Desperate; Please Help--sick Kittens--diarrhea

[Rennie090317]

Hi all,

I signed up for this site just today. I am absolutely desperate. Going to try to make this as short as possible (but it will be long--sorry!). I adopted a female kitten from a rescue about a month ago. Gorgeous, healthy, and a great personality. I just love her. About 2 weeks later I adopted a male kitten from the same rescue. I was told right as I was about to take him home that he had a sensitive stomach and had to be on grain free food. Well I followed that advice (got the food he was fed from his foster mother). But after a day or two of having him, I saw he had terrible diarrhea (liquid). His appetite was very poor for his food yet he would try to grab human food from us, seeming absolutely famished. So I switched him to a different grain free food, which he liked a little better but not much. He was very inactive and seemed to act like a senior cat imo, but I thought maybe it was just his nature. He was also quite thin. I did not separate him from my female because I'd been told he was fully vetted and had a clean bill of health. I now regret that. A week after I got him, my female came down with the same terrible diarrhea. I took my male to the vet the next day; he was tested for parasites/worms (negative) and both kittens were given metronidazole, Panacur, and Endosorb for 5 days. He was dehydrated but no fever. My male is now eating better and has a little more energy, but the diarrhea persists in both. It's yellowish brown and completely unformed. It's absolutely terrible. I took both kittens to the vet today; on the way there he messed in his crate. The smell was awful and he was an absolute mess. He was again dehydrated and had lost a pound. My female seems healthy other than the diarrhea. They were both given Di-Gel and Marquis Paste but again the tests came back negative. But they are running more tests that are going to take up to 10 days to get the results. I can't remember all the ones they're doing but one was tri-rich (something like that).
I'm sorry for the length of this post. But I am scared to death that these kittens have something that is incurable. And it's my fault that my female caught it. I don't mean to sound cold-hearted but I regret adopting the male. It's not his fault hes sick but I wish I'd never gotten him as now I've caused my female to have the same thing. I want them to get better but I'm afraid they never will. I have 3 young children and all I do now is worry it's something contagious to them. All I do is clean diarrhea litter boxes, clean diarrhea off paws, clean my counters, and worry. I did not sign up for this. I only thought to get a kitten; my senior female passed away earlier this year. I had to have her put down as she was ill and then she broke her leg in 2 places (she was almost 18). It was terrible. My senior male passed on this past summer. I'd had them since I was in my early 20s. I thought I'd give a new kitten a home and a good life. And then I adopted the male so she could have a playmate. But all I did was make her sick and now I have two sick kittens on my hands.

Please--anyone--any similar experiences? Any guesses as to what they could have? Or the chances it isn't a parasite but something that could be fatal? Any experience with the metro/Panacur not working and then something else working? Marquis Paste? I am just beside myself, and 10 days is such a long time. My female is so mad at me over the vet she went and hid when we got home! Poor things had a tough day.

I would appreciate any reply. Thank you!!

 

[Furballsmom]

And it's my fault that my female caught it.

It's not, you were operating in good faith on bad info from the rescue.
Is the vet saying why they're giving these meds other than trying to give your cats a chance to fight bacteria or something?
It might be the food-I'm assuming you're feeding them the same? This is the second time in two days I'm hearing that a rescue says there's a grain allergy, and the feline does lousy on the food.
So, with that said, your cat could be having a negative reaction to a specific food, food additive, preservative or flavoring. If you suspect diet is the cause of cat diarrhea then you might want to try a diet that is low fat, with balanced levels of protein and carbohydrates.
In addition, can you try a temporary diet of approximately half/half boiled unseasoned rice unseasoned chicken.
You could try plain unspiced pumpkin. Also;

• Slippery Elm bark can help, mix about a teaspoon of powder or up to one capsule into water and mix in with the cat’s food, or the powder can be mixed into wet food.

• Baby food with no onion or garlic

• Probiotics can be given to cats with diarrhea to introduce helpful bacteria into the digestive tract. Probiotics made for humans are often more beneficial because they contain more than one strain of bacteria. Half a capsule mixed into food twice a day

• plain, fat-free yogurt. One or two tablespoons a day or mix it into the food

• Add half a teaspoon of unflavored Metamucil into the cat’s food once or twice a day for 5-7 days

 

[Mamanyt1953]

First, BREATHE DEEP! NONE of this is "your fault." You were told that the kittens, both of them, were healthy. All you can do now is wait for some answers about the cause, and although a few of them can be devastating, many are fairly simple to fix, and many others can be managed with a little effort! Don't have those kittens dead and buried before you know what you are dealing with! And STOP BLAMING YOURSELF for giving two kittens your love.

