Active Kitten Has Bloating And Diarrhea Despite Deworming

luvlace4

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Hello Everyone,

I am a new kitten mom and an admitted worrier. My husband found a kitten all by himself out in the bitter cold and snow the day after Christmas. I took him to the vet the next day to find out he was about 7 weeks old, 1.6lbs, ear mites, uri, yeast infection and bacterial infection from mites, and with a swollen belly/the vet said thickening in intestines--She suspected worms. The fecal test came back neg, but he passed worms the next day and got on medication.

Anyway, the vet explained that the worms were probably not mature worms yet and thus the fecal test missed them because there were no eggs. I repeated the worming meds one week later but he hasn't passed any worms since. The thing is that his belly is still swollen--a little more-so, I think. He has also been having diarrhea and soft stool on and off and it got really bad yesterday. He went to the bathroom at least five times in one day and had runny stool every time (and his belly shrunk a little). I gave him some pumpkin and today things seem a little better/stool is solid, but I'm concerned about the fact that his belly is so big (again).

I go back to the vet on Wednesday and, of course, I will bring up my concerns. However I need a little reassurance before then. Is this normal or probably a sign of something more serious? His ears look great, nose stopped running, eyes only run a little bit now, and he has some irritation around the eye and squinting (I'm still applying ointment twice a day). His fiv tests came back negative. He has a good appetite and plays hard :) I have attached a picture, but it is really hard to tell from that as he has longer hair. He is looking a little pathetic as the ear meds make him all greasy. Such a sweetheart though :)
 

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jcat

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Diarrhea and bloating are quite common in found kittens and aren't necessarily just due to worms. If he's got an appointment on Wednesday, take a fresh fecal specimen with you so he can be tested again for giardia, coccidia, and other endoparasites. Giardia, for example, doesn't show up in every specimen, so the test needs to be repeated. The in-house tests aren't 100% reliable, and your vet may send the sample to an outside lab.
 
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luvlace4

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Thank you for the information. I took my kitty to the vet on Wednesdayand she brought up the bloating before I had a chance to. She suggested that maybe it was tied to the oral antibiotics he had been taking and that there was possibly an over-growth of bacteria in the belly. She asked me to switch him to a mostly kibble diet for the time being and add probiotics to his food. She also gave me some pills for the diarrhea, but he hasn't had it since I switched his food.
I assume there won't be an instant fix for his bloating, but I haven't noticed a change yet and his belly is still quite large.
I am currently feeding the science diet sample that I was given at the vet. I feed my other cat taste of wild (and wuerva). Any suggestions as to a high-quality food I can feed him if he is having guy issues? I wasn't sure if taste of wild was a good option as my older cat had some extra stinky stool when he first adjusted to it. I have heard Science diet was not great/ comparable to iams and I really want this to resolve as quickly as possible if I can do anything to help!
 

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Bless his little heart, he is a cutie! My found kitten had a lot of the same problems after i got him. He had to be treated for parasites several different times over about a 4 month period. He also had giardia. Dry food is not always ideal, but it helped him during that time. The best food i found that he could tolerate at that time was the Merrick Kitten kibble, in the pink bag, mine did not do well on the science diet that the vet recommended either..For wet food the first one he could eat, not the best, but it helped him then, was the royal Canin digest sensitivity thin slices in gravy, or the royal Canin kitten instinctive thin slices in gravy. we spent a lot of time at the vet those first 4 months. But now he is a big fluffy 11 lbs, not fat just big boy and fluffy :) he also has a cast iron system ..lol he can and will eat anything i give him, and never has an issue, so don't give up. It can be really hard to get a very sick found kitten healthy, but so worth it!
 
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luvlace4

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Oh thank you! Trust me, I will stick with him come what may. I just worry about this little guy too much. I'm glad yours grew up to be a healthy guy! My kitty doesn't have any trouble eating even now. In fact, he is up to 2.7 pounds and eats more than is recommended on the bag. I am thinking smaller portions throughout the day instead of free feeding may be in order just in case he eats too fast! I will head to the pest store tomorrow and see if I can find those foods. I was unaware there were foods specifically labeled for "digestive sensitivities" so that is great to know!
 

duckpond

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Oh thank you! Trust me, I will stick with him come what may. I just worry about this little guy too much. I'm glad yours grew up to be a healthy guy! My kitty doesn't have any trouble eating even now. In fact, he is up to 2.7 pounds and eats more than is recommended on the bag. I am thinking smaller portions throughout the day instead of free feeding may be in order just in case he eats too fast! I will head to the pest store tomorrow and see if I can find those foods. I was unaware there were foods specifically labeled for "digestive sensitivities" so that is great to know!
Great! I worry about mine a lot too. in his young days we had many tears, because it seemed i just couldnt get him healthy, now he is the picture of health! :) i think the Merrick kitten kibble in the pink bag helped a lot, as did the two wet foods from Royal Canin. The royal Canin Kitten wet food, thin slices in gravy, and the digestive formula both are good, give them a try. most other Royal Canin foods have Carageenan in them, which i will not feed, so watch for that ingredient especially with an upset tummy. Good Luck!
 

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Hi luvlace4 luvlace4 ,
I'm fostering a kitten I had found right after Christmas along with her two siblings. The two males have found a new home, the female hasn't, mainly because she lost an eye due to an infection and all the suitors stepped back.
In this post
Young Kitten With Several Issues - Possible Felv
I am showing how swollen her belly is. She was tested and came positive (very positive) for roundworms and coccidia, negative for giardia. She was given Drontal 8 days ago and so far she hasn't improved much.
Her stools were rather fine until two days ago, then they became soft, very soft, clear in color, and very smelly!

