Kitten With Runny Stool

[lisnya]

I found a kitten last Thursday. He's about 8 weeks and he has some mild diarrhea. The first day he was very gassy, the smell was atrocious and tiny bits of poop kept leaking out of him but he wasn't dehydrated, there was no vomit or a fever or loss of appetite, so because I'm pretty broke, I decided to just deworm him and put him on a bland diet and see how he went from there.

The next day I saw mucus and blood in his stool and he pooped several times, so I did take him to the vet. He got a shot of antibiotics as a precaution, a black paste, which he said contained electrolytes and helped regulate intestinal motility, a prescription for metoclopramide and I was told to not feed him for 24 hours and then put him back on the bland diet. He didn't think he's sick, just that he was eating trash, leftovers or God knows what before I found him and he has an upset stomach and too many worms.

I did everything the vet said, he has gotten better in the sense that the gas and the godawful smell are gone and he doesn't poop as often, but his stool is still soft and with a drop of mucus and bright red blood. Shouldn't he be getting better by now? The vet is out of town until the day after tomorrow and I don't know what to do until then.

 

[stephanietx]

He could still be working out the effects of the diet change. Was he treated for worms? You can add plain canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie spice) or plain squash baby food to wet food to help firm up his stools. You could also add a probiotic such as acidophilus to his wet food.

 

[lisnya]

I treated him for worms twice already, I mentioned that in the post. I'm not in the US and I can't find anything pumpkin here. He eats boiled, shredded chicken mixed with the water it was boiled in and rice flour instead, which is what we use here. How much longer could it take? Surely, at least the blood would be gone by now, shouldn't it?

I've been thinking about probiotics but I can't find any that are meant for pets where I live. Would it be ok if I gave him yogurt? Although, it just occurred to me that I could get him probiotics meant for babies. He weighs ~2.5 lbs, I'd be able to figure out the dosage, right? I'm going to look into that tomorrow.

 

[Neo_23]

I give non-fat plain organic yogurt to my cat and he loves it. It should act as a probiotic too, but I hear that the best probiotics are the ones made for humans. I'm not a doctor though, so don't take my word for it.

 

[lisnya]

I'm sure he'd love yogurt. The first day he got here, he got into my plate and ate spaghetti, peppers and mushrooms. He's tried to eat cucumbers, honey and cat puke, among other things. I don't think he'd turn anything down, lol.

I'm sure that the probiotics that are meant for humans are the best, I was just thinking that I wouldn't be able to figure out the dosage for a small kitten, given that they're made for average sized adults. I can get him some drops for babies, though, I'm sure that would work.

 

[lisnya]

So, last night I found him eating dried up cat vomit in the balcony, behind a plant I had no access to. I also mentioned that he's still having diarrhea to my mom, who stayed with him on Sunday and it turns out she gave him wet food and a small piece of raw chicken on Sunday because I told her he was doing better. Fml. I called the vet this morning and he said that he needs to be put on antibiotics but he was reluctant to prescribe those because they'll completely wipe out his intestinal flora, which is already all messed up. He prescribed probiotics and told me to monitor him carefully. Once some balance has been restored in his gut, he will prescribe antibiotics.

The thing is, right after we hung up, he pooped again. He'd only eaten about 20 minutes earlier, so the poop was runnier and yellow, due to the bile. This is a first and it means he's getting worse, right? So, what do I do? I don't want to call the vet again, he's away at a funeral and going to a different vet is not an option. So, do I feed him and give him the probiotics or do I starve him until the vet gets back tomorrow? Would letting his gut reset again help? I'm getting really worried now.

 

[maggiedemi]

Can the vet do a stool test on his poop? There are other parasites like Giardia that can cause poop problems. I wouldn't starve him, what brand of food are you feeding him?

 

[lisnya]

Poor baby only eats shredded chicken mixed with the water it was boiled in and rice flour, which I hate because he's a baby and that's not appropriate food for a baby. I'm thinking about getting him hills i/d but I don't know if he would tolerate it. Luckily, he doesn't seem to notice the lack of nutrients, he's growing and he's exactly the type of active, playful little demon a kitten his age should be.

I'm sure he'll test him first, although he did tell me he suspects it's colitis. We'll see that tomorrow, though, when he gets back. I just don't know what to do until then. Maybe I should give him some plain, shredded chicken first, to see if he can tolerate that, would that be fine?

Edit: I forgot to add that he was on metoclopramide until this morning. Could that be in any way related to the diarrhea?

