Help?! 4-week-old Kitten with diarrhea

[matchbox20girl]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to pop in with an update on Oliver.

I had to try to crate him again last night because of the diarrhea...and he was so unhappy. He cried and cried so I finally got up, put on old clothes, covered everything with old sheets and towels, and let him sleep with me. He's such a spoiled little babykins!

Today he ate the entire 1/2 tsp that I've been giving him of the Science Diet A/D canned food...as well as his usual KMR. We saw the vet again today, free of charge, and she wants us to get a stool sample and continue the anti-diarrhea meds, wormer, and antibiotics. I'll take a stool sample in tomorrow...I guess there's more they want to test for. They are concerned that there is an underlying problem since the diarrhea comes back every time I stop the diarrhea meds. :-(

I'm kind of worried/concerned...afraid they'll find something horrible that isn't fixable. On the other hand, he's playing, and eating (not very much, but he isn't very big, and he eats at frequent intervals..just not much at once.)

They want me to start offering solid food, so she gave me a big bag of Science Diet kitten formula to start mixing with the canned tonight. I guess we'll see what he thinks of that! lol

 

[junior67]

I have heard that the wormers can cause diarheah (sp?????? that is one work that I can NOT spell at all) too.......... could this be some of the problem? how many doses has he had?

and how many should a kitten that age have? mine only get one dose when they go to the vets............ mmmmmmmmmm

 

[catsarebetter]

If I remember correctly, it was Albon for potential or.. maybe it was diagnosed coccidia (sp?), they'd tested for worms at the first visit, and there were none, so didn't? give any wormer? Maybe I missed a post or something somewhere... but now have him on the antibiotics, the Albon, the anti-diarrhea meds. Don't quote me on that though.

Matchbox: Hope Oliver is doing okay, and sending lots of get well vibes to continue to get better! keep us posted.

 

[matchbox20girl]

I am soooooo TIRED. I mean I'm just tired. I'm exhausted in every way possible. This is worse than having a newborn baby in the house...I just spent the last hour crawling around on the living room floor, checking for "spots" on the carpet, either from him leaking the short time he's been out, or from him stepping in the runny goo in the litterbox.

Yesterday I had to move my bed and clean carpets because he leaked under it while he was sleeping.

I'm out of clean towels, rags, etc....the laundry is unbelieveable...between my frequent changes & the frequent changes of everything he touches or comes into contact with. Yesterday I answered the phone while carrying him and he dripped all over me, the floor, and the rug in the kitchen...so it had to go into the ever-growing laundry pile.

I don't mean to complain...I love him dearly and I don't regret for one SECOND picking this particular kitty. I feel if it weren't for us taking him home, he might not have had a chance at all. I'm just tired and frustrated, as is he.

He's taking 1cc of wormer every day, 1cc of Albon every day, vitamins every day, and anti-diarrhea meds 3x day. They take a while to kick in...so since I skipped a day we're still paying for it.

He kept me up all night last night, hollering from his crate....I'd let him out, and he'd want to run and play, but he's just too messy.

Sorry to be such a DOWNER tonight. We're taking a fecal sample in tomorrow for more testing, so wish us luck! (I think I already told you that..but I'm so tired and I can't remember!)

Thank you all for your concern.

I'll give another update as soon as I know more of what the tests have to say.

~Kim~

 

[junior67]

((((((((((((((KIM and OLIVER))))))))))))) hope you BOTH get some sleep soon!!!!!!!



Yeah I knew he was on that just wasn't sure how much worm med a kitten should get and can't that cause the runs????

 

[matchbox20girl]

Junior~Thanks! We got some sleep last night. I remember him waking me up a lot, but he wasn't unhappy like he was the night before. He was just a hungry baby last night. They want me to get him going on solid foods to see if that helps with the diarrhea issue, and he is NOT taking to it very well. I've tried mixing it with the canned food he likes so well, but he eats the canned food, licks the canned food OFF of the dry kibbles, and leaves the kibbles.

He's a smartie poo!

We took in a poop sample today and she said they should have it ran by 2-2:30, and it's almost 2 now, He's definitely interested in playing these days, and in eating. We brought Taco Bell in from home, and he was VERY interested in it! He became quite the nuisance, trying to take it from me. LOL TOO CUTE. I cannot believe this is the same kitty that was knocking on death's door less than a week ago!

