4 month old kitten with leaking diarrhea.

[Cat mom of 4]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I need some advice if you have experience in this area please. I have a 4 month old kitten who I rescued from the back yard after the mom pushed her out and left her to die at just 6 weeks of age. She was not even a pound back then but is now 2.5 pounds. She has had bad diarrhea since day 1 and finally we got a diarrhea panel done which showed tons of parasites and toxins in her system. She had and still has some nasty smelly gas as well. She is now on Tylosin powder (started 8/13/20) and its starting to firm up her stool. I also give her Pro-Pectalin which I am starting to wonder if maybe I need to stop that as I don't want to put too much good stuff in her gut? She also has a leaking booty and seems to constantly have poop coming out of her butt which is also red and swollen from all the diarrhea she has had. Anyone have a kitten with these problems and has it gotten better or stopped leaking? I know this is a lot of information and I appologize but I am frustrated and so is she. When you hold her she leaves poop on you and she has poop on her fur so daily baths are in order too. She is eating Purina Kitten Chow for dry food and we are experimenting with the wet/can foods. I am sticking to chicken and have Wilderness by Blue, Purina ONE, and Delectables pouches in chicken and tuna for her to take her daily medicine of Tylosin powder. Its hard because I have never had this issue with any kitten or cat I have had. It took so long to get the diarrhea panel done and they lost the first set of results so we had to do it again and wait longer for results. I would love to hear from anyone experiencing this issue or who has gone through it and it hopefully stopped diarrhea, to give me some hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am curious though if people think the Pro-Pectalin might be adding too much good gut flora for her? She goes to the VET next week for her rabies shot and I will ask him too, but if anyone has experience I would love to hear from you. Thank you all in advance.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Depending on how much and how quickly you are introducing the wet foods (which is a GOOD thing to do), some of the leaking may be due to that. ANY changes in diet, especially with kittens, needs to be done slowly, with no more than 25% of the new food mixed in at a time, waiting a few days, then increasing again. And since she has had diarrhea for so long, her little anal sphincter muscles may be somewhat over-wrought. A tiny bit of olive oil on her fanny will help soothe her and keep her comfy until that vet visit. And PLEASE let us know what he says!

 

[Talien]

Diarrhea in Kittens is often caused by parasites so hopefully once they are gotten rid of it will stop. But it's best to stick with one type of canned food and not keep switching back and forth, Kittens are sensitive to changes in diet as Mamanyt1953 mentioned, so that can also be contributing to it.

But it's also possible if the mother abandoned her she may have some serious medical issues, mother animals seem to know if any of their young may not survive and will often abandon them so they can better care for the rest. The good news is those issues can be addressed by a vet, meaning what would ordinarily be a death sentence in the wild could sometimes be treated.

 

[Cat mom of 4]

Depending on how much and how quickly you are introducing the wet foods (which is a GOOD thing to do), some of the leaking may be due to that. ANY changes in diet, especially with kittens, needs to be done slowly, with no more than 25% of the new food mixed in at a time, waiting a few days, then increasing again. And since she has had diarrhea for so long, her little anal sphincter muscles may be somewhat over-wrought. A tiny bit of olive oil on her fanny will help soothe her and keep her comfy until that vet visit. And PLEASE let us know what he says!

I had not tried the olive oil on her, she is so little and yes it has been so long with her having diarrhea she hates to have her butt touched and cleaned up. The VET and I have been trying so much and she also has some malabsorption issues too so trying to put weight on her and find the right food has been tuff. She goes to the VET next Monday so we will see if he has any new advice for us. We held off on her rabies shot to avoid putting anything else into her little body. I just wish I knew if she would be better off eating Pate or gravy based can food. Its hard to figure this all out.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

EITHER is fine, so long as it is a kitten formula. Now, many cats have sensitivitie0s to chicken, so you might want to look for something that is chicken-free, just to be on the safe side. Read ingredients, as chicken is often an additive to other proteins.

