Kitten with sensitive tummy

captainspeedy

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I am new to this site and am hoping to draw on all of your cat expertise. :tounge2:

I have a 5 1/2 mo. Burmese kitten, Maxwell. We took him from the breeder at 4 mo. 2 days after he came home, he began vomiting. A vet visit and X-Ray diagnosed him with gas. He was given Reglan drops and after a few days was back to his usual kitty self.

Last week, he began vomiting a few times, was only eating 30% of his normal food intake and his activity level dropped to about 40%. Another vet visit estimated he had an infection. He is now on the Reglan drops again plus Clavamox antibiotic. He seems to be almost back to normal now.

My vet says Maxwell may just have a sensitive tummy and this could be a recurring issue. She says this is common with the Burmese. I've had the breed before and never come accross this. Plus, if he continues to have monthly vet visits, I'll go broke! Although I have signed up for pet insurance. I'm hoping he's just off to a rough start and will be a healthy cat. I am planning to take him to a cat specialist.

Here's my question: Does anyone know of a cat/kitten diet that can be used regularly for sensitive stomachs? He currently eats Nutro wet and Science Diet growth dry. Also, how much food should a 5 mo. kitten get? He is a bit skinny and has not gained wait very quickly. He is only 3.7 lbs now. In the past 6 weeks he has only gained .4 lbs.

Sorry for the length of my post! I am worried sick about him and would appreciate any suggestions.

Dana
 

sandie

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It is pretty common for cats to have an intolerance to food. With kittens, I would give a can of wet food a day and leave dry out for them to nibble when they want to. I know science diet makes a sensitive stomach food, but it is for adults. I would look into Wellness, they make dry and wet kitten food. It may be a little easier on the stomach.
The food may help, but I would also look into the cat specialist as well. Get records from all the visits so that the new vet has all the procedures and they do not repeat them. Once you find a vet who is more familiar with feline problems, the diagnosis is much quicker.
Have you talked to the breeder about your concerns? Maybe there is a problem in the line. Do you know if all thier cats were tested for FELV and FIV? It's always best to get as many answers as you can to take to the vet.
 

liman

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Hi CaptainSpeedy,

From my limited experience, I can tell you that both my kittens were eating Science Diet dry food for about 2 months. Snuggles began to have diarreah every know and then. Their stool was quite potent. I took samples to the vet to rule out any medical problems. They were both healthy so we decided it must be the food. I took the advice of members of this forum and changed to Eukanuba dry kitten food. They both loved it and I haven't noticed any problems since. I don't know of any sensitive stomach diets for kittens.
It sounds as if you need to take your baby to the vet. Also, My vet said that a kitten should gain about a pound a month. I wish I could have been more helpful to you. Good luck.
 
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