I'll let everyone know how the new sample turns out.

~Kim~

Mommy to Oliver (aka Lucky)

 

[matchbox20girl]

The poop sample didn't show anything. Whew. *I think* ????????? The vet we saw wasn't in today, so we saw an older man, and he said that a lot of the time we see this in young kittens like this due to a bacterial build-up of the digestive system, and it just takes a bit to work through it and that our job was to keep him hydrated and as healthy as possible.

When we walked in, the vet walked in and sked if that was the kitten, and we said yes..and the girls working there said "yes, that is the miracle cat.."

I love my itty bitty kitty, so I hope he gets better. So he said the only thing he wanted to change about what we were already doing was to switch his food. We were giving him the prescription canned A/D from science diet, but he prescribed 3 cans of the w/d formula , and said if he did well and we wanted to give him more that we could. We're also to keep him on the antibiotic until it's gone, the wormer until it's gone, the Nutril Cal indefinitely, and this W/D food for at least 3 cans. I have a feeling we're going to need more diarrhea meds though because we waste more than we get down him. He HATES it and even refuses to eat if I mix it in his beloved A/D food.

OH! This is the BIG news....He weighed 1.2 ounces.

 

[catsarebetter]

Was that 1.2 ounces or 1.2 pounds? It's good that he's recovering so well. Not to make it more difficult for you, and someone else with more experience with kittens may need to chime in here because I'm not positive, but I think he may need to be eating every four hours around the clock. Has the vet mentioned anything about this? If he doesn't like the wet food, you might consider asking your vet about something else, because ... and again it's just my opinion, but it might be better if he's eating something decent as opposed to not eating "the right food". I have to say I don't necessarily agree with what the vet is recommending for food, but that's just my opinion and I think the important thing right now is that he's eating. Nutri Cal should help his weight, it's a high carorie supplement, so that they keep/gain weight.

If it were me and I was looking for a food, I think I'd try to find a high protein low carb, no grains wet food... I know Innova Evo makes one, which is balanced for cats and kittens, but I'm not sure who else does... anyone have any thoughts on that?? Surely don't take my advice as gospel or anything because I'm not sure what those formulas do or what might be a good substitution. Hopefully someone else with more nutrition knowledge will either disagree or agree and make a suggestion or two.

If you're still feeding him the KMR, you might try mixing the diarrhea meds into the KMR (he might boycott it, but he also might drink it right up). With my cats and meds they will fight me on, I put it in their wet food, which obviously isn't an option for you since he's not eating solids... but the KMR might disguise it enough that he eats it. You'd only want to mix the meds into a small amount of KMR (as much as you know he'll eat for sure), so that he eats the entire dose (provided of course that it works).. whereas if you mix it into too much food, he might fill up before the point where he's eaten it all.. it took me awhile to figure that one out with my cats. Hehe.

I'm glad he's improving! You're doing a really good job with him. Again, though, I'm going to suggest the doggy potty pads for carrying him around and for in his crate. Here's a link for "doggie" diapers, which come in an XXS, for dogs up to 4 pounds (might work for him)... http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2033166&Ne=2

and the link for the doggie pee pads, which I think you can cut down or put in areas where he's at a lot. There are ton of different brands.. I don't know if one is particularly better than the other, but here's an example. http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2033166&Ne=2

Sending more good luck and get better wishes! I'm so glad he's doing better.

 

[vidanova]

wow what a time you've had, and what a lucky kitty getting someone like you to care for him. He may be a miracle cat but he's got a supermum.

I'm glad things seem to be looking up, and I hope that Oliver goes from strength to strength

 

[momofmany]

I just caught this thread. WOW!! You have been through a lot with little Oscar!! My heart goes out to you as I too had a 4 week old kitten that I called Oscar that came with Coccidia. What I've learned about the disease is that it is cyclical in nature and can take a few weeks or more to clear out of their system. The medicine puts them in remission, but the cycle reoccurs and you have to start the meds again.

When I went through this with Oscar, I changed out his litter box at least twice a day. Completely thru giving him a new box and bleaching out the dirty one (you shouldn't use bleach but it's the only thing that will kill coccidia). If he uses a contaminated litter box, he can simply reinfest himself.

