Stinky kitty - at both ends!

A week ago I adopted a 5 month old kitten. The next day I took him to the vet and he received ear drops for ear mites, a distemper vaccine (again) because of a respiratory virus, and a pill (Drontal) for worms.

He appears to be feeling better, but man, does his breath smell! He also is pretty gassy. Whenever he opens his mouth or passes gas, the poor little guy fills the area with a terrible diarhea smell!

Do you think this is from the worms, or the de-wormer, or the upset stomach resulting from all that? Will it go away when his tummy settles down? He's had soft stool all week but it seems to be firming up and gaining some shape. I just starting giving him a cranberry and papaya supplement to help digestion. Anything else I could do?

And while I'm here, a question about his cold -- his runny nose stopped shortly after the distemper vaccine a week ago, but he still sneezes on occasion and just today his nose is a bit crusty on the corners. Think his cold is coming back?

Sorry for the long post but thanks for reading.

Raquel and Spirit

Originally Posted by rblaude

I just starting giving him a cranberry and papaya supplement to help digestion. Anything else I could do?

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Please never give a cat any supplements without asking a vet, especially fruit. I would ask the vet about starting him on plain yogurt or pro-biotics to help with his digestion. And his cold is probably coming back I went back and forth with a cold with my kitty about 4-5 times before he finally defeated it. I attribute that to adding l-lysine to his diet, that is something else to discuss with the vet. Sorry your kitty is so ill, I hope he feels better asap

Originally Posted by chichismom

Please never give a cat any supplements without asking a vet, especially fruit. I would ask the vet about starting him on plain yogurt or pro-biotics to help with his digestion. And his cold is probably coming back

I went back and forth with a cold with my kitty about 4-5 times before he finally defeated it. I attribute that to adding l-lysine to his diet, that is something else to discuss with the vet. Sorry your kitty is so ill, I hope he feels better asap

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I was going to ask if the vet suggested the cranberry and papaya supplement as well.

Animals are not the same as we humans and often things our systems handle well can cause illness / harm to them.

I'd talk to the vet if I were you and I also think a little time for his little body to get the back to normal after vaccinations would be in order.

I'd say wait a bit, see if the stinkiness is from the vaccinations and deworming. If it's still around, I'd change his food. Molly was a major stinker when we found her but her bad breath and steel-melting farts went away after a couple of weeks on a good food.

I'm going to agree with everyone else, please talk to your vet before giving supplements. Abby was a bit on the "smelly" side after we adopted her. When I questioend the vet, she said it could be a combination of worms and change in diet from the shelter. I am happy to say she is now smell free

Bakker too smelled when I got him from the rescue. His month particularly which was related to teething issues. The smell did go away after a while.

Thanks to everyone for their advice and suggestions. I've stopped the cranberry supplement and I'm gonna give him a week or so to settle in to life at his new home. After that, if there's still problems, I'll ask the vet about supplements or antibiotics. And I had forgotten about bene-bac! I had a cat a couple years ago that used that. Maybe that will be helpful at some point, too. Thanks again.

Also a high quality diet. He was probably not fed the greatest food before and it will take time for him to benefit from a good diet but it makes a difference. I really like bene-bac too and also use probiotics. Good to have an hand too, in case of a diarreah upset (can happen even if they accidentally eat something).