Cat sick after getting new kitten - Help!!

[violet9]

Hello all, I am having major anxiety over my 1 yo cat and made this account to ask for advice.

Last Saturday, my housemate adopted a new kitten- fully vaccinated and cleared by local humane society. She is kept in a separate room but came into contact with my cat several times. The kitten has since exhibited signs of a mild URI which is being treated. The first few days were uneventful and my cat's behavior did not change with the presence of the new kitten.

Yesterday morning, I woke up to my cat having diarrhea and noticed he never finished his food from the night before. I tried to get him into a vet but was unable to until this morning. The vet gave him a rectal exam, expressed his anal glands, tested fecal matter (waiting for results), gave anti-nausea meds, a dewormer, and prescribed antibiotics. He has had two doses so far of the antibiotics.

It has now been 12 hours since the appointment. My cat has had diarrhea again and some has even leaked out when he was away from his litterbox. He has been sleeping a lot. Despite the anti-nausea medicine, I cannot get him to eat more. All he has eaten today was 1-2 bites from his kibble, about 7 temptations, and his pill pocket. Thankfully he is drinking water.

Does this sound like something else other than a possible uri/virus/parasite from the new kitten?? How long should I expect it to take for the medicine to start helping? I plan to call the vet first thing in the morning if he still is not eating, but am filled with anxiety that this is too long to wait.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Do you have any plants in the house? Does anyone use a topical medication? Can you think of any changes that might have occurred other than the kitten in the day or two prior to your cat's sickness? Any change in diet?

How old is the new kitten? How is the new kitten feeling now? Any diarrhea with the new kitten?

With your cat, I would think that if the new kitten had an upper respiratory tract infection, and your cat was exposed to that, he would be exhibiting signs of an upper respiratory tract infection, not the diarrhea. Are he and the new kitten sharing a litter box? Are they sharing dishes? I find it hard to believe that your cat would get a parasitic infection from this kitten unless they are, and even then, it wouldn't be causing the diarrhea that you mentioned. Not this soon anyway.
also, if this kitten was adopted from a shelter or humane society, they would have dewormed this kitten already.

I suppose the stress of a new kitten could have maybe caused a flare up of an IBD or something of that sort in your cat, but really that is kind of pushing it for reasons why.

Does your cat ever play with hair ties or anything like that? Is there anyway your cat could have ingested something that could cause an obstruction? Is your cat urinating ok?

The thing that makes me think possible obstruction is the leaking diarrhea when not at the litter box. When a cat is severely obstructed, they can leak a liquid diarrhea around the obstruction. This would be a very very sick lethargic cat.

I can't tell you if you should wait to see the vet or go to an emergency hospital. I can say that cats will hide any sign of illness for as long as possible, so if there are outward signs of him not being well, then he really doesn't feel well.

 

[violet9]

Hello,

Hi. Do you have any plants in the house? Does anyone use a topical medication? Can you think of any changes that might have occurred other than the kitten in the day or two prior to your cat's sickness? Any change in diet?

How old is the new kitten? How is the new kitten feeling now? Any diarrhea with the new kitten?

With your cat, I would think that if the new kitten had an upper respiratory tract infection, and your cat was exposed to that, he would be exhibiting signs of an upper respiratory tract infection, not the diarrhea. Are he and the new kitten sharing a litter box? Are they sharing dishes? I find it hard to believe that your cat would get a parasitic infection from this kitten unless they are, and even then, it wouldn't be causing the diarrhea that you mentioned. Not this soon anyway.
also, if this kitten was adopted from a shelter or humane society, they would have dewormed this kitten already.

I suppose the stress of a new kitten could have maybe caused a flare up of an IBD or something of that sort in your cat, but really that is kind of pushing it for reasons why.

Does your cat ever play with hair ties or anything like that? Is there anyway your cat could have ingested something that could cause an obstruction? Is your cat urinating ok?

