Sick Kitten. Please Advise.

[Anna Jackson]

Hi guys,
I just want some advice and maybe some positive feedback. My 4 1/2month old kitten has had diarrhea for just over two days, but today he has stopped eating. He barely ate anything yesterday. He hasn't drank any water or urinated for the day. Before today he was urinating about twice a day.

His stool is mucus like and very runny. I took him to the vet this morning, I don't know how legit any of these vets are as they all seem to have very little history knowledge about them. However, this is the third vet I've tried, not pleased with the first two.
She checked his temperature, checked for any blockage in his bladder area, I'm not exactly sure, checked his heart and breathing and everything looked good. So she suggested that it was possible that he may have chewed something poisonous to him. He's an indoor car with outdoor playtime when he wants.

She gave him a shot of an antibiotic to help and gave me some little pills dexamethasone to take twice daily after meals, and a liquid medication Apo Amoxi to take once daily.
It's after 4pm and my kitten still hasn't eaten for the day. I don't know what to do or how to get him to eat. He's very lethargic, meowing a lot, especially when he uses the litter box. I've seen red mucus like poop as well as an almost dark grey tarry poop. He was on a mixed diet of Acana dry foods and friskies canned. He's not eating anything now.

I just want my kitten to be okay and to have a steady recovery. Can anyone give me some additional advice on how to care for him, how to get him to eat, and if they're familiar with a situation like this that wasn't fatal. I just wanna know my little guy is going to be okay.

 

[valentine319]

You can get a syringe at a pharmacy (no needle) to feed kitty meat baby food. Plain, no onions or garlic. You can also syringe some water into the kitty that way.

 

[Anna Jackson]

You can get a syringe at a pharmacy (no needle) to feed kitty meat baby food. Plain, no onions or garlic. You can also syringe some water into the kitty that way.

Thank you, I will try to feed him some water and get my hands on some baby food.

 

[Anna Jackson]

You can get a syringe at a pharmacy (no needle) to feed kitty meat baby food. Plain, no onions or garlic. You can also syringe some water into the kitty that way.

I just tried to feed him 6ml of water which he reluctantly drank. Do you have any idea how much and how often I should feed him?

 

[fuzzycat]

Wow,
This sounds like it could turn serious. Hopefully, people with more medical expertise than I will chime in quickly.
Water obviously is your first priority. Did the vet say anything about the cat being dehydrated? Actually, what did the vet say? You described what the vet did but nothing about what his/her thoughts were.

I do know that girardia will cause slimy, mucusy runny stools. I know that kittens are more susceptible . There are other parasitic infections that will cause diarrhea as well. Did you run a stool culture. Girardia is treated with antibiotics but normally not a penicillin. Flagyl is what I have used in cats before.

One thing to pay attention to is that antibiotics can make diarrhea worse.

Good luck,
Fuzzycat

 

[stephanietx]

Did the vet do a urine culture to rule out a urinary blockage or urinary tract infection? Did the vet run a test on the fecal material to see if it was some kind of parasite?

 

[valentine319]

Here's info on syringing fluids.
How to Give Water to a Dehydrated Cat

Remember to check for dehydration which is in the article.

Are you feeding primarily dry or wet food. Wet is better because it provides 80 percent of their liquids. Your cat was given a steroid so I'm sure the vet is expecting it to start eating. If you're having difficulty getting kitty to eat don't forget call your vet. They need to be kept informed. Sometimes they'll want you to run them back in.

I would definitely call your vet and tell them what is going on.

 

[Anna Jackson]

Did the vet do a urine culture to rule out a urinary blockage or urinary tract infection? Did the vet run a test on the fecal material to see if it was some kind of parasite?

No she did none of those. She just gave him a good feel up and said everything feels good, checked his mouth and said there doesn't seem to be any blockage. I am honestly so frustrated with the vetinary service I've been getting. She really didn't say much the entire visit probably lasted about three minutes where I was explaining what I've seen my kitten experiencing and then she gave him the shot and gave me the medication. She stated that cats chew so much sometimes we don't always see what trouble their getting into and it looks like he got into something poisonous.

 

[Anna Jackson]

Here's info on syringing fluids.
How to Give Water to a Dehydrated Cat

Remember to check for dehydration which is in the article.

Are you feeding primarily dry or wet food. Wet is better because it provides 80 percent of their liquids. Your cat was given a steroid so I'm sure the vet is expecting it to start eating. If you're having difficulty getting kitty to eat don't forget call your vet. They need to be kept informed. Sometimes they'll want you to run them back in.

He's primarily on a wet diet recently, three wet meals a day with some dry out for a little free feeding. These vets don't give out personal numbers. When their office is closed no way to contact them, and her office closed 11am this morning.

