Worried about kitten with round belly

[aicha34]

I'm quite concerned about one of our kittens, who has a very round belly. It's been like this since we got him just over two months ago (from a shelter at 8 weeks old), and hasn't particularly got better or worse. He doesn't seem to have any discomfort from it.

I was initially thinking it might be some residual internal parasites, as he did have coccidia when we got him and it had been a while since his last worming treatment, but the vet did a fecal examination on Saturday which came back totally clear. This is obviously a good thing, but now one explanation for the round belly has vanished I'm actually MORE worried!

He seems pretty healthy otherwise. He has a really good appetite, is growing steadily, and has tons of energy--he and the other kitten chase each other around the apartment at high speed for an hour at a time! He uses the litter box regularly, his coat seems in good condition, and his eyes are bright.

The only other health issues he's had are several colds (cleared up now) and that he breathes faster than our other kitten. Vet suggested this is likely caused by pressure from his swollen stomach, but didn't seem overly concerned about the breathing last time she saw him. She has checked, double-checked, and triple-checked his heart and said it sounded perfectly healthy, so unlikely to be the cause of the fast breathing.

I will be taking him back to the vet for his shots within the week, so vet will have a closer look then, but just wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar or could offer any suggestions?

I'm not sure if this is cause to worry (please not FIP!), or if I'm just being paranoid XD. This is only the second time I've had a cat, and this is after our first cat died in May at just 8 months old due to a very severe congenital heart defect... So I might be a bit over-sensitive to health issues! (And I was a worrier to begin with...T_T)

 

[franksmom]

Hi and welcome to the cat site!

So does the vet think his stomach is abnormal? Most kittens tend to be pretty chubby around their stomachs, but if the vet has said it is swollen then I can understand being worried. Has the vet run any tests or taken an x-ray or ultrasound?

What are you feeding him? It may be an allergy or food intolerance if everything else medically has been looked at. If you would like to get some more information on feline nutrition you can take a look at the nutrition forum on here and in my opinion a great site to check out is (www.catinfo.org). 

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[aicha34]

Hi, thanks for your reply!

Last time the vet saw him a few weeks ago she wasn't sure whether his stomach was actually swollen or if it was just kitten roundness, but when I spoke to her on Saturday she sounded a bit concerned that he was still so round. (She didn't actually see him, as she'd told me to just bring the fecal sample that day and then bring him in later in the week for his shots.)

He's currently fed on primarily wet food (a variety of brands), with occasional dry when we have to be out of the house for longer than usual (in the process of switching to Acana, but currently mixed with some Royal Canin Kitten). With the wet food we also mix in some lysine twice a day, as he's had trouble with colds. We try to feed a range of kitten wet and ones for all life stages.

It's possible his stomach might still be a bit sensitive after 2 weeks of antibiotics for the cold he had, but I've been wondering about food intolerances too. He does sometimes have very soft stools, and occasionally diarrhea.

Honestly, I'm really unhappy with the range of wet food he's getting at the moment. We live in Japan, and I'm having a lot of trouble finding wet food that is a) complete, and b) NOT FISH. 90% of the food I can find here is fish based, and the other 10% is almost all chicken (but not complete!). Unfortunately I haven't had much more luck searching online...

I know it's not good for cats to eat so much fish, so am considering trying to transition to raw--seems to be the only way I can ensure they get a diet with varied proteins. I'm a bit wary of switching without knowing what's going on with his stomach, though.

I have also ordered a probiotic, but he hasn't started it yet.

 

[pinkman]

Wow, your situation sounds similar to mine! And I'm Japanese also. 

 Welcome to TCS! I just sent you a PM! My kitten Bagel is 9 weeks old and he too has a round belly and coccidia. Your kitten have a round belly be simply because he is still fighting the coccidia... 

A wise member here told me that kittens are already prone to sickness, and fighting coccidia takes a lot of energy so it lowers their immune system. That can explain a lot of the sneezing. Of course I am not a vet and Bagel is my first kitten. 

Unfortunately I can't give you one simple answer because I'm not a vet... But I can try to share my experience with Bagel if that helps ease your worry.

 

[franksmom]

Yes pinkman is right it could very well be coccidia- was he tested for that? Take a look at pinkman's thread there is a lot of good advice on treatment there (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262945/dark-brown-eye-crust-in-corners-of-eyes). 

For raw you may want to wait until everything is cleared up but you can always try giving him a bit of meat here and there. Take a look at the raw forum on here and maybe ask the experts there what they think.

 

[aicha34]

He was tested for coccidia along with worms on Saturday, and it came back clear. But I don't know the accuracy level of the tests, so maybe it's possible he's still fighting it off?

I've noticed that he does seem to eat an awful lot and poop an awful lot (many times a day, sometimes not so solid

), which suggests something is going on in his digestive system! (And isn't much fun for the person cleaning up the stinkies...)

pinkman, I hope Bagel is feeling better and fighting off the coccidia and URI! Had a look at the other thread and he's quite the cutie It's nice to know I'm not alone in dealing with a bloated kitten, though.

Franksmom, I will definitely check out the raw forum too!
 

Am hoping to get both kitties to the vet by the end of the week, so hopefully they'll be able to put my fears at rest a bit too!

 

[aicha34]

Hey, thought I'd post a quick update since I took both kittens to the vet on Sunday.

The vet checked out Luke's stomach and agreed that it's still quite big, but thinks it seems better than last time. She said it seems much less gassy, and she didn't get the impression that it's fluid (which is good). She doesn't, however, know what's causing it! She said it could possibly be a food intolerance though. Since it doesn't seem to be causing him any problems and he seems otherwise healthy, the plan is just to keep monitoring him for now and see if he grows out of it. We'll also be checking for internal parasites again next time, just in case.

The probiotics are due to arrive today, so I'll also be starting both kitties on those. Have been experiencing some soft stools again this week, so hopefully they'll help with that, and am also looking further into raw feeding in case it is an intolerance to something in the wet food they're getting. (Haven't given them any dry for a week.)

The good news is that they were FINALLY both healthy enough to get their shots! 

 Although Luke, being determined to worry me, got a watery, squinty right eye again the night before the vet, which still hasn't totally cleared up--aarrrrrghhh! 

 

[leebee12]

Hi aicha34,
I know it’s been years since you posted but my cat has the same issues. Any chance you could share what the outcome was? Was it from the coccidia? How did Luke fair? Anything you can share I would appreciate.