4 week old bottle kitten presenting bloody stool. Rest of litter is fine.

[crowinghen]

I have a 4 week old bottle kitten that weighs only 8.4 oz. She came to me at 1.5 weeks and 4.2 oz, so she's gained, but she's tiny. Her 3 siblings are healthy and in the 14oz range now.

She has had bloody stool for several days. When she first presented with it I started her on Ponazuril and Albon. The symptoms didn't improve. I took a fecal to the shelter (she's a foster) and they couldn't find coccidia, worm eggs, or anything else suspicious in her sample (but she had been on Ponazuril for 3 days by that point.) They told me to take her off of the medicines since there wasn't anything in her stool.
Since taking her off of her medicine her stool stayed bad. And her last 2 feedings she has acted hungry, but won't eat. She had just gotten past a rough patch (she lost 1/2 an oz and took a few days to reverse the weight loss). She is only 8.4 oz now (after the 2 non-hungry feedings). She was as much as 8.9 yesterday. She bites the bottle and claws it like she is hungry, and cries like she's either hungry or colicky, but she won't suckle. I got her to take a bit of canned wet food, but not enough to sustain her. She's still playing with siblings a little, but has noticably lower energy, and her stool is very liquid and has blood in it.

None of her siblings have runny stools or any other sign of coccidia. She was wormed Wednesday of last week, and had been wormed prior to that as well.

I put her back on the Ponazuril as of this evening when she had the loss of appetite. Having seen no improvement, I was more worried about doing nothing than about doing it wrong. At her nighttime feeding she was the same though - aggressive with the bottle, but wouldn't suckle, and still had liquid stools. (She had 2 bloody and liquid stools in the 4 hours between feedings.)

I'm at a bit of a loss and the vet tech won't be back at the shelter until Wednesday. Should I continue with the Ponazuril? The Albon? The blood and loss of appetite are what are scaring me. I don't mind soft stools as long as the kitten is active and gaining weight, but she's not doing either very well right now. Your advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Sarthur2]

Sounds like she may have an intestinal bacterial infection. Try metronidazole and hold off on the rest.

Also try feeding her Gerber chicken or turkey meat baby food. She may lap it from your finger or a spoon.

Which brand formula do you use? She may benefit from a change. Do you use powdered or pre-mixed?

 

[crowinghen]

Thank You for commenting! I'm using PetAg KMR. I buy the powder in 5lb bags for kitten season. It's stored in the freezer to prevent it from going rancid. She did okay on this formula until she didn't. I did offer goat's milk when she first had her weight loss, and she took some, but not as much as she had been the KMR.
She was somewhat stronger at 5:00 this morning. She took a good healthy meal and played with her siblings. It was such a relief to see. Her stool is still bad, but she acts like she feels better.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

That's a major difference in weight between her and her siblings. That is concerning along with the bloody stool, not really eating, and being lethargic.

It's not just an oz to 2 ozs.. She is about 6ozs lighter which is a huge difference. If there were 2 more ozs difference between her and them then that would be half a pound under them. Just to put in perspective how big of a difference there is in their weight.

She might be presenting like she is ok today but I would personally have her seen by a vet.

I would take her to an actual vet. Yes the shelter has the vet tech, but this being said vet techs don't have the schooling or experience an actual vet has.

This is my opinion and what I would do.
I hope the little one feels better very soon.

Please keep us posted.

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m so glad to hear she is better and that she took food today. Do you plan to call the vet regarding her stool? Do ask about metronidazole.

PetAg is excellent. I doubt it’s the formula. You could also try a sprinkle of probiotic powder in each feeding.

 

[crowinghen]

Wanted to give a quick update after their bedtime feeding. She has taken her food enthusiastically again at every meal today, and her weight tonight was 9.6 oz. So she's on the right trajectory again.
I called my vet this morning, but she was eating well by then. He didn't work her in since she was showing improvement, but he'll see her if she stalls out or regresses again.
Her stool is still way too soft, but it's moving from slime toward pudding texture, so again a positive trajectory. And not as many stools today as she has been having. So far no sign of similar illness in her siblings.
Tonight after her bottle she was stalking and awkwardly pouncing a piece of floor fuzz. She's still way smaller than her siblings, and prefers the heating pad to the middle of the crate, but hopefully better things still to come for her! Thank You everyone for your help!

