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This is a bit of a complicated query...We're living in the Philippines, in one of the provinces. We're working as volunteers, and have adopted a kitten 2 weeks ago. The vet estimated his birthday as 21st Feb, so that would make him roughly six weeks old. From the time that he came to us he had a very big (distended) belly. It is very firm, and very round. We thought this would be partly due to worms and partly to malnutrition. Since he has been with us:
1. He has eaten well - infant dry food mixed with a heaping tablespoon of normal whiskas wet food (they don't have kitten formula here and the only human formula is dairy, and when we found him he was eating dog food, so.) about 2-3 times per day. Not tons of water, but he drinks - always has fresh bowl.
2. Energy levels are completely normal from what I can tell - he probably sleeps about 14 hours per day, but is bonkers the rest of the time, attacking our feet and hands, playing with crumpled up sheets of paper, pouncing on imaginary foes, etc.
3. His bowel movements seem fine - if a little dry. He goes between 4-8 times per day - more when he eats more, less when he doesn't.
4. His growth has been tremendous – he gained 300g in about 2 weeks. His fur is shiny and clean, and a nasty scab on his ear has cleared up and is now growing fur again. In general, he appears incredibly healthy, and does not seem to be in any pain.
But the belly hasn't gotten smaller. When we first had him dewormed on 3/21, it went down a bit for a couple of days, but not completely, and it grew again within the week. We took him to be dewormed again yesterday - 4/2, so nearly 2 weeks from the previous deworming, and the vet did not seem optimistic. He said that it could be the liver, and that he could die. He didn’t find any worms or eggs in the fecal sample, either. The thing is, it’s a bit hard to communicate here sometimes. I’m just hoping that someone might be able to offer slightly better/clearer advice? Right now the vet’s just telling us to wait it out – to see if the 2nd deworming shrinks his tummy, and if not, expect the worst. What I don’t want is for our little guy to suffer. And we’ve gotten really attached. Can anyone advise? Is there something we might suggest to the vet? Is there a possibility this is benign?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
1. He has eaten well - infant dry food mixed with a heaping tablespoon of normal whiskas wet food (they don't have kitten formula here and the only human formula is dairy, and when we found him he was eating dog food, so.) about 2-3 times per day. Not tons of water, but he drinks - always has fresh bowl.
2. Energy levels are completely normal from what I can tell - he probably sleeps about 14 hours per day, but is bonkers the rest of the time, attacking our feet and hands, playing with crumpled up sheets of paper, pouncing on imaginary foes, etc.
3. His bowel movements seem fine - if a little dry. He goes between 4-8 times per day - more when he eats more, less when he doesn't.
4. His growth has been tremendous – he gained 300g in about 2 weeks. His fur is shiny and clean, and a nasty scab on his ear has cleared up and is now growing fur again. In general, he appears incredibly healthy, and does not seem to be in any pain.
But the belly hasn't gotten smaller. When we first had him dewormed on 3/21, it went down a bit for a couple of days, but not completely, and it grew again within the week. We took him to be dewormed again yesterday - 4/2, so nearly 2 weeks from the previous deworming, and the vet did not seem optimistic. He said that it could be the liver, and that he could die. He didn’t find any worms or eggs in the fecal sample, either. The thing is, it’s a bit hard to communicate here sometimes. I’m just hoping that someone might be able to offer slightly better/clearer advice? Right now the vet’s just telling us to wait it out – to see if the 2nd deworming shrinks his tummy, and if not, expect the worst. What I don’t want is for our little guy to suffer. And we’ve gotten really attached. Can anyone advise? Is there something we might suggest to the vet? Is there a possibility this is benign?
Thanks in advance for any advice!