 

[DeweytheLion]

Let him have a bit of honey, and give him a bit of that unflavored yogurt. It seems as though even a bland diet isn't helping his poo situation, so I suggest getting soft kitten food and mix about a teaspoon of it with a teaspoon of water and if you have access, a teaspoon of Pedialyte. The watered down diet should help, I hope, just look for the best ingredients. If you can't find soft food for kittens, that's alright. Give this diet a 48 hour chance for improvement, three times a day.
As long as he continues to do well in all other areas, get a fecal test and wait it out. Make sure he doesn't dehydrate, and confine him to one room with a litter box, water and a bit of dry food so you can monitor him more closely, and so he can't get into any more vomit. I'm thinking it's possible getting some fluids in him might help.

 

[DeweytheLion]

Avoid feeding him dry foods that say, "three different flavors cats love". Get a bland kitten food.

 

[maggiedemi]

Do you have any canned cat food?

 

[lisnya]

The vomit he ate wasn't his, he's never vomited. I have two more cats, one of whom is a greedy little thief who'll occasionally eat too much too fast and then vomit, that's what he ate.

I did ask the vet about yogurt and he said that he needs a larger dose of probiotics than yogurt would offer, that's why he prescribed the pills. I just gave him plain shredded chicken and a pill and I'm now monitoring him. I will give him some honey, too. Is it really a good idea to give him cat food, though? Dry food sounds like it would help firm his stool up (I've been thinking that the watery food might be a reason for the continued soft poop, although that doesn't explain the blood) but I'm really reluctant to give him anything other than the shredded chicken... Would he be able to tolerate all the nutrients he's been lacking all these days?

 

[maggiedemi]

What did the vet say to feed him? I'm no expert, but I would think he needs the nutrients in cat food. Have you tried giving him a little dry food like kitten chow? Did it help? Maybe you could Google pictures of Giardia, I know that is one parasite that can cause bloody poop.

 

[DeweytheLion]

It didn't matter if he ate his own puke or not, we just want him to not eat any again.
The watered down wet food doesn't affect how soft his stools are. I really do believe this way could benefit him. He's been on your diet for so long with no improvement, it might be wise to try something else.
And as long as you're feeding him bland KITTEN food it shouldn't hurt him at all. He just needs to have something readily available because he's a growing and sick kitten.
I already read he was prescribed probiotics, which is good, I suggested yogurt and honey for their probiotics but also as a treat. Honey has electrolytes in the sugar that can help with any dehydration he may have. It also has natural antibiotics and probiotics that could be beneficial for this kitten.
He isn't dying. The change in food won't kill him. If I'm right it'll make him feel better.

 

[lisnya]

I was just worried that if he can't even handle the bland diet, anything more complicated than that would make things worse. I meant to ask the vet about his food because I do hate that he only gets chicken and rice flour (and so does he, he spends a lot of time screaming for food in the kitchen) but the phone call was very quick and it slipped my mind.

I'm paranoid because every single cat that I've rescued in the past two years has died. Not just the ones that were sick or too far gone, literally all of them. I've been ridiculously anxious about him since before I even noticed that there was something wrong with him and it's making me stupid, sorry.

I fed him the chicken about an hour ago and he hasn't pooped it out yet, so I guess the quick passage this morning was a fluke. I'll get him some kitten food and try it this afternoon, hopefully he'll be fine.

 

[DeweytheLion]

I know how that is. I'm sorry.

 

[lisnya]

Thank you. The last one died the day before I found him. She went through hell (she had three badly infected fractures on her jaw, a torn palate, a URI, she couldn't see or smell and she weighed 2.8 lbs when I found her) and she survived only to die of an aneurysm in her adoptive home. I can't get over it...

Also, on topic, he still has worms. I collected a stool sample to take to the vet tomorrow and looked at it very closely with a flashlight, lol. I saw tapeworm eggs, as well as tapeworm bits in it. No wonder the diarrhea won't go away. He's been through two rounds of deworming paste already and the second time the syringe got stuck and he ended up getting about twice as much as he should have for his weight. Those are some persistent worms.

 

[maggiedemi]

What was the name of the de-wormer they used?

 

[lisnya]

It's called banminth, it's pyrantel pamoate if that helps. It's what's usually prescribed for kittens up to 12 weeks old here, normally it's pretty effective.

 

[maggiedemi]

Pyrantel kills roundworms. Praziquantel kills tapeworms.