I've had a kitten for 6 days and think he is sick. Diarrhea, lethargic......Need opinions please!

[carolina]

Auroraei


With regard to feeding raw food, I tend to agree with you.  Whilst I fully agree that raw food is the best way to go, you must stand a very good chance of giving food poisoning to your cat by feeding raw food, full of bacteria - even worms???  I appreciate that many go down this road with good results, but it is not for me.

Taxido, we have a wonderful forum if you want to get educated in the subject, where this issue has been discussed in depth. There are no worms in the raw meats we feed. Worms are found in the guts, not in the muscle and organs we feed.
We also already discussed the bacterial load here, but there is plenty more information in the raw forum. You are correct in saying raw feeding is not for everyone; it is not. It requires time and getting educated. It is much more than opening a bag, or a can. But if you think that kibbles are nit loaded with harmful bacteria, you might be up to a rude awakening, starting by salmonella.

 

[carolina]

How is the kitten doing today?

 

[auroraei]

Update: I didn't wake up to any squirt messes, and usually when I get up his litter box is a squirt mess but today it isn't. I can't tell if he still has diareah though. It's a little hard to tell with clumping litter but one thing is for sure, it's not a squirt mess. I don't want to get my hopes up too high yet because he has days where he's mess free, then the next day he's squirting all over the place again so we'll see. I'll stick with the chicken diet for a couple more days, but so far it's looking promising.

 

[vball91]

Well, that's promising. Keeping my fingers crossed that it works!

 

[carolina]

Update: I didn't wake up to any squirt messes, and usually when I get up his litter box is a squirt mess but today it isn't. I can't tell if he still has diareah though. It's a little hard to tell with clumping litter but one thing is for sure, it's not a squirt mess. I don't want to get my hopes up too high yet because he has days where he's mess free, then the next day he's squirting all over the place again so we'll see. I'll stick with the chicken diet for a couple more days, but so far it's looking promising.

remember, you can feed him this a full 2 weeks... Let his hos body have a rest and recover from all that diarrhea.... Give him more than just a few days... I do have a feeling this is diet related..... Do you have probiotics for him already? Not fortiflora.... But a good probiotic? Are you giving him one?
Very very good news! :

 

[auroraei]

remember, you can feed him this a full 2 weeks... Let his hos body have a rest and recover from all that diarrhea.... Give him more than just a few days... I do have a feeling this is diet related..... Do you have probiotics for him already? Not fortiflora.... But a good probiotic? Are you giving him one?
Very very good news!

:

I know I probably should feed him chicken for more than a couple days, but I feel so bad for him. Won't he get bored of just chicken?

I was trying to sprinkle human probiotics in his food a couple times, but he can tell, and he doesn't like the taste, and won't eat his food when I put it in there, so I stopped trying that. But no, as far as cat probiotics go I haven't given him that yet.

Also I thought Fortiflora was good? it's not? What's a good one?

 

[carolina]

Another thing, when you go back to a cat food (hopefully to a limited ingredients diet) do it very VERY slowly. Start by mixing one tea spoon per meal at a time, and see how he does. Do not in any circumstances hurry this process, or you will be right back where you started. And do put him on a probiotic when you do that....

 

[carolina]

I know I probably should feed him chicken for more than a couple days, but I feel so bad for him. Won't he get bored of just chicken?

I was trying to sprinkle human probiotics in his food a couple times, but he can tell, and he doesn't like the taste, and won't eat his food when I put it in there, so I stopped trying that. But no, as far as cat probiotics go I haven't given him that yet.

Also I thought Fortiflora was good? it's not? What's a good one?

don't feel bad for him.... You should feel good that he is not feeling sick with all that diarrhea! No, he should be fine eating chicken.... And no, fortiflora isn't a good one. The ingredients are quite nasty
Here is a good, excellent one, actually: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00028P5PU/?tag=&tag=thecatsite
Give him 1/2 capsule in the morning meal.

 

[auroraei]

don't feel bad for him.... You should feel good that he is not feeling sick with all that diarrhea! No, he should be fine eating chicken.... And no, fortiflora isn't a good one. The ingredients are quite nasty

Here is a good, excellent one, actually: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00028P5PU/?tag=&tag=thecatsite
Give him 1/2 capsule in the morning meal.

