Two kittens with diarrhea

ct970 · Jan 11, 2021

We rescued two kittens on the 27th of December they are about 4 1/2 months old now. When the foster dropped them off at my house, she mentioned that they had been having diarrhea at her place for probably around 2 weeks. They were examined by a vet, and couldn't find anything wrong with them, parasite/worm negative. So the vet gave them some toltrazuril to try, and they were treated with that for 5 days the week of Christmas. She had them on iams adult dry food and friskies wet food. I knew these foods weren't kitten appropriate but I kept them on it for several days, but slowly transitioned to kitten food (fancy feast kitten and purina kitten chow) over the course of a week. I took them to the vet on the 30th and they got another parasite/worm negative, no fevers, FIV/heart worm/FeLV negative, were healthy enough to get last FVRCP and rabies and were given metronidazole and fortiflora. Well on the metronidazole and fortiflora, it seemed to be improving for the both of them. However, as soon as they have gotten off of it, they finished it on 1/6, they have gone right back to having diarrhea. They also have some gas going on as well, and their stools are pretty smelly. And to add to it, the foster texted me and said her adult cat (whom they were around a lot) was also experiencing diarrhea now but the vet couldn't find anything except maybe a bacterial infection/imbalance either!! I just don't know what to do, do I take them back to the vet? Should I give it more time since they have only been on their new foods a little over a week now? One has gravy-consistency yellow stool and the other was having completely normal stool up until today she had a gravy-consistency gray stool, which I read could be caused by over feeding. I'm just debating on what to do, as their pet insurance doesn't kick in until the 1st of February and their last vet appointment (less than 2 weeks ago was over $400). Other than their diarrhea, they are active, bright, playful and happy kittens, they eat and drink normally as well. TIA

Beholder · Jan 11, 2021

If they are experiencing gas and diarrhea it probably is a good idea to take them in no matter what, because kittens can easily get very dehydrated and it can sometimes become deadly if it gets severe enough. I'm not a vet so unfortunately I can't really help much, but I did have a similar situation with two kittens I recently adopted from the shelter. They were treated for a parasite at the shelter and tested negative. After taking them home though they had really bad gas and diarrhea. Goose (the one in my picture) got extremely bloated to where his belly felt like a balloon and was farting nonstop with pure liquid poop. When I took him to my vet they found a fairly rare parasite (can't quite remember the name now) and prescribed him antibiotics for 2-3 weeks. When I took him back a month later he was still having the same exact issues but the fecal test came back normal. After about a month after that his poops returned to normal.

My vet told me that sometimes the fecal samples might not have worms detectable if they are too old. She told me they usually need to be brought in within 6 hours after going (and refrigerated) to detect worms/parasites. They can sometimes detect them longer than that if there is a strong enough infestation though. Could that maybe have been the issue? Do you know if the previous owner took in the stool samples properly as well? It's also very possible that it still could be an issue from the change in food (as you mentioned) because it's usually recommended that you adjust their food very slowly (usually at last 2 weeks). Nonetheless, if the diarrhea is chronic dehydration will still be an issue no matter what the cause is.

ct970 · Jan 12, 2021

Beholder said:
If they are experiencing gas and diarrhea it probably is a good idea to take them in no matter what, because kittens can easily get very dehydrated and it can sometimes become deadly if it gets severe enough. I'm not a vet so unfortunately I can't really help much, but I did have a similar situation with two kittens I recently adopted from the shelter. They were treated for a parasite at the shelter and tested negative. After taking them home though they had really bad gas and diarrhea. Goose (the one in my picture) got extremely bloated to where his belly felt like a balloon and was farting nonstop with pure liquid poop. When I took him to my vet they found a fairly rare parasite (can't quite remember the name now) and prescribed him antibiotics for 2-3 weeks. When I took him back a month later he was still having the same exact issues but the fecal test came back normal. After about a month after that his poops returned to normal.

My vet told me that sometimes the fecal samples might not have worms detectable if they are too old. She told me they usually need to be brought in within 6 hours after going (and refrigerated) to detect worms/parasites. They can sometimes detect them longer than that if there is a strong enough infestation though. Could that maybe have been the issue? Do you know if the previous owner took in the stool samples properly as well? It's also very possible that it still could be an issue from the change in food (as you mentioned) because it's usually recommended that you adjust their food very slowly (usually at last 2 weeks). Nonetheless, if the diarrhea is chronic dehydration will still be an issue no matter what the cause is.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking they definitely need to go back and get reevaluated. Im honestly leaning towards a parasite of some sort that keeps getting missed, especially since the fosters adult cat is having issues as well. As far as fecal samples, they are having their fecal samples done at the vet by the staff themselves, I've never had to bring one in so freshness shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure how the foster was doing that through the last vet but I'm sure I could find out. Thanks for your input and experience with your kitty, it really helps to know some of the other similar situations. They will be going back within the next several days.

Sarthur2 · Jan 12, 2021

It sounds like the one cat with the bright yellow diarrhea may have coccidia, which does not always show up in a fecal, but it is a parasite. This is cured with Albon or Ponazuril. Another common parasite is Giardia, cured with Metronidazole. If the fecals come back clear, insist they be treated anyway. It won’t hurt, and will likely cure them.

di and bob · Jan 12, 2021

I think Giardia, as mentioned above. It is a pretty specific test. The cat will be given many treatments and will continue to have diarrhea until that is diagnosed. I think it is some kind of parasite. Make sure they aren't getting any kind of cow milk product either, that is famous for diarrhea.