9 week old kitten help! Poop & Diarrhea? 1st time kitten mom!

[Franklin&Emma]

Hi everyone-

We reecued an 8 week old kitten from a bit so good shelter in our area. The shelter gave routine medicine for all sorts of parasites and they didn't mention anything being wrong about her health when we got her. The first few days of having her she threw up anytime she'd eat and she was having diarrhea that was straight liquid. She eventually stopped eating. I tried wet and dry food and nothing helped. The shelter didn't send us home with any food and they didn't contact me back to tell me what brand she was eating while there. She had lost .5 lb so I immediately took her to my vet during the 36 hours of vomiting and diarrhea. This all happened on the 22nd and 23rd of May. The vet had me bring in a stool sample and they said they didn't see anything. They gave her another round of medicine to treat coccidiosis. They also told me they think it could be stress and the drastic change in diet. Her poop did get a little better. It's not liquid anymore but more lands in a pile, almost like the classic Apple poop emoji (gross, sorry). It's definitely still soft and if I try picking it up it squishes really easily in a paper towel and will flatten out. I also find pockets of stringy white mucous in it. The mucous will sometimes have tiny TINY streaks of red blood in it. At least I think it's mucous, I did take pictures but it's a little graphic lol. I saved another sample from today to take with me to the vet. She stopped puking on the 25th and she now eats instinct chicken, grain free wet food. I do notice that she is always super eager to eat now and scarfs it down like she's starving. My other concern is that she does bloat a little after eating. And her tummy makes weird gurgling and whistling sounds. But she will burp or after a couple hours, her stomach will go back down. I feed her 150 calories, broken into four meals a day, like my vet told me. She's definitely gained weight since her vet appointment a week ago, I should probably try to weigh her again on my own at home to double check. But I can't see her spine anymore and she's filled out some! So that's great!
My main question is what is her poop is suppose to look like? Is it suppose to be this soft? And I feel it's safe to assume the mucous isn't good. I also am not even entirely sure that it's just mucous I'm seeing. It could be a parasite but when I squishes it into my (gloves) fingers, it pulls and stretches like mucous. Any thoughts? This is my first kitten this young and I am a little lost/overwhelmed! Thanks everyone!

 

[Franklin&Emma]

***GRAPHIC****

I'm just too nervous about poor Emma so I am going to post the pictures I took. I'm sorry everyone!

 

[StanAndAlf]

I think taking a sample with mucous in it to your vet is a good idea. And maybe try supplementing her diet with some boiled chicken until you get some answers. You can feed just boiled chicken for a few days, which can help an upset stomach, but it is not a complete diet.

As far as her belly swelling after she eats, the same thing has happened with every kitten I have had, especially after a bigger meal. As long as it goes down in few hours, I wouldn't be overly stressed.

And no, that is not 'normal' for kitten stool, but I wouldn't say it is a cause for the ER vet, if you take my meaning. If you google a cat stool chart, it will give you an idea of what the stool should look like. But do keep in mind, she may still be adjusting to her new diet. That shouldn't cause blood or mucous, but can cause loose stool. So I would get the mucous tested, but as long as she is still acting normal, eating/drinking etc, I wouldn't panic.

Can I just say great job with being so vigilant. I can really tell you will take great care of this little girl, sounds like she has found a great home. Best of luck, would love updates!

 

[Franklin&Emma]

I think taking a sample with mucous in it to your vet is a good idea. And maybe try supplementing her diet with some boiled chicken until you get some answers. You can feed just boiled chicken for a few days, which can help an upset stomach, but it is not a complete diet.

As far as her belly swelling after she eats, the same thing has happened with every kitten I have had, especially after a bigger meal. As long as it goes down in few hours, I wouldn't be overly stressed.

And no, that is not 'normal' for kitten stool, but I wouldn't say it is a cause for the ER vet, if you take my meaning. If you google a cat stool chart, it will give you an idea of what the stool should look like. But do keep in mind, she may still be adjusting to her new diet. That shouldn't cause blood or mucous, but can cause loose stool. So I would get the mucous tested, but as long as she is still acting normal, eating/drinking etc, I wouldn't panic.

Can I just say great job with being so vigilant. I can really tell you will take great care of this little girl, sounds like she has found a great home. Best of luck, would love updates!