That price seems like of steep for something he might not eat. There's nothing cheaper that's just as good? What about Bene Bac?

 

[carolina]

That price seems like of steep for something he might not eat. There's nothing cheaper that's just as good? What about Bene Bac?

the advantage of this, is that it is live cultures, not dead/fermented. Benebac is ok, but not nearly as good. I have used it.... Definitely an option. Keep in mind that price is for 180 capsules, you will feed 1/2 for now.... And since it is human, you can take it too.... It's GOOD stuff!
As he grows, you can give one a day. I have 4 cats, including a very finicky one, all of them eat it without an issue. Lots of tcs kitties use this probiotic and to date I haven't heard of a single one not liking it :nod:

 

[carolina]

Just to add..... That is $22 for 180 capsules while fortiflora online is $19 for 30 days. At the vets office it's over $30! Only this is 500 x more powerful than fortiflora, minus animal digest, salt, and contains LIVE cultures....

 

[vball91]

Just to add that I use the same probiotic that Carolina recommended, and my cat (who is finicky) eats it with no problems. She actually seems to like it sprinkled on her food. I figured if she didn't like it, I would take it.

 

[auroraei]

Thanks guys, I will look into buying it.

Also spoke too soon, he seems to still have diareah. A little bit, in his litter box though. Sighhh.

Scratch that, a lot of diareah

 

[carolina]

Thanks guys, I will look into buying it.

Also spoke too soon, he seems to still have diareah. A little bit, in his litter box though. Sighhh.

Scratch that, a lot of diareah

But he is making into the litterbox, right? No accidents out of it? That on itself (if that is the case), is an improvement. Give it some time. Don't stop the chicken diet.... Let whatever it was in his system get out.... Wait a couple of days before getting to any conclusions.....

 

[auroraei]

But he is making into the litterbox, right? No accidents out of it? That on itself (if that is the case), is an improvement. Give it some time. Don't stop the chicken diet.... Let whatever it was in his system get out.... Wait a couple of days before getting to any conclusions.....

He usually only has accidents when I'm asleep. And when i say "accidents" I mean he will climb on one of the couches and poop on it. He never goes on the couches unless he plans to poop there so I don't get it. Or he finds a spot on the floor.

 

[carolina]

That's an indication of pain. Much like a cat that has an UTI, he relates the litterbox with the pain he feels when he poops.... In his little head, he thinks if he doesn't poop there, it won't hurt
Cats are neat beings, and there is always a reason to Pee or poop out of the box.... Quite often the reason is pain. The second most common reason is dissatisfaction with the box itself.

 

[auroraei]

That's an indication of pain. Much like a cat that has an UTI, he relates the litterbox with the pain he feels when he poops.... In his little head, he thinks if he doesn't poop there, it won't hurt

Cats are neat beings, and there is always a reason to Pee or poop out of the box.... Quite often the reason is pain. The second most common reason is dissatisfaction with the box itself.

I think he poops elsewhere when I'm asleep because his box gets dirty and he doesn't like that. So I'll either have to get another box or something. He's never acted like he's in pain, so I don't know about that :\

 

[carolina]

As you get to know him, you will see the ways cats express pain.... This is one of them. And yes, another box is an excellent idea.... I think this has been mentioned here in this thread before. Rule of thumb for number of boxes is number of cats, plus one. So for one cat you should ideally have two boxes, especially when having issues.

 

[ldg]

As you get to know him, you will see the ways cats express pain.... This is one of them. And yes, another box is an excellent idea.... I think this has been mentioned here in this thread before. Rule of thumb for number of boxes is number of cats, plus one. So for one cat you should ideally have two boxes, especially when having issues.

I really would consider at least one more box.

 

[taxido]

Unless the diarrhoea returns with a vengeance keep him on the boiled chicken for the minimum of a week, possibly longer.  I doubt he will get bored with it, and anyway if he did get bored with it, he would refuse to eat it.

Remember, if the diarrhoea stops, the toiletting issues may stop too.