Kitten goes 4 times a day

[foreman]

Of my two 5 month old kittens, both had an occasional issue with gas in recent months. One poops a lot, 4-5 times a day. It also tends to smell bad, worse than my previous experience with cats and I've known a number in my life.

I took that one kitten to a vet and they found nothing wrong with a scat test. I gave them Pro-Sense Dewormer which seemed to help for a short while, but didn't solve. Someone recommended another brand of dewormer, I am not seeing any secondary signs of worm infestation. I don't know if the kitten has simple digestive issues, but the smell is indicating something. Food is standard wet and quality brand grain free dry.

The kitten is acting healthy, energetic, no vomiting or lethargy.

I would appreciate suggestions.

 

[squirrelfriend]

Dry cat food is actually unhealthy for cats, I'd recommend you kick it out of their diet completely. Tiki cat after dark is a good line, feline natural, weruva classics, fancy feast naturals, are all better alternatives.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

When you gave the de-wormer, did you see any evidence of worms? As far as I know, you do need to follow up a de-worming with another one (look at your instructions on the box or bottle), because usually the medication only kills the adults and so you need to do a 2nd one to get the larvae that hatch later. BUT that would only apply if he really had worms.

Food can definitely play a part in gas, how much they go, etc. If there is a lot of fiber, for instance, that might cause more poops. And, no just because one kitten goes more, doesn't mean the other would. All bodies process things differently. If you don't think it's some newly hatched worms, you might try adding in some probiotics to their food. Many people here use them on their cats. S. Boulardi seems to be a favorite. Plus feeding food without a lot of "junk" in it, and that would include vegies, rice, etc. Cats are obligate carnivotes which means they really only need meat, organs, some form of calcium, and vitamins and minerals.

 

[Antonio65]

It happened the same with my current kitty.
She was going up to 5 times a day, it was soft or very soft, and terribly smelly. I had dewormed her twice before, two months in a row.
We did everything, to no avail, and all pre- and probiotics I tried gave no result.

A next fecal test revealed the giardia. To cut this long story short, we did three courses of Panacur to fight the parasite for good. In order to make sure this was definitive, I followed a complete sanitizing of my home everyday for ten days, and disposed of the whole litter and sanitized the tray likewise.
Giardia can persist in the house for weeks if left untreated.
The product I used was a quaternary ammonium cation that I found in a pet shop.

My advice is to have the poop tested for giardia, which is a specific test. Talk with your vet and see what guidelines they give for collecting and testing your kitty's poop.

Also, I gave my kitty a yeast that someone advised me about here on TCS, saccharomyces boulardii, for human use.

 

[foreman]

Antonio65 , that is helpful thank you.

Can you recommend the type of Panacur? Over the counter or prescription? It will likely have to be a liquid for a cat.

saccharomyces boulardii, for human use? Meaning human dose or cat dose?

 

[Antonio65]

Antonio65 , that is helpful thank you.

Can you recommend the type of Panacur? Over the counter or prescription? It will likely have to be a liquid for a cat.

saccharomyces boulardii, for human use? Meaning human dose or cat dose?

Panacur is the commercial name of the med, so it can be only given on prescription, depending on the market.
Over here in Italy the prescription is required.
My vet told me to give the kitten 1/3 (one third) pill once a day for 6 days. It depends on the kitten's weight.

The boulardii I got over the counter at the pharmacy is a powder, in little bags of 250 mg.
The first 10 days I would give 125 mg twice a day, then I kept giving her 125 mg once a day. My cat has been taking this boulardii since June, it can be given for a long time.
The first results were visible after nearly a week.

Hope it helps.

 

[Antonio65]

F foreman ,
Please notice that the Panacur should be given to the cat ONLY after a positive test for giardia.
So, my advice is to have your kitten's poop tested, and IF positive then you can give it the Panacur.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I buy S. Boulardi in capsule form. Human form is the only form I know of. In the beginning I usually give 1/4 capsule (eyeball it), twice per day, then move upto 1/2 capsule twice per day. (powder is inside, just open up the capsule - it's probably what Antonio65 got, only without the capsule )

The only reason I'm not thinking giardia is because you have TWO kittens and the other one isn't having this issue, right? Giardia is extremely contagious, so if one had it, they would both have it, logically. But certainly ask our Vet if they tested for it alrady when they did the "scat test", and if they didn't, ask if they should.

 

[foreman]

Noted, I'm searching for another vet. The last one was overpriced.

I have 3 cats, one 8 year old with no symptoms. The other kitten has occasional issues of bad smelling gas which is not normal. He doesn't have the same problem and he's stronger physically so I'm not surprised by that. There's some correlation with the two kittens.

Someone recommended SafeGuard dewormer as similar as Panacur so I ordered some of that. I'm also looking into some herbal remedies too. Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Antonio65]

Wouldn't it be better and safer if you were able to make sure your kitty needs a dewormer like that?
Panacur/Safeguard should be administered only if necessary, this is what I knew.

Please, let us know how it goes.

 

[cataholic07]

Yah I never recommend deworming without the vet telling you the cat has worms after a fecal test. Dewormers do a number on the tummies to begin with. I would get a fecal test done. It could be the food to. I find certain brands of food just don't do well for their tummies and it reeks.. the poorer the quality (aka more fillers) the worse it can be. Its why I feed my cats mainly raw, no more smelly poop lol. My first cat (who was 14 at the time) had severely stinky poops (like the entire house smelled horrific) but it was because of her GI lymphoma, IBD can do the same. But a young kitten its probably just food sensitivities.