The thing that makes me think possible obstruction is the leaking diarrhea when not at the litter box. When a cat is severely obstructed, they can leak a liquid diarrhea around the obstruction. This would be a very very sick lethargic cat.

I can't tell you if you should wait to see the vet or go to an emergency hospital. I can say that cats will hide any sign of illness for as long as possible, so if there are outward signs of him not being well, then he really doesn't feel well.

Thank you so much for your reply, it means a lot to me. We are at the emergency vet now getting blood work to check for toxins. She is not thinking obstruction yet due to him not vomiting, but it is being considered. I'm praying my boy pulls through.

 

[violet9]

Hi. Do you have any plants in the house? Does anyone use a topical medication? Can you think of any changes that might have occurred other than the kitten in the day or two prior to your cat's sickness? Any change in diet?

How old is the new kitten? How is the new kitten feeling now? Any diarrhea with the new kitten?

With your cat, I would think that if the new kitten had an upper respiratory tract infection, and your cat was exposed to that, he would be exhibiting signs of an upper respiratory tract infection, not the diarrhea. Are he and the new kitten sharing a litter box? Are they sharing dishes? I find it hard to believe that your cat would get a parasitic infection from this kitten unless they are, and even then, it wouldn't be causing the diarrhea that you mentioned. Not this soon anyway.
also, if this kitten was adopted from a shelter or humane society, they would have dewormed this kitten already.

I suppose the stress of a new kitten could have maybe caused a flare up of an IBD or something of that sort in your cat, but really that is kind of pushing it for reasons why.

Does your cat ever play with hair ties or anything like that? Is there anyway your cat could have ingested something that could cause an obstruction? Is your cat urinating ok?

The thing that makes me think possible obstruction is the leaking diarrhea when not at the litter box. When a cat is severely obstructed, they can leak a liquid diarrhea around the obstruction. This would be a very very sick lethargic cat.

I can't tell you if you should wait to see the vet or go to an emergency hospital. I can say that cats will hide any sign of illness for as long as possible, so if there are outward signs of him not being well, then he really doesn't feel well.

And just to answer a few of your questions:
- No toxic plants (just one that I have never seen him go near and is car safe)
-Kitten is 3 months. She had soft poop her first few days but it's normal now.
-He is peeing ok
-No change in diet
- Never seen him play with hair ties
He does have some toys that I'm worried could have caused a blockage if he somehow injected a tiny bit (tinsel ball, feather bird) but I have never seen him try to eat them.

 

[stephanietx]

Most likely, it's stress from the new kitty, even if they don't come in close contact with each other. Your kitty may be smelling it and smelling it on you. I suggest you get some Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers and run them in your home for a few months to help both kitties de-stress.

What antibiotic did the vet give him? Is he eating wet food or dry? If he's eating wet, you can try offering some plain pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie spiced puree) to his wet food to help firm up his poops. Saccharomyces boulardii, a supplement available at the health food store, can also help with diarrhea. Mix into wet food.

 

[violet9]

Most likely, it's stress from the new kitty, even if they don't come in close contact with each other. Your kitty may be smelling it and smelling it on you. I suggest you get some Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers and run them in your home for a few months to help both kitties de-stress.

What antibiotic did the vet give him? Is he eating wet food or dry? If he's eating wet, you can try offering some plain pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie spiced puree) to his wet food to help firm up his poops. Saccharomyces boulardii, a supplement available at the health food store, can also help with diarrhea. Mix into wet food.

Thanks for your reply! We did an x-ray which showed no evidence of a blockage so we do now believe that it is most likely related to the new kitten. I ordered a couple feliway diffusers.

He is on metronidazole and we were given fortiflora to mix in his wet food.

I'm feeling hopeful that we'll be able to avoid the feeding tube.. As soon as we got home from the vet he ate 1.5 sheba meaty sticks (but was still refusing regular food.) However, about 4 hours after applying the appetite stimulant, he finally ate some of his dry and wet food all by himself!