For now, metro/Pancur often do the trick. We've also had several members have very good luck with giving kittens canned pumpkin with their food. For some reason, it tends to help with both diarrhea AND constipation, although its beyond me how the pumpkin knows what to do! You could give that a try.

Regardless, please let us know how things are going. We will worry about it. And you are NOT alone in this any more! I so hate that it took a real health scare to bring you to us, but you do have a community behind you now. When you have a minute between bouts of chasing after ill kittens, do stop in here New Cats on the Block and introduce yourself and...um...what are their names? You can also refer people to this thread, to help get the word out about your concerns!

 

[Furballsmom]

Also, try some calming products - it could also be stress causing upset/unbalanced feline tummies.
Here are some other calming products, including other diffusers and treats, there are even collars available that have numerous types of different ingredients such as L-Tryphophan and casein.
Composure is a product to look at, Pet Remedy (it has valerian) is another, as is Essential Pet Pet-ease, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has one, and Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course amazon and chewy.
--Even prescription if nothing else, --Gabapentin is good for travel, amitriptyline can help with general anxiety and OCD (like excessive grooming).

Hang in there, and if you haven't already, isolate them into a small area until this gets squared away.

 

[duckpond]

It sounds like the same story every time i bring home a rescue kitten. And live and learn, but no matter what they tell you always isolate a new kitten, most of the time they will have something. Now its most likely nothing fatal, and not your fault, just the nature of shelter, rescue kittens, unfortunately.

Most all kittens have parasites, hopefully the vet treated them even if they did test negative?

Did the vet test for Giardia? or treat for it. The test can often show negative even if they have Giardia, unless they do the test that need sent off for analysis. If i take a kitten in with foul diarrhea our vet will normally treat for Giardia, without even testing, as they are often inconclusive, and may take several days to get the test results. no need to delay treatment. Fenbendazole and metronidazole are the drugs most commonly used to kill Giardia.. It may take several days, or even several treatments with both drugs to get rid of the problem. Its not instant. I did read you said they were given metronidazole?

Kittens do transmit these things to other pets in the household. Rarely to humans as long as good hygiene is followed. I have fostered several cats and kittens with many different parasites, and most all of them did have Giardia, i have never contracted any of it.

My last rescue, and i still have him, was so sick with Giardia, it took quite a few treatments to get him well. I wanted to sit and cry, or pull my hair out many times, i understand what you are going through. But with the vets help, and a lot of due diligence from me, clean clean clean, change that litter box often, we got him over it. I did isolate him in a bathroom while he was so sick, to contain the area of contamination. easier to keep one room disinfected. he is now, 2 years later a big fluffy, very healthy boy, i cant imagine our home without him

I would suggest asking the vet to treat for parasites, if he did not. and if he can start one of the treatments for Giardia, sometimes both drugs are given, without waiting on the test results?

keep your chin up, beleive me it will pass, eventually. and then you will have two healthy ones to enjoy. This is the one that had Giardia so very bad. Being a naughty cat in a new litter i was trying, he loved to play in it what a mess he made.

 

[Rennie090317]

Thank you so much for your reply and all the advice! I was planning on giving them a probiotic as I'm sure their normal balance has been disturbed by the antibiotics. I will look for those products you mentioned. And the pumpkin, too.

Im 100% sure it's not the food I was giving them, because my female was absolutely fine until a week after we got the male. I asked my regular vet about grain free etc and she basically said it would not be the cause of this and that grain free for cats has not been found to really make a difference. She said some studies are just now coming out about it. I myself am not knowledgeable on the subject but I trust her. I did give both of them some turkey today when we got home because I thought it is a pretty bland food and it would give them some extra protein. My male loved it but my female not so much. Rice is a good idea too--thank you!

Oh I didn't give their names because I hate to have any identifying info online that would lead back to the rescue. I don't wish to hurt their reputation or any other cats' chances of being adopted. I don't believe they purposely passed on a sick cat to me and I hope I am not wrong about that! My female's foster mom is the sweetest lady and I am so grateful to her for her help in all this.

You are right; chances are it is something that can be cured/managed. I know I'm jumping to conclusions worrying it could be something fatal. I had such a hard time making the decision to put my senior female down that I guess I dread having to go through something like that again. So my mind jumped to the worst case scenario. I'm trying to not feel guilty; my head says I did no wrong believing my male was healthy. But I'm just kicking myself for not being more of a skeptic and keeping them separated temporarily. It's too late now though so this line of thought is pointless. But still, I feel bad.

