diarrhea

I just saved a beautiful little female kitten from a cat killer , and I have brought her to live with me. Usually she lives outside but for the moment she is an indoor cat.

I am really worried about her because she has very runny, beige colored diarrhea. She has been like that ever since she came to live with us. She doesnt at all seem unhappy. I don't know exactly how old she is, but I am guessing somewhere between 4-7 months.

At the moment we have been feeding her soft wet cat food - mainly fish, milk, and today I gave her weetbix and milk. Although she seems fine - I am worried about her - what could it be?

Well....depending on the kittens age...the milk you are giving her will definitly give the kitten diarrhea...cats for the most part are lactose intollerent.......

instead of regular milk...try kitten/cat milk which comes in many brands and can be found in any pet store or the pet isle of your supermarket......

also some parasites can also cause diarrhea.........

make sure to keep the kitten hydrated....pedilyte can help with that....but i suggest bringing a stool sample to the vet if taking her off the milk doesnt clear it up.....

good luck...and congrats on your new family member....

One proposal is not all cats can digest milk. This is the lactose (=milk sugar) many cats and some humans cant digest. And you see this as diarrhea yes.

Take the milk away - use plain water as your first try. Or if you have law-lactose milk in your shop - try this instead. All other milk products (dairy I believe in english) like cheese, yoghurt and so on - are OK as they dont have as much lactose as milk.

There are of course many diets good for cats with diarrea - Im not specialist, so I do hope others will answer too.

They say white fish and well cooked carrots are good...

Consult a vet is never wrong.

EDIT As Nebula says, she may have parasites too - they too give often diarrhea. If she was homeless she has almost surely some worms and perhaps also mites. Frankly, to go and let a vet see her for a check up IS a good idea.

PS Congratulations to your new family/household member! Nice for ALL of you. If she likes to be a indoor cat, let her be it!

good luck!

thanks so much! I thought that it could have been the milk! I have got some special cats milk now, I will let you guys know if it helps any. I leave her water all the time but she wont drink it as yet. And I am going to get her a vets appointment tommorow.

Thanks so much again. I hope I can keep her, but I have 3 cats already, and i'm not sure if I can afford it. I have fallen in love with her though, she is my baby!

I am glad you are taking her to the vet......I hope she begins to feel better.......

I also hope you can keep her....you already seem to care about her so much...

good luck......and keep us updated...

Thanks for your advice guys! Sable is doing fine now, she hasnt got diarrhea anymore now that I have started giving her special cat milk.

I have another question though. This may be me just fussing over her too much.. I know cats are nocturnal animals, and that she is very young, but she didnt really play much at all today. She mostly just slept, and she showed no interest in her food, she ate a few biccies and some wet food, but lots of milk. Granted I did give her milk about 40mins before her dinner. I am just worried she is unhappy or something... especially now she is an indoor cat, when she used to be an outdoor cat.. am I just being too fussy?

If she has been unwell (and in a kitten diarrhoea can be a serious problem) she will most likely be a bit quiet. One vet once said to me it can be like us having a hangover!

One of my cats had problems with chronic diarrhoea. The vet told me that to give her guts a chance of a rest she needed to have a break from the 'runs' now & again, so she would occasionally have some boiled chicken (no skin). This is an almost fat-free food & it did bung her up for a day or two at a time. It's good for runny cats as it's nutritious and kind on the tummy.

Good luck with your kitten, I hope she's feeling better soon.

Sue