Kitten Diarrhea

Hi all,

I have an almost 8 week old kitten—spent the first five weeks of life in our barn and then I brought him and his litter mates inside. Around 4 weeks he had a severe eye infection and went to the vet and got topical and oral antibiotics. The eye improved but is still healing.
Soon after being brought inside, I noticed he had liquid diarrhea (and often outside of the litter box) and very irritated/swollen genitals/anus...there was blood in the stool and at times it appeared he had some rectal prolapse.

We saw the vet and his stool tested negative for parasites, she said he did not appear to have prolapse, and suggested part of the issue with his backside was from other kittens nursing on him possibly. Prescribed probiotics and a short round of antibiotics to firm things up and said possibly the first antibiotic had caused the diarrhea.

Well, we saw immediate improvement and by day 3 he seemed much better—solid poop!

As of yesterday he is the last of the litter, so now he is alone and he is having liquid and bloody stool again.
His appetite is great, he is very active, so I hesitate to make a third vet trip, but I am so ready for him to find a home and he is not very marketable as is :/

Continuing the probiotics, and I added a little white rice and pumpkin to his wet chicken food. Anything else I should be doing?? Can it be stress from being alone? He is meowing to come out constantly but he can’t roam the house when having so many gross poops.

I don’t know what antibiotic he had before, but it sounds like he needs metronidazole. I think you need to see the vet again. He can also be given an anti-diarrheal so he can come out and play.

What brand food are you feeding? Does he eat strictly wet food or dry food too?

Poor little guy. I feel sorry that he’s all alone. It can take time for bowel problems to resolve.

Keep us posted!

G girlmom4

Metronidazole is what he had the second time! Twice a day for three days and even after the first dose or two it was helping.

So we are using Blue Buffalo and he had all wet at first, then I added in some dry and I guess that’s around the time it started, so I am doing just wet today with the rice and pumpkin, but I know most people would rather just feed dry!

It’s already been over $300 in vet visits for him and his sister so I hate to go back again but if he doesn’t improve soon I guess we will have to :/

Blue Buffalo is excellent and should not cause diarrhea.

I hate that people only use dry food. It is not best by itself, and kittens really need wet. Also, dry food-only cats tend to get crystals in the bladder more easily.

Call the vet and ask to pick up a week’s worth of metronidazole. I don’t think 3 days was enough. They should be okay without you bringing him in since they saw him recently, and you’ll only pay for the meds.

G girlmom4

Okay good idea. I hate to keep using antibiotics but maybe a longer course would be worth one more try.
Hoping the rice and pumpkin firms things up overnight but I’ll call tomorrow and see if the meds without a visit is an option!

As he has much diarrheas, its wise to compensate for the salt losses. So clear flavorless pedialyte for babies is good.

Can you get raw goats milk? It may sometimes make a difference.

Kudos on finding homes for your barn kittens - you have such dedication! When you give him his antibiotics, do you keep it spaced away from the probiotics by at least 2-4 hours? Is his litter unscented/fragrance free? Diarrhea is one of the most frustrating conditions in dealing with kittens. I apply coconut oil or neosporin to sore rear ends and sometimes that helps sooth inflamed tissues, especially after a mild wash with a slippery elm bark and chamomile tea. Sometimes a weak baking soda or vinegar wash works to reduce the inflammation of those tender tissues - I just wince at the thought of them suffering so. After cleansing, you can try applying a thin coating of plain, unflavored yogurt instead of the oil/neosporin. Also, avoid using baby wipes, even the gentle/unscented ones and see if that helps.
I really like the suggestion of adding the unflavored pedialyte because sometimes rebalancing the electrolytes is all it takes to reduce the diarrhea, especially if the probiotics restore gut flora. He probably could benefit from the raw goat milk because of the same reasons.
How is the mother cat? Were you able to get her spayed?
Please keep us updated - kitten poop problems is an ongoing discussion for most of the rescuers on this site - so much so that we even have a smilie for it.