 

[Anna Jackson]

Wow,
This sounds like it could turn serious. Hopefully, people with more medical expertise than I will chime in quickly.
Water obviously is your first priority. Did the vet say anything about the cat being dehydrated? Actually, what did the vet say? You described what the vet did but nothing about what his/her thoughts were.

I do know that girardia will cause slimy, mucusy runny stools. I know that kittens are more susceptible . There are other parasitic infections that will cause diarrhea as well. Did you run a stool culture. Girardia is treated with antibiotics but normally not a penicillin. Flagyl is what I have used in cats before.

One thing to pay attention to is that antibiotics can make diarrhea worse.

Good luck,
Fuzzycat

All she really said was that cats chew so much sometimes we don't always see what trouble they're getting into and it looks like he got into something poisonous.

 

[stephanietx]

The not urinating thing really bothers me. Did she test his temp? I hope the antibiotic will help. If he had a fever, he might be dehydrated. You can try diluting his regular canned food with plain baby Pedialyte. That will help his electrolytes as well as keep him hydrated.

 

[valentine319]

Then do the neck dehydration test and keep hydrated. Boiled chicken is another option. If you were able to give the dexa then kitty should start getting hungry.

Plain pedialite in food is a great idea.

 

[ginny]

Sounds like maybe unflavored Pedialyte would be better than water as it has some calories (dextrose) in it, which he really needs. He'a probably dehydrated by now and needs sub-q fluids. You can also mix honey and water and smear that in his gums every now and then to give him some calories.

He needs to see a good vet soon, like tomorrow morning. Are there others you could try?

If you have a humane society or know if a cat rescue group in your area, either one of those places would know of a good vet you can take him to.

 

[Anna Jackson]

The not urinating thing really bothers me. Did she test his temp? I hope the antibiotic will help. If he had a fever, he might be dehydrated. You can try diluting his regular canned food with plain baby Pedialyte. That will help his electrolytes as well as keep him hydrated.

Yes she did a temperature test and said his temperature was fine.

 

[Anna Jackson]

Sounds like maybe unflavored Pedialyte would be better than water as it has some calories (dextrose) in it, which he really needs. He'a probably dehydrated by now and needs sub-q fluids. You can also mix honey and water and smear that in his gums every now and then to give him some calories.

He needs to see a good vet soon, like tomorrow morning. Are there others you could try?

If you have a humane society or know if a cat rescue group in your area, either one of those places would know of a good vet you can take him to.

There's another vet nearby that I will have come do a house visit tomorrow. I'm giving him water through the syringe as well as some of his food. All he's doing is resting. Having pooped in a couple of hours. Before it was every 45 minutes he was trying to go off. I couldn't even get any sleep last night with him.

 

[fuzzycat]

Was this by chance a discount vet? I hate to say it, because I can tell you are frustrated and I know that money can be an issue, but you need to find a quality vet. The suggestions above are excellent. However, as I understand it your kitten that is not eating or drinking and has diarrhea. A cat like that can go downhill fast.

Fuzzy Cat

 

[Anna Jackson]

Sounds like maybe unflavored Pedialyte would be better than water as it has some calories (dextrose) in it, which he really needs. He'a probably dehydrated by now and needs sub-q fluids. You can also mix honey and water and smear that in his gums every now and then to give him some calories.

He needs to see a good vet soon, like tomorrow morning. Are there others you could try?

If you have a humane society or know if a cat rescue group in your area, either one of those places would know of a good vet you can take him to.

I've just come from the only open store around as it's Sunday and no Pedialyte. I live in Trinidad in the Caribbean so it might be a bit hard to get my hard on certain products. I will try the honey and water.

 

[Anna Jackson]

Was this by chance a discount vet? I hate to say it, because I can tell you are frustrated and I know that money can be an issue, but you need to find a quality vet. The suggestions above are excellent. However, as I understand it your kitten that is not eating or drinking and has diarrhea. A cat like that can go downhill fast.

Fuzzy Cat

No it wasn't. I wouldn't do my kitten that. I've moved from vet to vet one more expensive than the other. I've already ran close to US$200 just for this case and I'm not sure if I'm actually getting any help. Like I said earlier I'm in the Caribbean and it seems people just don't take animal care thay serious here because there are no real consequences.

 

[Anna Jackson]

The not urinating thing really bothers me. Did she test his temp? I hope the antibiotic will help. If he had a fever, he might be dehydrated. You can try diluting his regular canned food with plain baby Pedialyte. That will help his electrolytes as well as keep him hydrated.

Okay, he just urinated

 

[ginny]

Is he cold or cool? If so he will need to be warmed up. Make sure he doesn't get overheated.

I'd smear the honey water on his gums plus syringe water (or boiled chicken broth with no flavoring) feeds at least hourly or more often, if he's still not eating.