The vet told me that at the test she was full with parasites and that probably the Drontal didn't kill them all. But we have to wait before repeating the Drontal, at least 15-20 days. Her bowels must be terribly irritated and inflammated.
The bloat might be also due to intestinal gas that builds up in the kitten.
This morning, over the phone, the vet told me to give the kitten a med used for babies and which will absorb the gas.
Over here it is called Mylicon. It's drops to be given orally, around 20 drops twice daily until the situation improves.

Hopefully this could apply to your case too.

Is your vet sure of the age?
It looks big for a 7 weeks old kitten. Mine is 16 weeks and is visibly smaller.
 
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luvlace4

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Thanks for all of the advice both of you! And Antonio65 Antonio65 I'm sorry to hear about all the stress you and that sweet girl have been going through. My mom rescused a special needs girl someone abandoned out in the country out by her house. She was born with a deformed leg and we weren't sure if they were going to have to amputate or not. That kind of thing is such a rollercoaster. Shame the presepectives stepped away but I hope you get her healthy and find her a loving forever family soon! She is a beauty eye or no eye.

I ran on my lunch hour today and got the mylicon to try. I get to bring my guy to the office with me (lucky me :)) so I started his first dose of that. I'm planning on getting some food tonight to switch him to. I will let you guys know how it works. I can't get over the feeling that it is more than just an unbalanced gut. I'm terrified it is FIP and as much as I want him to get better I wish I had a concrete reason for his bloating. He was blaoted before he started the antibiotic so I'm just not sure about the explanation. I'm a a worrier though so hopefully I am just making a mountain out of a mole hill. His belly does seem bigger today though, but he ate so much yesterday (and has only had one, small bowel movement this morning).
As for his age, my vet sounded pretty confident, but I also didn't question it. He is growing so quickly!
 

Antonio65

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FIP is terrible, but it gives high temperature and weakness as well. I had a cat with FIP and the first symptom was the lack of appetite. So I think you can be sure it isn't what you think it is :)
 
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luvlace4

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Yes, it looks to be absolutely devastating :( thank you so much for the reassurance!!
 
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luvlace4

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Hey! I just wanted to give a quick update. In the last three days, his bloating just went resolved. It took a little over a week on the probiotics, a food change, and I have been giving him the gas medicine as needed (which is usually after a meal of he eats the entire thing). He hasn't had a problem with loose stool since he started eating more kibble. I still have a couple concerns. He has been sneezing quite a bit and he has some irritation around his eyes, and his wiskars are breaking off like crazy-- but overall I can worry a bit less and just keep caring for him until he is a healthy little guy because the bloating scared me the most. Thanks for helping me stay positive :)
 

Kittymama2

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Hey! I just wanted to give a quick update. In the last three days, his bloating just went resolved. It took a little over a week on the probiotics, a food change, and I have been giving him the gas medicine as needed (which is usually after a meal of he eats the entire thing). He hasn't had a problem with loose stool since he started eating more kibble. I still have a couple concerns. He has been sneezing quite a bit and he has some irritation around his eyes, and his wiskars are breaking off like crazy-- but overall I can worry a bit less and just keep caring for him until he is a healthy little guy because the bloating scared me the most. Thanks for helping me stay positive :)
Hi! I just adopted a 5 month old kitten and she has all the problems your little guy did, esp the unrelenting bloated belly :(. 3 rounds of drontal and fortiflora probiotic has not resolved the bloating... can you tell me exactly what you did? She has voracious hunger, so i think she still has worms (had tested pos for roundworms) and wheezes on her in-breath. I feed her royal canin wet kitten food and weruva wet kitten food. I'm taking her to the vet on Monday but any feedback would be so helpful. Thank you!
 

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OP has not been back to TCS in about 3 years, so you will probably not get a reply. You are doing the right thing to take your kitten back to the vet, especially as she is so young. Was the vet aware of the wheezing....or was she doing it on the previous visit?
 

Kittymama2

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OP has not been back to TCS in about 3 years, so you will probably not get a reply. You are doing the right thing to take your kitten back to the vet, especially as she is so young. Was the vet aware of the wheezing....or was she doing it on the previous visit?
Hi, I started my own thread as I wasn't sure I'd get a reply here. I just adopted these kittens so they haven't been to a vet under my care yet. But she was thoroughly examined several times since she was rescued in August as she was very ill when she was found and hospitalized for 4 days with a worm infestation and other serious issues related to her digestion. The most recent visit to the vet before I adopted her indicated that she received a catogram that did not come up with anything significant, and so they suspected that the wheezing may be a polyp or an adenoid issue but did not want to subject her to invasive testing of the nose. So they recommended I wait a year to see if it worsens and then if it does to get that test done. Obviously this was not an adequate plan in my opinion so I'm taking her and my other kitten to the vet for thorough, independent examinations. She sneezes a lot too, so I wonder about allergies. She also tested positive for worms specifically roundworms for a third time and given an antibiotic again right when she was adopted. I'm concerned about the recurrence of these worms as well, and that her bloated belly may be causing breathing distress. I'm hopeful that the new vet will be able to help me figure out what is wrong and how best to help her. Her fur is also sticking up which I know indicates health issues. Long answer, but yes, the wheezing has been present for at least 2 months, as far as I am aware...
 
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