The other thing I remember is the vet suggesting that he eat a small amount of plain yogurt daily to help level out the imbalances in his stomach from all the medication. You might want to call your vet on that topic. I honestly can't remember how much I gave him but knew it was a teaspoon or less each day. You don't want to over feed yogurt as it can be more harm than good.

It sure sounds like coccidia, and do realize that most vets keep them on albon even if the test shows to be negative, because it is cyclical in nature. Follow your vets advice to the letter but still challenge them on their recommendations. I also have to suggest to do a google search on coccidia and find out more about it. It's been 4 years since I've dealt with it and am rusty on the topic.

And btw....my "little Oscar" has grown up into the "Big O". Once we got him thru his early health problems, he was just fine.

 

[matchbox20girl]

Heather~Thank you for your advice and suggestions! They are always, ALWAYS welcome and appreciated!

OMGOSH, I meant 1.2 POUNDS. lol He's GAINED since the IV and food switch.

Oliver isn't on the KMR anymore..he wasn't gaining and lost interest in it quickly, so that's when they put him on the a/d and he LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. He's also been taking the Nutri Cal every day, which he also takes pretty well for me. Last night he had SOLID, normal-brown color baby kitty poopies. We were so thrilled! lol

And I can tell he's filling out...they switched him over to the w/d to try to "thicken" up his poop, from what I understand, and he's LOVING it. I did go to sciencediet's website and read that it is a good canned food for kittens with diarrhea and tummy problems. I also mixed some dry Science Diet kitten food with water and he nibbled on some of that this morning..so I was very happy to see him interested in it!

Right now I'm feeding him about every 2 hours...which is usually about when he starts letting me know he wants to eat. He has free roam of the house now, is using his litterbox faithfully, and sleeps next to me all night. Last night before bedtime he was TEARING throught he house

So we finished the wormer today, and he still has 2 more days of antibiotic, and some of the diarrhea meds left. I don't know if we'll get more of that or not. I'll call tomorrow and ask before we face the weekend w/o.

I wish I could show you guys a video of this little guy--it's just absolutely AMAZING. The vet's office was shocked that he lived through the night last Friday, and now a week later he's spunky, playful, bright eyed, and sooooo content. I'm gushing, but I'm just SO IN LOVE with this kitten!!

 

[matchbox20girl]

Amy~Thank you so much for telling me your story and experience! Nothing showed up positive in any tests, so I think (I could be wrong..it's been a hazy 9 days) that they were thinking guiardia (sp??) but I'm not certain.

Does anyone have any idea how much a kitten that weighs 1.2 lbs would normally or SHOULD be eating...He eats about every 2 hours, and I estimate that I give him roughly about a 3/4-1 tsp per feeding, and he doesn't always finish it, but does a pretty good job.

 

[catsarebetter]

Usually, they have a guide on the cans, but basically I'd feed him as much as he'll eat... the science diet website probalby has a feeding guideline. The website says, 187 milliliters per day.. as close as I can tell, for a 5 pound cat. I have exactly no idea how much that is.

As a side note, the water in the dry food... you want to be careful with it as from what I understand if you mix the dry food with water, it can cause bacteria to grow. I think it's probably fine as long as you only mix a small amount, and toss whatever he doesn't eat right after he's done, but maybe someone will chime in with more knowledge about that.

 

[matchbox20girl]

Heather~I throw out what he doesn't eat because we have so much trouble with ants coming in. LOL (And also because I wouldn't want to eat stale food, so why should he?!)

I have no idea what that converts to, either. LOL

 

[catsarebetter]

Well, I realize you're probably trying to get an accurate count as to what he's *supposed* to be eating compared to what he is *actually* eating, but I think as long as he's eating as much as he can/wants, unless he noticeably drops off in appetite, he's probably okay. From what I understand, or have read on some different threads here, the commercial cat food companies don't always give an accurate measure, and that of course, also depends on how active/how old... if I remember correctly they often overestimate. Of course, if you were to ask the Tonk, otherwise known as Pogue, who lives in my house (he's 12 weeks..).. he gives four paws up to double feeding amounts.

There's probably a conversion chart somewhere on the net, but I have no idea where to look.