New Kitten Has Diarrhea And Vaginal Discharge

[jdean1120]

On Saturday I adopted a new kitten (female, 8 weeks old, unspayed). She weighs about 2 lbs and is supposed to receive a vaccine and a spay date on Thursday. Since I brought her home she has had both yellow-colored diarrhea and white discharge; the discharge is coming from either her anus or vagina (I am about 90% sure it is from her vagina). She has been eating wet food for kittens because she refused the food the shelter sent her home with. I have since switched her to a dry kibble that she enjoys. She is drinking plenty of water as well. She has been playful and never stops purring, and does not appear to be feverish; the only problem is the diarrhea and discharge.

I called the shelter where I got her and they requested me bring her in with a stool sample, which I did, but they said they couldn't see anything in the sample and gave her a dewormer to be thorough. Unfortunately, I didn't realize she was having the discharge until after the visit this morning. Since receiving the dewormer, she has been sleepy and irritable, but has still been eating, drinking, and purring.

So, is there more to this story? Is the discharge something to be concerned about, or can it wait until Thursday morning? It's been a minute since I've taken care of a kitten and everything she does worries me.

 

[jdean1120]

This is a pic of her, just because. We named her Raven.

 

[DeweytheLion]

Golly she's a cutie!
This all sounds suspicious to me, but I believe your best bet is getting advice from the vet. As long as she continues to eat and drink well, then waiting until Thursday is just what you're going to have to do. But I wish you both good luck! She is so darn cute!

 

[Sarthur2]

jdean1120

The yellow diarrhea may be from Coccidia. The white discharge may be from a fungal infection. Neither is normal.

Your kitten may need a couple of different medications to treat these issues.

I would suggest that you see the vet tomorrow about these problems, and delay the spay and vaccines for a couple of weeks until she is healthier.

It's a little too much going on all at once!

She's a cutie!

 

[kashmir64]

I am not sure about the discharge, but yellow diarrhea indicates either Coccidia or Giardia. She needs to be on either Albon or Panacur or both. Neither of these show up in a stool sample unless you get really lucky or you do quite a few.

I am really not sure why a kitten would have a discharge, but you may want to ask a vet about it.

 

[StefanZ]

Wait with vacc & spay, give pedialyte to help against diarrhea and water and salt losses. Contact your vet

 

[vyger]

On Saturday I adopted a new kitten (female, 8 weeks old, unspayed). She weighs about 2 lbs and is supposed to receive a vaccine and a spay date on Thursday. Since I brought her home she has had both yellow-colored diarrhea and white discharge; the discharge is coming from either her anus or vagina (I am about 90% sure it is from her vagina). She has been eating wet food for kittens because she refused the food the shelter sent her home with. I have since switched her to a dry kibble that she enjoys. She is drinking plenty of water as well. She has been playful and never stops purring, and does not appear to be feverish; the only problem is the diarrhea and discharge.

I called the shelter where I got her and they requested me bring her in with a stool sample, which I did, but they said they couldn't see anything in the sample and gave her a dewormer to be thorough. Unfortunately, I didn't realize she was having the discharge until after the visit this morning. Since receiving the dewormer, she has been sleepy and irritable, but has still been eating, drinking, and purring.

So, is there more to this story? Is the discharge something to be concerned about, or can it wait until Thursday morning? It's been a minute since I've taken care of a kitten and everything she does worries me.

It might be just me but I don't see the rush to get a kitten fixed. It is what we would call elective surgery. Something that can be done at a time that is good for everyone. Your ultimate time frame is around 6 months as that is when they could go into heat for the first time. For a female its pretty major surgery. So its best if the kitten is totally healthy before that stress is introduced. We usually have a series of free spay and neuter clinics in the spring and fall. One of them is arranged by a vet school and the ones who do the procedures are all students, all under the watchful eyes of one of the instructors. It gives them good experience because they go through a lot of animals in just a few days. Most of the kittens I have taken to that clinic have been in the range of 3 to 5 months. They all survived with no problems.

 

[StefanZ]

Very true. Normally its a hurry because we want to spay the kitten before the adoption, to be sure it will be done. But HERE when she is luckily adopted, there is no need for hurry until she becomes old enough to risk pregnancy. This will be the other practical time limit.

Its in much the same with vaccinating.

In cases where there are health problems, its always wise to wait with spaying, and even vaccinating, till she is entirely healthy.

It might be just me but I don't see the rush to get a kitten fixed. It is what we would call elective surgery. Something that can be done at a time that is good for everyone. Your ultimate time frame is around 6 months as that is when they could go into heat for the first time. For a female its pretty major surgery. So its best if the kitten is totally healthy before that stress is introduced. We usually have a series of free spay and neuter clinics in the spring and fall. One of them is arranged by a vet school and the ones who do the procedures are all students, all under the watchful eyes of one of the instructors. It gives them good experience because they go through a lot of animals in just a few days. Most of the kittens I have taken to that clinic have been in the range of 3 to 5 months. They all survived with no problems.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Females can go into heat as early as 4 months. There are plenty of posts on this forum about 6-month-olds who got pregnant before the vet would spay.

 

[Sarthur2]

I only recommend delaying the spay and vaccines a short period of 2-4 weeks while she recovers from her current medical issues. Early spaying before hormones come in is always preferred.