I am going to try some of your suggestions and I will update you if anything helps. I'm hoping against hope that the Marquis Paste will somehow help them. They tested negative for coccidia, but I know there can be false negatives.

Thank you again!!

 

[duckpond]

Thank you so much for your reply and all the advice! I was planning on giving them a probiotic as I'm sure their normal balance has been disturbed by the antibiotics. I will look for those products you mentioned. And the pumpkin, too.

Im 100% sure it's not the food I was giving them, because my female was absolutely fine until a week after we got the male. I asked my regular vet about grain free etc and she basically said it would not be the cause of this and that grain free for cats has not been found to really make a difference. She said some studies are just now coming out about it. I myself am not knowledgeable on the subject but I trust her. I did give both of them some turkey today when we got home because I thought it is a pretty bland food and it would give them some extra protein. My male loved it but my female not so much. Rice is a good idea too--thank you!

Oh I didn't give their names because I hate to have any identifying info online that would lead back to the rescue. I don't wish to hurt their reputation or any other cats' chances of being adopted. I don't believe they purposely passed on a sick cat to me and I hope I am not wrong about that! My female's foster mom is the sweetest lady and I am so grateful to her for her help in all this.

You are right; chances are it is something that can be cured/managed. I know I'm jumping to conclusions worrying it could be something fatal. I had such a hard time making the decision to put my senior female down that I guess I dread having to go through something like that again. So my mind jumped to the worst case scenario. I'm trying to not feel guilty; my head says I did no wrong believing my male was healthy. But I'm just kicking myself for not being more of a skeptic and keeping them separated temporarily. It's too late now though so this line of thought is pointless. But still, I feel bad.

I am going to try some of your suggestions and I will update you if anything helps. I'm hoping against hope that the Marquis Paste will somehow help them. They tested negative for coccidia, but I know there can be false negatives.

Thank you again!!

I dont think they would knowingly give you a sick kitten either, its just very common for kittens in foster, or rescues too have giardia. symptoms may not have shown until you got him home.
I also dont think the grain free is important, for a healthy cat i do try to feed low carb. I know when mine have been so sick the vet had me feed dry kitten kibble. Merrick kitten kibble was my go to. Once we got them better i then reintroduced wet. Dry does not fix the problem, but it helped with some of the diarrhea, so the kitten was a little more comfortable. He could at least walk without pooping. Keep us updated, and post any time you are stressed, it can be hard.

 

[Monk'sMom]

Reading your post, Rennie090317, I wanted to reach out and give you a hug. Your anxiety was palpable. And understandable. But it will be all right somehow, and as everyone said, it REALLY is not your fault. You got the second kitten to do good for the first. Sometimes it only adds a challenge. Often it takes time to settle down. And you have young kids, so the added "kits" who are not well... well, we get it.
Our vet told me the quick tests for parasites are less reliable than even the most trustworthy vets will admit. They OFTEN are negative when the parasite is present, and in a big way. She treats for Giardia and worms when any cat only manifests diarrhea but no fever, runny nose, or other lung/heart/abdominal findings.
And such cats she puts on sensitive stomach diet regime, not grain free.

I have a feeling your vets will do right by the poor little orphans you adopted. Meanwhile you get a communal hug.

 

[Rennie090317]

I want to say thank you to everyone who replied. I appreciate it so much. I just have a few minutes to post so I just wanted to give a quick little update. For the first day after the vet visit they did not have diarrhea! But it started again last night My female now has one eye that is squinted and is watery (more like snot than water though) now. I have an appointment for her tomorrow. The tests for crypto and giardia came back negative. I found diarrhea on my quilt this morning. This is really starting to feel hopeless and I'm so stressed. I just don't know if I have it in me to continue with this indefinitely. Another week at least til I get those other tests back...I've never surrendered an animal in my life. But the thought is crossing my mind now, I have to admit it. They both seem lethargic, especially my male. And he is so skinny; I'm pretty sure he's lost more weight. My female has played a little but she's hiding under the bed for most of the day now. They seem worse off than just a couple days ago. I know this is stupid because my female was perfectly healthy when I got her but this experience has made me feel I will never get another rescue animal again. Oh that reminds me, they also told me the male was a "farm cat". I was never told that by the foster mother; she told me he was surrendered by someone she knew. I wouldn't have taken him if I'd known his true history because I've had experience with barn cats and they are so often very sick. He was all 4 declawed at only 3 months. What they told me about him makes no sense to me whatsoever now. I'm starting to wonder if he was sick all along and that's why he was surrendered. I don't know.
Anyway thank you for reading. Every time I look at these cats I just feel sorry for them. One so skinny and one who can barely open her eye...Certainly wasn't what I was expecting to be dealing with. Just wanted a couple new little friends to grow up with our family. I do not have the resources--emotionally or time-wise--to take care of chronically ill animals. I'm trying my best and will wait for those tests.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