 

[stephanietx]

Yay! That sounds promising. Metronidazole can be very beneficial. I forgot to mention that. Keep us posted on how he's doing.

 

[silent meowlook]

Im glad you got the X-ray done. It l helps to rule things out. If this doesn’t resolve, you may want to consider doing a test for pancreatitis, if they didn’t do one already. It is called an FPLI.
I am sorry you had to endure the ER, but also it is good to have a vet look at your cat who has knowledge from all the critical cases they see every day.
Please keep updated as to how he is doing.

 

[violet9]

He has continued to eat throughout the evening both wet and dry food :') I am so relieved and I truly believe the mirataz may have been a life saver. He has never been a very food motivated cat and I just don't know if he would have started to eat again on his own with how bad he was feeling.

So far no diarrhea since we got back from the vet. He is already acting a lot more like himself and even wanted to play fetch with me. Fingers crossed the progress will continue tomorrow.

 

[silent meowlook]

So good to hear!! I hope he continues to do well!!

 

[violet9]

So good to hear!! I hope he continues to do well!!

Thank you!
He is continuing to eat well and has a ton more energy. He has also had some normal poop (just slightly soft.) My main concern now is that he is definitely overgrooming his butt and it's starting to look inflamed, so I may need to call the vet again Monday..

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Something just came to mind you said he wasn't really eating but was drinking still. This is just a theory that popped in my head.. I'm thinking he was stressed out about the kitten to the point of having belly issues, had a bit of diarrhea wasn't eating because of upset belly continued drinking causing stool to become more loose to the point of leaking out??? I am probably wrong but it was something that just came to mind so I figured I'd share..

Anyway I am so happy to hear he is doing better. I'm glad he is eating and his stool is almost back to normal.

Now for the new issue.. also just a theory I wonder if he is over grooming his behind and it is looking inflamed because when he had the liquid poop? It could have been too acidic? Like a person with liquid diarrhea, how it can start to burn..? So I'd call the vet and just check to see what they say. Hopefully he gets to feeling completely better asap!!

 

[violet9]

Something just came to mind you said he wasn't really eating but was drinking still. This is just a theory that popped in my head.. I'm thinking he was stressed out about the kitten to the point of having belly issues, had a bit of diarrhea wasn't eating because of upset belly continued drinking causing stool to become more loose to the point of leaking out??? I am probably wrong but it was something that just came to mind so I figured I'd share..

Anyway I am so happy to hear he is doing better. I'm glad he is eating and his stool is almost back to normal.

Now for the new issue.. also just a theory I wonder if he is over grooming his behind and it is looking inflamed because when he had the liquid poop? It could have been too acidic? Like a person with liquid diarrhea, how it can start to burn..? So I'd call the vet and just check to see what they say. Hopefully he gets to feeling completely better asap!!

I think your ideas are very possible! Ever since he started eating again his digestive system is doing a lot better. I think he also just needed time for the medicine and probiotics to kick in. Hopefully he just needs a little more time for the grooming issue too but I will call if needed.

He and the kitten very much want to meet each other again, but we'll be taking it very slow and waiting until they are both done with their antibiotics.

Anyways, very thankful for the support from this forum This is my first cat as an adult so I'm still learning how to handle different illnesses, but this experience definitely taught me a lot.

Here's a photo of my sweet boy posing this morning and looking so much healthier!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

He is a handsome little man!!! I recently joined in June and love this forum. There is ablot of very good information. Also other threads just for everyone to connect a little and show pictures of our kitties. So definitely take a look around if you haven't yet.
Also welcome to TCS

 

[violet9]

He is a handsome little man!!! I recently joined in June and love this forum. There is ablot of very good information. Also other threads just for everyone to connect a little and show pictures of our kitties. So definitely take a look around if you haven't yet.
Also welcome to TCS

Thank you so much