healthy Kitten dry food and Purina One canned foods. I switched her gradually to Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten dry food and a variety of differnet canned food brands. She had been on this food for over 3 weeks so its not the food.
She still has diarrhea and it won't stop! She's only had maybe 5 solid poops since I've had her. She pees normal amounts, acts totally healthy, clear eyes, soft fur, playful, grooms herself, has a good appetite, etc but she does sneeze about twice a day.
I have other cats who were totally fine until she came here. Now they all have diarrhea on and off, but they're not sneezing.

My adults are all up to date on vaccines (3 of them need their rabies done though). She has had 2 sets of kitten shots and been dewormed. What should I do to stop the diarrhea? What do you think is wrong with her?


Thanks!

Maybe she cannot tolerate some ingredient in the food. The Rogue, for example, had explosive diarrhea from cooked poultry, which is in most canned brands unless you specifically look for one without. There are limited ingredients cat foods like Natural Balance.

Vet was no help at all. I found out by trying to make my own cat food (started by cooking some chicken, which he devoured, and which ran straight through him). He was totally fine eating raw chicken. So I started feeding him a raw diet, and he never had diarrhea again.

Have you taken you cat to the Vet? 

It could even be worms..or coccidia.  Probably unlikely, but you can never be sure unless you test for it. 

It could be an ingredient with the food. I would suggest you try a limited ingredient food. Some like Nature's Variety.. high protein, low carb..

Good luck, keep us updated.

Kittens are really susceptible to common intestinal microscopic parasites, most often giardia and coccidia, but they're hard to diagnose because they don't always show up in fecal tests even when they're there. A PCR test can give an exact answer, but since that needs to be sent out to a lab it's not as commonly done. The most common symptom is diarrhea. Usually brown = giardia and yellowy with a terrible smell = coccidia. They can be a pain to get rid of unfortunately, but they're not usually serious.

Cats get reinfected when they ingest cysts that are shed in their feces, so disinfection of litter boxes and surfaces with a 10% ammonium solution helps control the infection. Sometimes kittens need to be isolated in a bathroom where everything can be thoroughly cleaned regularly in stubborn cases.

Medication is also available. Metronidazole/Secnidazole are good choices for giardia, and Ponazuril is for coccidia. Alternatively, you can try S. Boulardii probiotics, because these have been shown to discourage growth of parasites and encourage a healthy microbiome. Ask your vet about these options if it is likely a parasite. Even if it's not, probiotics can often help with intestinal issues.

Diet does affect these parasites, and when a cat is eating more protein and fewer carbs, the diarrhea is often not as bad, because these microbes thrive on carbohydrates, so you can try experimenting with that a little while you're waiting for the medication to work.

Since your other cats have started getting diarrhea, I don't think it's likely a food intolerance. Adult cats can often get giardia or coccidia and have little to no symptoms, because their immune system is much better than a kitten, so these are more commonly seen in kittens, but adults do get them occasionally. Often a mother cat will have them without showing symptoms and then pass it on to her children, which is how young kittens get them sometimes.

The sneezing sounds like something separate. Maybe she has a little respiratory virus, but it doesn't sound serious either. Still, something worth asking the vet about as well.

Thank you everyone for all of the answers! No, she has not been to the vet yet. How long does coccidia last? Can humans get it? Should I return her before she gets my other cats sicker? I paid $600 on her (show cat).

Her poop is the worst smell. It can clear a room like **snaps fingers** that. Its a dirty yellow/light brown color and really disgusting. Really not wanting to deal with something like coccidia....

It sounds like it is coccidia. Ask for ponazuril once they do a fecal test. All of your cats will need treatment and all litter boxes and sleeping areas need to be disinfected.

Why would you want to return her? All of your cats are sick already...