This is very, very rough right now. I know that you are frantic. But so often even symptoms like this turn out to be fairly simple fixes. This may turn around on a dime and leave you with two wonderful kittens. That's what we are going to hope and pray for. This is, at this time, not necessarily a chronic issue. I understand your hesitation about going through a rescue again, but remember that, as with ALL groups, some are far, far better than others. I truly believe that they all do the best that they can with the resources they have, but some just have far more resources. Many are well funded, and wonderful. Hang in there, and remember that you are not alone.

 

[12catcrazy]

I want to say thank you to everyone who replied. I appreciate it so much. I just have a few minutes to post so I just wanted to give a quick little update. For the first day after the vet visit they did not have diarrhea! But it started again last night My female now has one eye that is squinted and is watery (more like snot than water though) now. I have an appointment for her tomorrow. The tests for crypto and giardia came back negative. I found diarrhea on my quilt this morning. This is really starting to feel hopeless and I'm so stressed. I just don't know if I have it in me to continue with this indefinitely. Another week at least til I get those other tests back...I've never surrendered an animal in my life. But the thought is crossing my mind now, I have to admit it. They both seem lethargic, especially my male. And he is so skinny; I'm pretty sure he's lost more weight. My female has played a little but she's hiding under the bed for most of the day now. They seem worse off than just a couple days ago. I know this is stupid because my female was perfectly healthy when I got her but this experience has made me feel I will never get another rescue animal again. Oh that reminds me, they also told me the male was a "farm cat". I was never told that by the foster mother; she told me he was surrendered by someone she knew. I wouldn't have taken him if I'd known his true history because I've had experience with barn cats and they are so often very sick. He was all 4 declawed at only 3 months. What they told me about him makes no sense to me whatsoever now. I'm starting to wonder if he was sick all along and that's why he was surrendered. I don't know.
Anyway thank you for reading. Every time I look at these cats I just feel sorry for them. One so skinny and one who can barely open her eye...Certainly wasn't what I was expecting to be dealing with. Just wanted a couple new little friends to grow up with our family. I do not have the resources--emotionally or time-wise--to take care of chronically ill animals. I'm trying my best and will wait for those tests.

I feel so bad for you reading your post! Even though the tests came back negative, I'd be willing to be that your little guy has giardia or trichomonisis. Both of these critters are very hard to find on tests - as somebody else mentioned, most times the cats will be treated AS IF they are infected because of the symptoms. If the little male was a farm cat, I'd bet the rent he has some sort of parasite, and unfortunately passed it on to the the female. I've been dealing with some cat poop problems myself (and my cats with the issue are from a breeder!), so I know what you are dealing with. When your kitties are cured, your frustration will pass but it's important to get them treated (and kittens can go downhill quickly if they get too dehydrated). Just the fact that your female cat was fine until you got the male seems to say that this is probably parasite caused. And I've dealt with kittens with giardia - the smell will peel the paint from the walls!

If you're not getting answers from your current vet, get a 2nd opinion. Sometimes another vet will have different experience and go from that. Good luck with your kitties (I don't think they are going to be "chronically ill" once they are corrected medicated) and keep us posted!

 

[duckpond]

I know, it can be very stressful. Been there, wanted to do almost anything other than deal with a sick kitten, and all the poop and stress for one more day. Cant tell you how long it will take to get them well, but with good care it will normally happen. cats and kittens are fighters

I suggest confine them to one room if possible. Makes things easier in most ways. the right meds, good food, and a bit of time are normally all it takes. Sounds easy unless you are in the middle of it. But one thing i can tell you for sure, the cats i have went through hell with are so very special too me now. I cant imagine my life without them. We fought side by side for their life and health. If you can go the distance with them i don't think you will regret it. If your not in a place in your life to do that right now, then a shelter may be the best thing for them. We do what we can.

And did you say someone declawed the kitten at 3 months? I would have a few words to say to the person who had that done, and the vet that did it good thing i dont know them, and i will not say those words here
Chances are the kitten was sick, if you declaw a kitten, or any cat, you are not worried about the kitten or his health, IMO. I am against declawing, if you cant tell. Bless his heart.

