I've been fostering a mother and kittens since about a week and a half before the babies were born, and the mother cat has had very loose stools the whole time. The kittens were fine once we introduced them to wet food at about five weeks, but then once we introduced dry food (Purina kitten chow naturals) two weeks later, they started having the worst diarrhea. It was pretty much pure liquid and stank to high heaven. They got dewormed at six weeks and the stench went away, but their stool is still incredibly loose. They're now twelve weeks old and all (momma kitty included) still have diarrhea. The kittens were given some kind of liquid med last week- I don't know what it's called but it was yellow and they all got it once a day for three weeks. I'll see if I can track down the name. Momma was put on pro-pectalin tablets at the same time, but she didn't get it for the first couple days because she won't eat it in food. She's gotten a tablet and a half a day for the last five days. The kittens were put on pro-pectalin gel the day before yesterday. Still no improvement from anyone. They get pumpkin once a day every other day. They have had three different fecal tests done over the last month, all negative. We're going to try to get them to a vet, but since they're not my actual cats, I don't have any control over it. Any ideas?
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Mother and kittens with diarrhea
- Thread starter katlcov
- Start Date
Hi and welcome to TCS - although I am sorry no one has responded to your post yet. Maybe if you answer some questions that crossed my mind it might help.
Are the kittens still nursing at all?
What fecal tests were run? Mom also?
Does the mom eat the Purina dry food too?
Was the mom dewormed as well?
Did you find out the liquid med that was given to the kittens, and did the mom get it too?
Not sure what you mean by not being able to take them to the vet - because you are fostering? Does that include Mom? If they haven't been to the vet, who has been prescribing the meds and tests they have had so far?
Sorry for all the questions, but I am hoping any additional information you can provide might be helpful to others.
Are the kittens still nursing at all?
What fecal tests were run? Mom also?
Does the mom eat the Purina dry food too?
Was the mom dewormed as well?
Did you find out the liquid med that was given to the kittens, and did the mom get it too?
Not sure what you mean by not being able to take them to the vet - because you are fostering? Does that include Mom? If they haven't been to the vet, who has been prescribing the meds and tests they have had so far?
Sorry for all the questions, but I am hoping any additional information you can provide might be helpful to others.
I want to add, as they have watery diarrhea, they should have extra salts / electrolytes.
Easiest is to use some pedialyte, or some nice minerale water. Let the gas out... You see on the label what salts are there.
You can start by sprinkling a little salt in their food.
Dosage I dont know, but apparently some is better than nothing.
The fluid they got during 3 weeks could be Albon, this is a common but slowly working med against coccidia.
Easiest is to use some pedialyte, or some nice minerale water. Let the gas out... You see on the label what salts are there.
You can start by sprinkling a little salt in their food.
Dosage I dont know, but apparently some is better than nothing.
The fluid they got during 3 weeks could be Albon, this is a common but slowly working med against coccidia.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Finally got momma and babies to the vet yesterday afternoon! But once again, no answers. They ran two more fecals with no results, so they sent one off to their lab to get a more thorough test, I guess. Vet said to keep watching them, keep feeding them what they'll eat. They weren't worried about dehydration since they eat and drink plenty. The vet told us to keep giving pro-pectalin to everyone.
The kittens are nursing a little bit, but I think it's mostly just for comfort at this point. Momma is pretty far along in weaning them.
I don't know what the fecal tests were- one of the recent ones was a float test? The momma and kittens all use the same litter box, so we don't know whose poop is whose. We tend to just get a bunch from different poop puddles, lol!
Momma kitty eats the Purina kitten as well, yes, and has the whole time she's been with us.
Momma kitty was dewormed as well. Her poop has never been as smelly as the kittens were for that little while, but she's always been very loose and the dewormer didn't change that. She's also very gassy!
I have not been able to find out what the liquid med was- my human mother is the one who got it from the shelter and she can't remember the name. Also, they got it for three DAYS- I made a typo. Whoops! I haven't gotten the chance to ask the tech what it was. Momma didn't get it, she got pro-pectalin tablets.
I'm fostering them through my local humane society, so vet visits are on their dime. I have to get approval from the head to take a foster to the vet, so I can request an appointment, but it's ultimately not my decision whether or not to take them to the vet. I'm dependant on someone else. They have been going to get checked at the animal shelter by the vet tech there. She's been giving the meds and running the tests- excluding the actual vet visit we finally got! Normally she can handle things, but this diarrhea is just out of her depths.
The kittens are nursing a little bit, but I think it's mostly just for comfort at this point. Momma is pretty far along in weaning them.
I don't know what the fecal tests were- one of the recent ones was a float test? The momma and kittens all use the same litter box, so we don't know whose poop is whose. We tend to just get a bunch from different poop puddles, lol!
Momma kitty eats the Purina kitten as well, yes, and has the whole time she's been with us.
Momma kitty was dewormed as well. Her poop has never been as smelly as the kittens were for that little while, but she's always been very loose and the dewormer didn't change that. She's also very gassy!
I have not been able to find out what the liquid med was- my human mother is the one who got it from the shelter and she can't remember the name. Also, they got it for three DAYS- I made a typo. Whoops! I haven't gotten the chance to ask the tech what it was. Momma didn't get it, she got pro-pectalin tablets.
I'm fostering them through my local humane society, so vet visits are on their dime. I have to get approval from the head to take a foster to the vet, so I can request an appointment, but it's ultimately not my decision whether or not to take them to the vet. I'm dependant on someone else. They have been going to get checked at the animal shelter by the vet tech there. She's been giving the meds and running the tests- excluding the actual vet visit we finally got! Normally she can handle things, but this diarrhea is just out of her depths.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Will do, thank you!
Not all parasites show up in tests. Have they been given metronidazole yet? It treats parasites as well as bacterial intestinal infections. You might want to ask.
The liquid yellow med sounds like it was Albon.
I’m sorry you and the kitties are dealing with this.
The liquid yellow med sounds like it was Albon.
I’m sorry you and the kitties are dealing with this.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
Well, at least what they have has been identified and now can be treat4d properly. I hope you see improvement soon!
That’s what I suspected. They’ll finally get metronidazole now (or fenbendazole). Giardia is very contagious, by the way.
To expound on the contagious matter - meaning you need to keep the litter box(es) thoroughly cleaned out at all times.
Giardiasis in Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment - Cats.com
Giardiasis in Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment - Cats.com
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
I think they'll be getting both? I know they got Panacur from the shelter today, and they'll be getting something else from the pharmacy, presumably the metronidazole. It's all going to be liquid meds, so hopefully they'll take it just fine.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #12
That article is really helpful, thank you! It's looking like I don't have to worry that much about my resident cats. The foster babies stay in one room, and only the runt has had any interactions with the residents- we've had to pull him out to feed him by himself, he's a picky booger! One of our kitties loves to groom, so she's groomed him some. She's the only one I'm really worried about, but even then, she's a healthy adult, so I'm not too stressed. Momma and kittens have one extra-large litter box they use that no one else uses.
This definitely explains why the runt has been so slow to gain weight!
