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Hello all, I have a foster kitten who is approximately 6 months old and has been through a LOT in her very short life. She has had a swollen belly for the past 4 months and been to several vets (I'm her 2nd foster and have just had her for a couple of weeks). Apart from the swollen belly, she is very healthy, active, playful, has a healthy appetite, has good litter box habits, has never had an accident, and is very loving and friendly. The only "odd" thing is that she does drink quite a bit of water (I've estimated between 6 - 8 ounces a day).
With her swollen belly, naturally, her previous vets suspected worms and she was dewormed twice despite negative fecals. She was also on a round of Albon, and has been on 2 rounds of metronidazole (for suspected bacterial infection/giarda), with no change in her belly. She has very soft (sometimes loose) stools and she frequently poops VERY large amounts (like over a cup of poop!). Her belly fluctuates quite a bit in size based on her pooping, so it seems like IBS, or slow GI tract, something of that nature. She's had 2 ultrasounds (to make sure she wasn't pregnant firstly - but she was spayed in August (at 3 months)), and to check for fluid for possible FIP). The vets said they saw no abnormalities or fluid, and again suggested she just had a slow GI, so they recommended yogurt for the probiotics. Her previous foster tried mixing it with her food, but she would not eat it, and I became her foster shortly after that.
So, I took her to a new vet, they did another fecal, which was negative, and did additional bloodwork. The results came back that she may have kidney problems and has a phosphorus level of 10 (which is definitely high) and slightly elevated BUN. So they suspect congenital kidney disease/failure. But they really don't have an explanation for the belly at this point because that's not a symptom of kidney disease/failure, so it appears she may have 2 underlying problems. My vet suggested putting her on wet food (she's been eating dry only up to this point). I was worried about that because it could make her stools softer, which could cause diarrhea. I started her on wet food last night and she gobbled it right up, and as I suspected, her poop was completely liquid last night. She also suggested probiotics (i.e., FortaFlora) to help with the diarrhea, so I'm going to add that to her wet food. She suggested doing this for a week and then following up. She would also like to get another ultrasound (possibly x-ray), and urinalysis after trying to manage her belly.
Long story, I know, but here are my questions:
1. I've looked around a lot for low phosphorus wet food and they're all for adult/mature cats. Will feeding her this cause further issues? Should I supplement it because she's a kitten?
2. Any other suggestions for the swollen belly/diarrhea? I just want to make sure she's comfortable.
3. Am I overreacting? She hasn't officially be diagnosed with kidney failure and is really perfectly healthy in every other way. Could the high phosphorus be something else?
4. Has anyone else had similar experiences with such a young cat? Any recommendations?
Thank you all in advance!
Emily
With her swollen belly, naturally, her previous vets suspected worms and she was dewormed twice despite negative fecals. She was also on a round of Albon, and has been on 2 rounds of metronidazole (for suspected bacterial infection/giarda), with no change in her belly. She has very soft (sometimes loose) stools and she frequently poops VERY large amounts (like over a cup of poop!). Her belly fluctuates quite a bit in size based on her pooping, so it seems like IBS, or slow GI tract, something of that nature. She's had 2 ultrasounds (to make sure she wasn't pregnant firstly - but she was spayed in August (at 3 months)), and to check for fluid for possible FIP). The vets said they saw no abnormalities or fluid, and again suggested she just had a slow GI, so they recommended yogurt for the probiotics. Her previous foster tried mixing it with her food, but she would not eat it, and I became her foster shortly after that.
So, I took her to a new vet, they did another fecal, which was negative, and did additional bloodwork. The results came back that she may have kidney problems and has a phosphorus level of 10 (which is definitely high) and slightly elevated BUN. So they suspect congenital kidney disease/failure. But they really don't have an explanation for the belly at this point because that's not a symptom of kidney disease/failure, so it appears she may have 2 underlying problems. My vet suggested putting her on wet food (she's been eating dry only up to this point). I was worried about that because it could make her stools softer, which could cause diarrhea. I started her on wet food last night and she gobbled it right up, and as I suspected, her poop was completely liquid last night. She also suggested probiotics (i.e., FortaFlora) to help with the diarrhea, so I'm going to add that to her wet food. She suggested doing this for a week and then following up. She would also like to get another ultrasound (possibly x-ray), and urinalysis after trying to manage her belly.
Long story, I know, but here are my questions:
1. I've looked around a lot for low phosphorus wet food and they're all for adult/mature cats. Will feeding her this cause further issues? Should I supplement it because she's a kitten?
2. Any other suggestions for the swollen belly/diarrhea? I just want to make sure she's comfortable.
3. Am I overreacting? She hasn't officially be diagnosed with kidney failure and is really perfectly healthy in every other way. Could the high phosphorus be something else?
4. Has anyone else had similar experiences with such a young cat? Any recommendations?
Thank you all in advance!
Emily
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