Kitten Still Has Swollen Belly

[purrpurr]

My male kitten Kratos, is about 17 weeks old. When I last went to the vet to get his last set of booster shots, she was concerned about his slightly swollen belly. (The other 2 times we came in a different vet saw him). He also had very soft, golden colored poops. Based on those 2 symptoms, plus Kratos' history of having had an upper respiratory infection and coming from a rescue shelter, she was concerned he might have FIP. But other than the poop and swollen belly, Kratos has been acting normal: playing, running, eating, drinking water, pooping and peeing in the litter box.
An in house fecal sample was done, and the test concluded no abnormalities. Vet also has me giving Kratos Albon for 2 weeks, and I take him to be seen again this weekend.
Since giving Kratos the Albon, his poop has become more normal and solid. But for the past 6 days, his belly looks even more swollen than before. But he's still acting like a normal kitten.
I was wondering if could this be caused by food intolerance? He is a mix siamese. He's already been dewormed weeks ago.
Should I have my vet run the more expensive ($100+) fecal test to determine if he has any diseases? I'm at a loss as to what is causing his belly to be swollen and stay swollen.

 

[war&wisdom]

If you have the money, I would suggest running the more expensive test.

You can also try giving him some plain pumpkin (canned puree, no sugar or cinnamon or anything else). Maybe there is something upsetting his tummy -- and pumpkin can regulate his bowel movements.

Can you post a photo? It might help other members of the site give you advice.

 

[purrpurr]

Yes I have given him some plain pumpkin mixed in with his canned food. It didn't seem to make a difference both before and after he's been on Albon.

I will take a picture tonight when I get off work.

 

[purrpurr]

Here are some photos of what his belly looks like.

 

[stephanietx]

I would get him to a different vet for a 2nd opinion.

 

[catwoman707]

It sounds like you already know the factors that help contribute to corona becoming fip, a uri, and shelter are significant, and good to hear the vet acknowledging this.
It won't do much good to have a corona titer done since anytime a cat goes to the shelter they will get the virus, it's too contagious and lasts weeks in the environment to keep it out of shelters.
The reason you might opt for the test is the very small chance he did not get the virus, then fip can be completely ruled out.
With fip, symptoms will happen all of the sudden, not at the start of a tummy that has started filling with fluid, cats vary in the timing so the best you can do is to keep an eye out for signs, his age is right on target to be a candidate for fip.
There aren't many other causes for a swollen tummy, hate to say that too, fip is ugly and sneaky.
Another cause would be a possible heart deficiency. Also a lack of 'good' intestinal bacteria, which is not usually the case.
My next move would be to have the vet draw the tummy fluid and have it tested. This may give some crucial answers.
Best of luck!

 

[war&wisdom]

Any news?

 

[purrpurr]

Any news?

Not yet. I take him to the vet tomorrow morning.
Kratos has still been acting normal, and his belly is still really big.

 

[purrpurr]

So just an update. The vet didn't come up with any concrete solutions. Just that FIP is at the top of the list for the cause of his big belly. She gave him Drontal in the off chance he still has worms and a round of Revolution.
The vet did suggest 3 other tests that we could do:
Histoplasmosis Testing Miravista
FIP PCR Testing
Cytology and Fluid Analysis

About 5 hours after we got home from the vet, 2 hours of that of Kratos napping in his bed, I did notice that he had a little difficult time moving his 2 back legs right after getting up from his nap. And of course he still waddles when walking.

 

[Wile]

I hope things work out for your boy and that it isn't anything serious like FIP.

To answer one of your earlier questions, food intolerance can cause bloating. My guy has an intolerance and was bloated for a few years before I found a vet who clued in to the intolerance issue (my first vet dismissed it as likely just regurgitation). He also farted a lot (so smelly...), so if your kitten is gassy that might be another clue that points to intolerance.

 

[purrpurr]

I hope things work out for your boy and that it isn't anything serious like FIP.

To answer one of your earlier questions, food intolerance can cause bloating. My guy has an intolerance and was bloated for a few years before I found a vet who clued in to the intolerance issue (my first vet dismissed it as likely just regurgitation). He also farted a lot (so smelly...), so if your kitten is gassy that might be another clue that points to intolerance.

Yes, I thought that could be a cause too. But since his belly is soft and he hasn't been farting lately (he had some smelly farts for about a week when he first got him) the vet thinks it might not be due to intolerance.

I'll keep up with updates from time to time whenever Kratos shows any changes.
Thank you to everyone who has replied

 

[purrpurr]

I have another question. What could this dark spot on his chin be? It wasn't there before. It looks like it could be a scab of some sort? But I don't know how he would hurt himself there.
There's also a small dark spot on the side of his mouth that has gotten a little bigger. At first I thought it was just the color of his skin, but I don't think so anymore. I haven't noticed him scratching these spots.

 

[littlecatt]

Looks like it could be comedones to me. Is it black flecks, like a scab or flea dirt? The most common culprit for cat chin acne is plastic dishes — acne-causing bacteria accumulates like crazy in plastic. My cat was getting acne and as soon as I switched his food and water dishes to stainless steel it went away no problem. If you're not using plastic food dishes I'd definitely bring it up to your vet because they can turn into pustules if not resolved, which can then inflame and get infected.

 

[purrpurr]

Looks like it could be comedones to me. Is it black flecks, like a scab or flea dirt? The most common culprit for cat chin acne is plastic dishes — acne-causing bacteria accumulates like crazy in plastic. My cat was getting acne and as soon as I switched his food and water dishes to stainless steel it went away no problem. If you're not using plastic food dishes I'd definitely bring it up to your vet because they can turn into pustules if not resolved, which can then inflame and get infected.

I wiped the area with a damp paper towl so it doesn't look like flea dirt. It's probably cat acne like you said. I do wonder why he got them because I only use ceramic and stainless steel dishes.
Thank you for your reply!

 

[lavishsqualor]

At the county here they use generic stridex pads to wipe under the chin and wherever the acne is a problem. It seems to work like a charm for them.