I'm sure she doesn't like being touched after all of this, but if you can get just a dab or two on there AFTER cleaning her, it will help!

And keep us posted! This little girl has crawled right into my heart.

 

[Cat mom of 4]

Diarrhea in Kittens is often caused by parasites so hopefully once they are gotten rid of it will stop. But it's best to stick with one type of canned food and not keep switching back and forth, Kittens are sensitive to changes in diet as Mamanyt1953 mentioned, so that can also be contributing to it.

But it's also possible if the mother abandoned her she may have some serious medical issues, mother animals seem to know if any of their young may not survive and will often abandon them so they can better care for the rest. The good news is those issues can be addressed by a vet, meaning what would ordinarily be a death sentence in the wild could sometimes be treated.

She was dewormed 3 times already and has had all her shots other than the rabies coming up. This is all why we are trying the Tylosin Powder which again seems to be working fingers crossed. The can food is my sticking point right now because its hard to know the right one. Right now its Pate chicken flavor Iams kitten and blue wilderness. Oh yes her mother was a terrible mother and I actually took her other two kittens to our local animal shelter in hopes of saving them too because there were two mothers with litters at the same time and they swapped feeding the kittens and sometimes they got fed by her sometimes not. I know they kick out those sick ones but I am a sucker for a cute little furball so now its an uphill battle to get her healthy again.

 

[Cat mom of 4]

EITHER is fine, so long as it is a kitten formula. Now, many cats have sensitivitie0s to chicken, so you might want to look for something that is chicken-free, just to be on the safe side. Read ingredients, as chicken is often an additive to other proteins.

I'm sure she doesn't like being touched after all of this, but if you can get just a dab or two on there AFTER cleaning her, it will help!

And keep us posted! This little girl has crawled right into my heart.

I have been reading about all the sensitivities and we have tried to stick to chicken and sometimes tuna to get her medicine into her since its bitter and is mixed with a flavor agent. I have three others who hate beef so maybe we could try beef and none of them would eat it. See its hard to figure all of this out because my other cats have always eaten chicken and salmon and tuna. When she had a salmon pill pocket a month back with metronidazole in it, she had extreme runny diarrhea so I don't know if it was the salmon or the metronidazole but not taking a chance on either one again. She also had thick feeling intestines when the VET pushes on her belly.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Hang in there! You're doing the Work of Angles here. HUGS to you!

 

[Cat mom of 4]

Hang in there! You're doing the Work of Angles here. HUGS to you!

Thank you. I NEVER give up the fight. I have kept a Guinea Pig alive years longer than they thought, and our first kitty who passed a couple of years ago I learned how to do Sub Q fluids and give injections after his kidney failure diagnosis...I am a fighter as long as the animal wants to fight and then some.

 

[She's a witch]

I greatly recommend Saccharomyces boulardii + MOS, Jarrow brand. You can buy it from Amazon or IHerb, it really does wonders when it comes to diarrhea and intestinal health

 

[JanFord]

I have been reading about all the sensitivities and we have tried to stick to chicken and sometimes tuna to get her medicine into her since its bitter and is mixed with a flavor agent. I have three others who hate beef so maybe we could try beef and none of them would eat it. See its hard to figure all of this out because my other cats have always eaten chicken and salmon and tuna. When she had a salmon pill pocket a month back with metronidazole in it, she had extreme runny diarrhea so I don't know if it was the salmon or the metronidazole but not taking a chance on either one again. She also had thick feeling intestines when the VET pushes on her belly.

Hello! I have been experiencing this same scenario with my kitten. I am curious if you ever found the cause? Mine has had so many worming prescriptions, probiotics, and antibiotics.. (because now she has an infection her bum from excessive licking) I think it might be something in her wet food because if I wet her dry food, she has far less diarrhea. Any tips would be appreciated

 

[Jcatbird]

All the above is great information. I just thought I would ask if she was checked for Coccidia? It is sometimes persistent.