sick kitty?

Help! My baby may be sick.

My husband and I have two kittens, Snuggles 4 1/2 months old, and Twinkles 3 1/2 months. Four days ago, Snuggles vomited and had diarrhea. We were concerned, however it only occurred that once. We decided to wait and see if it occurred again. Today, he vomited again. We are definitely calling the vet tomorrow and will get stool samples from both our babies tonight to have checked.

Could this have anything to do with changing the litter? We have been using Everclean and bought a variation of it and changed the litter to Everclean activbloc. They have been eating the Science Diet Kitten formula since we adopted them. We have noticed in the last few days that both babies have been drinking a lot more water than previously.

If you have any ideas as to what may be causing this please let me know. Thank you, Liza.

Hi Liza,

I can most definately "hear" the concern in your message, so thought I would reply - even though I am afraid I don't have much to offer in the way of advice for you.

Your message does lead me to ask you a question though...is this type of litter clay or clumping? Sorry, I am just not familiar with it.

Sometimes, when using clumping litter, cats can get some stuck to their feet and lick it off. Others will just eat it outright. This is not particularly healthy in that it can cause a blockage. If you've used clumping litter before, then you know how it sticks together. Well, it'll do that inside a cat's digestive system too. It is for that reason alone that I do not use clumping litter in my home nor do I recommend it to anyone.

Are the babies pooping/peeing normally? I know you mentioned diarrhea, but what about today? Are they eating normally and playing normally as well?

Best of luck at the vet's and please - keep us posted?

Yours from the heart,

Gaye

Thanks Gaye for replying!

The litter does clump. When we first adopted Snuggles we used a pellet litter but found that he enjoyed eating it so we changed to the clumping kind. They have been using the clumping litter for almost 2 months. I'm not sure if this kind is irritating him though. I'll ask my vet tomorrow.

As for his behavior, both have been playing together as usual and continue to have a good appetite. They have been peeing normally and as for the pooping... at times it has been soft but for the most part is normal. So I'm not sure what's causing the problem. Thank you so much for your concern. I'll let you know what my vet says.

Liza

Liza,

Our baby Sassy, now 6 months old, had diarrhea without the vomiting a few months ago. Her behavior was normal, just her stool was soft (and fragrant!). Turns out she had roundworms. A trip to the vet and some Strongid did the trick. Perhaps that's what is wrong?

Just guessing here,
Bill

Jasmine up to the age of about 1 had concurrent (but not THAT often) tummy upsets which produced very sloppy smelly do-do and periodic vomiting.

I know its a pain and isn't cheap but they do need to see a vet. He gave me some 'germ powder' to mix in her food which basically aided the (sometimes hopeless) kitten digestive system.

Have you tried the science diet specially for delicate stomachs and sloppy poo? Over here you can only have it prescribed by a vet...but I think that alone helped Jassies poorly tummy.

Good luck....let us know how you get on:tounge2:

Hey everyone!

I called the vet today and explained Snuggles symptoms. She said that occasional vomitting is normal, however she requested a stool sample to check for worms, etc. Everything came back negative! We were happy to hear the good news. I guess I'm just a nervous nelly when it comes to my babies. Better safe then sorry.

Thank you all for your help. We all appreciate it.

better safe than sorry