Kittens rib cage sensitive to the touch?

amandalynnxo92

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Hello all! I bet y’all are sick of seeing me here asking so many questions, but if it makes you feel any better I bet my vet is sick of me calling all the time and doing the same. 🤷🏻‍♀️😇

anyhoo. Today I rescued this poor baby boy from a woman who listed him as a free kitten on Facebook. She was telling me how she had several liters of kittens that weren’t ready yet and that their mother was an indoor/outdoor cat.

I was looking for a playmate for my newly rescued 9 week old kitten anyway.

so I picked him up and immediately called my vet to see if they could fit me in for a check up/round of vaccines. He tested negative for parasites and was mainly healthy besides the fact that he was COVERED in fleas. They gave him a capstar and sent me home with two topical treatments for both my new kittens as preventative care.
I got home and put him in my bathroom and gave him a dawn dish soap bath which he did really well with. Combed him with a flea comb as best I could for what seemed like forever and warmed him up until he fell sweetly asleep.
Few hours later he wakes up and I notice when I try to scratch his front near his rib cage sort of near his arm he cries and tries to swat me away. Then when I was trying to pet him elsewhere to see if he was sensitive anywhere else I noticed a white grain of rice looking thing on his fur. Now he tested negative for parasites so I have no idea what this is or how he got it.
Any and all help would be appreciated since he was briefly around my other kitten.
It’s not the best picture but I’ve included what I found on him below.
 

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She's a witch

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Most probably tapeworm, They often go together with fleas. How did they test them for parasites? If through fecal flotation, they can only see what was present in the stool sample, and it can’t really mean that the cat is parasite free, and especially kittens should be dewormed regardless. Call your vet or send them the picture, ask them for wide spectrum dewormer, for both of them.
enjoy your kittens!
 
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amandalynnxo92

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Most probably tapeworm, They often go together with fleas. How did they test them for parasites? If through fecal flotation, they can only see what was present in the stool sample, and it can’t really mean that the cat is parasite free, and especially kittens should be dewormed regardless. Call your vet or send them the picture, ask them for wide spectrum dewormer, for both of them.
enjoy your kittens!
It was thru fecal. And he hasn’t been to the bathroom yet so it’s hard to see what’s in his feces. Idk why they didn’t deworm both of them when I got them considering how I did but I digress. Could that also be why his sides are so sensitive?
 

FeebysOwner

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If the kitten had no issues with you touching his rib cage area while you were bathing and combing him, or anytime before that, could it be possible that he is just sore from going through that process? He simply could be reacting in general to the bath/combing and is concerned you were going to do it again. Just because he was good for you during the bath and combing doesn't mean he wasn't a bit bothered by it all. You didn't say - was he sensitive or reactionary to other parts of his body when you tried to pet him elsewhere?
 
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amandalynnxo92

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If the kitten had no issues with you touching his rib cage area while you were bathing and combing him, or anytime before that, could it be possible that he is just sore from going through that process? He simply could be reacting in general to the bath/combing and is concerned you were going to do it again. Just because he was good for you during the bath and combing doesn't mean he wasn't a bit bothered by it all. You didn't say - was he sensitive or reactionary to other parts of his body when you tried to pet him elsewhere?
He wasn’t sensitive anywhere else. He’s absolutely fine today and playful as ever. It was most likely soreness from my giving him a bath and thorough combing. 😕
Both my boys got dewormer pills from the vet today though and I haven’t seen any more fleas.
Now the hard part of getting them to be nice to each other. Wish me luck.
 
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