Thank you for responding!! And thank you for the kind words
Emma has a doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon so I am going to bring in another stool sample. I also weighed her again and she's at 2 lbs 1 oz - so yay!
I am concerned possibly about her having Giardia. Which I've heard can be difficult to get out of the environment, so I wouldn't be looking forward to dealing with that. Especially since she's been sleeping with us each night and spending all her time in our room. I've started washing our sheets daily and after the vet tomorrow I will deep clean her litter box, just to be sure!

 

[Sarthur2]

It does sound like it may be Giardia. She likely needs 10-14 days of Metronidazole. It should clear it up and she will feel so much better! Ask your vet tomorrow about putting her on it and keep us posted!

 

[Franklin&Emma]

It does sound like it may be Giardia. She likely needs 10-14 days of Metronidazole. It should clear it up and she will feel so much better! Ask your vet tomorrow about putting her on it and keep us posted!

I will!! Has anyone had any experience with Giardia and how difficult it is to get out of the environment? I imagine the likelihood is low of us getting it from her, especially since I'm compulsive about using hand sanitizer after doing her litter. But I do still worry because she sleeps in bed with us and she will even lay on us at night. Any thoughts?

 

[Franklin&Emma]

It does sound like it may be Giardia. She likely needs 10-14 days of Metronidazole. It should clear it up and she will feel so much better! Ask your vet tomorrow about putting her on it and keep us posted!

My vet went ahead and just prescribed the medication to her. We've been taking it the past couple of days! I don't think we're a big fan of this vet, we live in a small town and it is the only one near us, but they didn't even bother to test her poop for anything. I suggested that maybe it was Giardia, they said "maybe," and they prescribed us medication. He did say it could also just be the harsh transition of food since we have no idea what she was eating at the shelter. Her poop doesn't seem as soft anymore, no vomiting since the first 48 hours of us bringing her home, and she's gained a good amount of weight!

 

[catsknowme]

I am glad that you are using the Flagyl (metronidazole). Giardia, even in humans can be tricky to catch - false negatives can be çommon. Hopefully that will do the trick! Thank you for keeping us updated!

 

[Sarthur2]

Agreed! It doesn’t always show up in tests, and it’s best to just treat.

 

[Franklin&Emma]

Agreed! It doesn’t always show up in tests, and it’s best to just treat.

I am glad that you are using the Flagyl (metronidazole). Giardia, even in humans can be tricky to catch - false negatives can be çommon. Hopefully that will do the trick! Thank you for keeping us updated!

UPDATE:
We did 7 days of the medicine. She has been gaining weight great! She is as playful as ever. But today I cleaned out her litter box and found soft poo again. It was squishy and a little runny. It didn't seem mucousy this time. I don't know what's wrong! Not all of her poos will look like this. It'll be two that are flat/a little runny, and then the rest are normal and formed. Any suggestions? I don't like this vet we're going to very much, I might try to find another one.

 

[Sarthur2]

An occasional imperfect poop is okay because sometimes it’s just from the food eaten. Sometimes it takes a change in food, or a different antibiotic, or just letting a kitten’s digestive system mature a little as they grow to sort out these issues.

However, if you’re not happy with your vet, I’m always in favor of a second opinion.

 

[Franklin&Emma]

An occasional imperfect poop is okay because sometimes it’s just from the food eaten. Sometimes it takes a change in food, or a different antibiotic, or just letting a kitten’s digestive system mature a little as they grow to sort out these issues.

However, if you’re not happy with your vet, I’m always in favor of a second opinion.

Ok, that does make me feel better! So thank you! This week has been crazy and so I've been a little neglectful of the litter. I have gotten to changing it every 3 days, so only twice this week so far. And each time I do, she has atleast 2-3 soft poops that have dried flat because they were runny. The rest will be formed. I guess I just don't want to miss anything or her still have Giardia and spread it to us. We have a six month old at home and it's my worst fear that he gets anything from the kitties.

 

[catsknowme]

Not all strains of giardia are transferred to people. It's important to thoroughly clean her dishes and toys during treatment so she doesn't reinfect herself. Also very important is to be aware of any exposure to dogs who can be asymptomatic but transfer the giardia cysts to people & kitties.