We adopted a homeless kitten that had been at the barn 2 weeks with his sister . They were kept separate from the adults. His sister was adopted so he lived in the barn office for 10 days. They fed him…Meow Mix. Of course I get him home, change his diet and he has diarrhea. Not watery dysentery but cow plop stool. I know it’s diet. He is getting into the big cats food which is Fancy Feast and Instict Ultimate Protein 95% dry cat food. He is not ill but I need to slow this down to be able to get to a vet next week as I feel he is going to get debilitated. He is very energetic. I am considering getting some Forti Flora probiotic (approved for kittens) or slippery elm. I am going to Pet Smart tomorrow. What do I get him? Trying to firm up his stools a bit before he gets into trouble on a holiday weekend.
How’s it smell? Are you SURE it’s not giardia?
If it’s just reaction to new food, I like immodium to firm them up. Use the liquid and a 1cc syringe.
If it stinks like giardia, a course of fenbendazole will take care of that.
Dosage for both can be found online.
I would assume parasites first. Roundworms and coccidia are ubiquitous in kittens. Giardia is fairly rare in most situations. Get a fecal exam. You should be able to drop off a fecal exam at your clinic and at least get that started. You need to know for sure the parasite issue since there is a chance to pass to the other cats
The probiotic and slippery elm will not harm. Can you put the food up where kitten cannot get to for now?
Was he okay with Meow Mix? If yes, I’d try this again and change his diet slowly step by step to the brand you prefer. In case of doubt I’d go see the vet because these tiny dwarfs dehydrate quickly.
Yes. Sad face. Lol I went and got KMR today and Forti Flora today and kitten will only get that and water for 5 days. KMR should put some weight on also. I remember having trouble getting Lewis off KMR because he liked it so much. Lewis had cryptosporidium when he was a kitten so I know what true dysentery looks like. This isn’t it. I will get him to a vet once we get out of the holiday weekend. No worries if he suddenly isn’t doing well this weekend. We have 24 hour emergency vet close. He is extremely active.
At nine weeks, and after being on real cat food, going back to kmr is probably not a great way to go.
Sounds like giardia or coccidia. I had two kittens with coccidia, one had projectile diarrhea, the other more cow plop consistency. The one with the worst case had two or three rounds of treatment as it kept coming back. The other one was just fine after a couple days of meds.
Stool much better today. He is getting 1/3 packet a day of Forti Flora, as much KMR as he will drink and as much canned kitten Fancy feast as he will eat. Only pooped once in 24 hours and it was much more formed. Everyone in the house is tired today. 5 days of active kitten has everyone taking afternoon naps. but everyone is bright eyed and happy. Will get him to the vet this week and will stay on the forti Flora until we do.
He is locked away at night and the big cats cannot wait to go to bed. He wears them out!
So this is what I’m thinking now. The diarrhea is back because he did not eat his full dose of Forta Flora last night and it came back with a vengeance. He ate rotisserie chicken today and got a full dose in but all that is doing is pushing the diarrhea down. Vet appointment at 9;30 on Thurs.
Giardia poop has a very distinctive foul smell.
Five days of panacur is pretty effective at clearing it up, ime.
I got cryptosporidium from drinking from a water hose at a horse show. That was water thin and had a distinctive smell. All I’mm smelling is stinky kitten poop, nothing distinctive.
Giardia is foul! You’d notice! :dead:
Curious what the vet and the fecal say, but it sounds like gastritis from what you’ve written here. Lots of food change. KMR isn’t really suitable for weaned animals, and they lose the ability to digest those proteins. Rotisserie chicken is also not great for a kitten with poop problems. That’s a lot of assault to the gut.
Consistent, age appropriate, meals should help a lot.
I agree. Rotisserie chicken was low on my list but he would eat it and I could get his probiotic down which made him feel better.
Vet report: he is healthy and has nothing! So while it probably is a food issue he is on a 10 day round of Flagyl as while he still may have parasites, they couldn’t find any in the fecal sample I gave them. He has no fleas or mites and is FIV/FELV negative. Whew!
I’ve had a dozen cats over the years and have seen this problem more than once. Here are some things that worked for me:
A course of metronidazole (flagyl). In addition to taking care of parasites, it has anti-inflammatory action on the gut, so it can help calm things down even if there are no parasites. Takes about 4 days to start seeing results. You’re already doing this so hopefully your kitten will be better soon.
For a really stubborn case, sometimes a shot of Depo-medrol will break the cycle. I only had one cat that needed this, but it was the only thing that worked for him.
A grain-free diet. I’ve had several cats that absolutely could not tolerate food with any grains at all. I now feed only grain-free cat food and it’s been years since I had a cat with diarrhea. Pet supply stores often have small sample packages of food that you can try to see what your kitten likes. Just be sure to check the ingredients label.
You’re doing everything right for your kitten. It’s not unusual for kittens coming into a new home to get diarrhea, but it’s usually something that clears up eventually and doesn’t come back. Sometimes it just takes a little tincture of time.
Keep us updated–I’m pulling for your little guy!
Thank you for your reply! He now is on straight Wellness canned beef/chicken with no deviation so we’ll see how it goes… It is grain free. He will not do a kitten formula so there are worse things he could be eating. Thank you for the info the Flagyl can take 4 days to work and also in antiinflammatory. He gets his Forti Flora every day. He is a ball of energy, eating drinking well and wrestling with the big boys. His stools got a little loose today but ok so I increased his Forti Flora to 1/2 packet a day.
If you haven’t tried it yet, immodium can get them over the hump. A single dose is often enough to firm them up permanently. Sometimes it just seems like the loose poop is a vicious cycle, and the diarrhea just keeps the gut irritated.
I do have a kitten now that needed a course of famotidine. His stools were terrible to the point I was worried about pancreatic insufficiency or crazy stuff like Addison’s. All my usual tricks didn’t work, but when he started vomiting on and off, I pulled out the famotidine and TADA, normal poop. So just one more thing to keep in mind.
His poops look good now and I can tell he feels better. He gets Flagyl twice a day so to wash it down I give him a couple of cc’s of water mixed with the Forti Flora. It’s hard when they are little. They get behind the curve so quick.
Glad to hear he is doing better, and was always energetic!
Progress, yay! That’s awesome!