I'm also having a bit of trouble understanding the timeline here. You got her when she was 8 weeks and she had already had two rounds of shots? That's very young for a breeder to let a kitten go, and way too young for two rounds of shots.

talkingpeanut said:

It sounds like it is coccidia. Ask for ponazuril once they do a fecal test. All of your cats will need treatment and all litter boxes and sleeping areas need to be disinfected.

Why would you want to return her? All of your cats are sick already...

I'm also having a bit of trouble understanding the timeline here. You got her when she was 8 weeks and she had already had two rounds of shots? That's very young for a breeder to let a kitten go, and way too young for two rounds of shots.

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I think I can agree with it being coccidia. Does anyone know if all of my cats have to go in? ( I have 5. Cordoba - the kitten - is one of them) or can my vet just prescribe me the drug?

Yes, she was 8 weeks old on the day I got her (turned 9 weeks old the next day). Where I live (I live in Florida) the law is pets must be 8 weeks old and over before anyone can sell or give them away. She was born in Alabama, I believe 8 weeks is the same there. I don't personally think 8 weeks is too young. She was litter box trained and weaned with first vaccine and deworm when I got her. And, yes 2 shots. One at 8 weeks by her breeder and the second one at 12 weeks by me. I give all shots myself except for rabies which is state regulated. She will recieve her third and finel kitten shot at 16 weeks (recommened protocol by my vet).


She'll see a vet this upcoming week. Thanks for all of the responses guys! [emoji]128526[/emoji]

oldgloryrags88 said:

I think I can agree with it being coccidia. Does anyone know if all of my cats have to go in? ( I have 5. Cordoba - the kitten - is one of them) or can my vet just prescribe me the drug?

Yes, she was 8 weeks old on the day I got her (turned 9 weeks old the next day). Where I live (I live in Florida) the law is pets must be 8 weeks old and over before anyone can sell or give them away. She was born in Alabama, I believe 8 weeks is the same there. I don't personally think 8 weeks is too young. She was litter box trained and weaned with first vaccine and deworm when I got her. And, yes 2 shots. One at 8 weeks by her breeder and the second one at 12 weeks by me. I give all shots myself except for rabies which is state regulated. She will recieve her third and finel kitten shot at 16 weeks (recommened protocol by my vet).


She'll see a vet this upcoming week. Thanks for all of the responses guys! [emoji]128526[/emoji]

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Picture of Cordoba.

Definitely sounds like coccidia, unfortunately! It's not something that goes away on its own, although the symptoms might if their immune system gets better at handling it, but that does not have a timeline. And diarrhea obviously isn't great for kittens because they're not getting all the nutrients and fluids they could. Ponazuril is the most effective and easiest drug to administer for coccidia, but some vets haven't heard of it yet (it's originally used for horses) so you should definitely ask about it. I think you give it for 3 days, wait 10 days, and then give another round. It does seem like a lot, but the alternative is Albon which you give for 21 days, and then a second round, and a lot of strains are resistant.

Removing the kitten wouldn't do anything to help your other cats at this point. All of them need treatment, even if they don't have symptoms, because they could still have it and reinfect the other cats with it again. If your vet has seen all of your other cats for regular checkups and they know all of their weights and medical histories, they probably can give you the medication without seeing them, but it might depend on the vet. In the future, should you get another kitten, you can do your own quarantine period with them in a separate room, like a bathroom, for a couple weeks to make sure a parasite isn't lurking, so if there is a problem, your cleaning and medicating efforts don't have to be quite so extensive.

Also maybe let the breeder know that your kitten likely came to you with coccidia so at least she can treat her cats for it so it doesn't keep happening, and maybe she'll refund you some of the medical costs (I'm not that familiar with breeder/client etiquette?). It wouldn't hurt to ask.

She certainly is a gorgeous girl! 

Thank you to everyone who has replied and given suggestions! She is seeing my vet this week. I called today but they're closed until tomorrow. I'll also ask about treatment on the adults too.

I'm new here but its already proving to be a nice and friendly cat care community. :-)