 

[crowinghen]

It's been 10 days since my last follow up, and hoping some of you are still seeing the thread. Kitten is now only 10.4 oz., so she's gained only an ounce in that time. She was as big as 11.1 (a few days ago) But she's had 2 rounds of gain, stall, drop, gain, stall, drop. I did get her on Metro, but she and one sibling (also on Metro now) are still presenting melted-ice-cream stool. (which is actually better than the brown water it was at its worst.)
We did another fecal, and still no sign of coccidia, worms, or anything else. The tech who did the fecal remarked that all she saw was "debris". The kitten didn't have a fever. She acts a little cold (still likes to hang out on the heating pad) but with no body mass that's hardly a surprise. She will play and explore, but only briefly. She's at her livliest trying to escape her does of Metro.
They have been wormed with Pyrantel and Panacur and they've had their first vaccines. They had Ponazuril before before we started Metro. I'm still giving them bottles because they're frail and losing fluid. She has eaten solids, but she hasn't shown any interest in them for over a week. She isn't full on lethargic, but is subdued. I just came in from offering her a bottle that she flatly refused. It's not the first time, but is the first time today. She'll ebb and flow - hungry one feeding, fighting me the next.
The shelter has consulted with their vet of record to get her on Metro, but it's not working either. They are trying, and so am I. But I'm at a loss. Any other ideas out there?

 

[white shadow]

Fairly recently, another member with a bottle-resisting kitten posted that, when they 'switched' to trying with a small syringe, the kitten immediately accepted it....and enthusiastically.

Sarthur2 - do you remember that case? Perhaps you could comment/continue.

[ C crowinghen - there's inherent danger in using syringes to 'administer' liquids which I'm sure Sarthur2 will explain]

 

[crowinghen]

Fairly recently, another member with a bottle-resisting kitten posted that, when they 'switched' to trying with a small syringe, the kitten immediately accepted it....and enthusiastically.

Sarthur2 - do you remember that case? Perhaps you could comment/continue.

[ C crowinghen - there's inherent danger in using syringes to 'administer' liquids which I'm sure Sarthur2 will explain]

This baby knows how to take her bottle. She's not resistant to the method. She just doesn't want to eat. I do prefer to avoid syringes in bottle-feeding situations because of aspiration risk. This girl is 5 weeks old now, has been on a bottle since about 10 days of age, and only resists it sporadically, so I'm pretty sure it's the meal itself she's resisting more than the delivery method.

 

[white shadow]

C crowinghen - this other baby also understood 'bottles' and was doing well and thriving.....until suddenly and abruptly, they rejected the bottle. Totally.

Out of desperation, the member tried with a syringe, and......................the kitten accepted it "enthusiastically".........which is why I thought Sarthur2 might offer that idea to you. (if I could remember the member and/or the thread, I'd show it to you!)

 

[Sarthur2]

She’s 5 weeks old and has had ponazuril, pyrantel, panacur, vaccines, and now metronidazole — that’s a heck of a lot for a five-week-old, and I’m thinking that it’s possibly been too much for her system.

How long has she been on the metro and how many more days to go? Has her stool gone from brown liquid to melted ice cream consistency since being on the metro? Do you still see blood?

 

[crowinghen]

She has been through the ringer in 5 weeks for sure. And she was a runt even when the litter came to me. Oddly, they were malnourished but not dehydrated. Not sure what was going on there. She has been on Metro for 7 days now. Her littermate has been too. He also has diarrhea, but he is still acting like a kitten. The little one less so. The Metro doesn't seem to have affected her stool as much as the Ponazuril did, but she's held onto her progress. Before Metro I was giving her Ponazuril and Albon daily, and that was where I saw what progress we did see. The Metro frustratingly enough doesn't seem to be improving her condition.
I don't see blood in her stool anymore, but I do still see it in her brother's stool.

 

[Sarthur2]

I would stop the metro for her now since she’s had a full week’s worth. See if her appetite returns and give her time to begin putting on weight. The thing with sloppy stools is they sometimes firm up on their own as the kitten grows and matures and the immune system becomes stronger. She needs a break anyway from so many drugs in her body. I think the metro is strong and has caused her to lose her appetite.

Also try Gerber chicken meat baby food and keep us posted.

Has her brother had Albon yet? It may help him more than the metro.