 

[Rennie090317]

Thank you guys so much for your replies and support! It's encouraging to know others have been thru similar situations and their cats have been cured. A little update: My female has normal poop! She seemed to be feeling better yesterday and we played a lot. She loves to play fetch and it's the cutest thing! Her eye is still the same and she started coughing yesterday and has had some sneezing as well. Will see what the vet says today.
My male however is still the same He has a very bloated stomach too. You can feel his bones and yet his belly is very round. He continues to try to steal any food you set down and will stick his head in cups to try to drink milk. Poor guy is starving and he's losing anything he eats and drinks with this terrible diarrhea. I want to pet him and give him love but he seems to get very annoyed when I try to. Just now when I tried to, he bit me very lightly and then started licking me. I suppose he just wants to be left alone because he's not feeling good. It's sad because I feel sorry for him, but if he wants to be left alone then I can understand that. Yes he was declawed at only 3 months; isn't that awful?? And to take all 4! I'm sorry but anyone who does that is sick imo and should be blacklisted from having animals. I can see front declaw I guess although I would not personally do it because it's awful how they do it, but all 4? That's even more cruel.
As for giardia, he has been tested twice for it and treated for it so I would be surprised if he had that, don't you think? Do you guys make anything of the fact that my female seems better and my male doesn't, though they were both treated with the same meds and I'm 100% sure that whatever he had he gave to her. And yet her diarrhea is gone and his isn't, and he still is so skinny and has a bloated stomach. My fear is that my male has FIP, but he did not have a fever and he does still have an appetite. When I saw my female had that eye discharge and coughing and sneezing, I wondered if my male could have had coronavirus that mutated to FIP, and that he passed on the coronavirus to my female but hers didn't mutate and that's why she's getting better but now has respiratory symptoms. Is this possible? I don't know enough about it to know.
Thank you for reading this--I know my posts are long. Any thoughts or info would be appreciated! Will keep you updated and thank you for the positive thoughts for my kitties!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I wish I had more ideas and answers for you. You might be right about the coronavirus, but I will pray that you are wrong. Or it could simply be that he had a VERY rough start, and isn't able to shake things off as well. That's what I'm crossing my fingers for. That said, I'm just thankful that he has such a loving place to call home. AND that your girl is doing so well! I know that is a load off of your mind. Sick cats and kittens are just terrifying. They depend on us so, and can't tell us what hurts, or how it hurts.

How vets do as well as they do is beyond me. It would be like us going to the doctor's office and just sitting there, looking at him without saying a word.

 

[Rennie090317]

Thank you Mamanyt! I took my female to the vet and she has viral conjunctivitis; we were given Terramycin 2 x a day for 10 days. Reading about it, it says it burns their eyes so I'm kinda bummed for my kitty cause she's not gonna like this! But it's for the best. The vet said it was probably viral and she didn't want to prescribe an oral antibiotic given my female's recent bout with diarrhea (I agree!). So hopefully this does the trick.

I explained the situation with my male cat and gave my vet the whole saga with his illness. I asked about the possibility of FIP and she didn't say anything outright, but I got the feeling she thought it was somewhat likely given his symptoms, but that we don't know yet what is wrong with him and must just wait for the tests to come back. I mentioned before that my male by all appearances looks to be a purebred Siamese, except he has little white paws. So I think he is a Showshoe. He is just the prettiest cat! He is blue eyed and pointed; except for the white paws I would've sworn he was purebred Siamese. I didn't know about the Snowshoe breed til I looked up Siamese with white paws. But his papers from the rescue say Snowshoe; I just didn't notice til the other day! Anyway, I know the coronavirus is much more likely to mutate into FIP in a purebred cat for unknown reasons. This makes me worry a little more that he has it.

We also got a Lysine for their eyes and a probiotic for their guts. Hoping it will be helpful for them!

Vets are amazing; I agree!

 

[Monk'sMom]

Continuing to follow your updates and send the best healing vibrations... no side effect to those!
Feel very free to post photos of your brave felines.

 

[Rennie090317]

Thank you, Monk'sMom! We could sure use some healing here! I am taking my male in to the vet on Monday morning so if you think of us, send some extra special luck our way then!

I tried to upload a pic but my phone isn't letting me access my gallery. Will try to figure out why. Technology has gotten away from me in my old age!

 

[Rennie090317]

Here's the two of them!

 

[WhiteFeather]

It must be a huge change to deal with very young kittens versus the older cats that you had before. Also young kittens are very active and I think we forget how active until they are ours!

 

[Monk'sMom]

They are so beautiful, Rennie090317, and so are you for fighting for them.