What could be wrong with this cat?

[gleason]

This is a 7 month old kitten. He was an outside cat. When the weather was nice and he was younger he was a playful kitten that ate well. When the weather turned cold he went into the heated garage thru a pet door along with the other cats. Then almost 2 months ago I took him in to a low cost clinic to be neutered. It seems like he hasn't been right ever since. He was 3 lbs when I took him in and he is still only 3 lbs. I had to take him to the vet the end of Dec. (12 days after he was neutered). He had an URI. He was put on an antibiotic and ointment for his eyes. He wasn't eating hardly anything so I stopped in the vet's office again. They gave me some mirtazapine to give him. He seemed to eat more when he's taking it. They also gave me some Fussy Cat wet food which he won't touch. When he got neutered the clinic also gave him a dose of Revolution. I wondered if he may have a tapeworm so I picked up the Bayer tapeworm dewormer and gave him a dose. That was 3 weeks ago. This morning it looked like he had a worm segment in his poop. I don't know if I should give him another dose or not or should I wait till it's been a month? Also a week ago he started having diarrhea. It got pretty bad with it being very runny. He seems to have gotten over that. It lasted for about 4 days.
Besides the fact that he has not gained any weight, he does not play, he does not sharpen his claws, he doesn't cover his "jobs" in the litter box. He does follow me around and will even trot behind me. He was walking with his head hanging down to the ground. But I noticed he is starting to hold it up more.
I was letting him in the house for periods of time and then putting him out in the garage at night. When he didn't seem to be getting any better, I started keeping him in the house full time for the past week. That seems to be helping. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[molly92]

Most kittens from outside have parasites, possibly more than one. There are a couple of treatment options depending on what he could have, but he could also have a more serious issue. I think a vet visit is necessary and maybe a different vet than before if they didn't even bother giving him a standard dewormer or look at stool samples. Do keep him inside for sure!

 

[gleason]

When I first took him in, the vet did ask about deworming. I told her he had been given a dose of Revolution and she let it go at that. They did given him sub-q fluids and checked to make sure he didn't have an infection where he was neutered.
Also I have an indoor cat that is 8 years old. She is not having any issues from this cat being inside. They share litter boxes and food and water dishes. She is afraid of this kitten so they don't sleep together.

 

[di and bob]

It takes a long time to get over a URI. Weeks to months. He could have picked up a 'bug' at the vets. I would get him some Lysine treats Plus on Amazon, mainly for the DMG which is a immune sytem builder. It is cheaper then liquid DMG. Give him 1 treat twice a day, after asking your vet if he thinks it is appropriate. The diarrhea could have been caused by the wormers. i use Profender, which I buy onlione at PetMeds and inform your vet they will be calling and asking for a prescription. It is a little pricey, but kills many worms, including tapeworm. place it HIGH on his neck (it is a topical) amost as high as his ears, i had a cat twist and lick some once, it is not pleasant, they were running around, foaming at the mouth! As long as you see any improvement, that is good! You might try running a himdifier in teh house and getting him a heated pad to keep him warm, which is a must. There are 'lickable' treats in a stew, chicken and tuna, etc. that I have never seen a cat refuse yet, (at Walmart or online, they don't like the bisque)they go nuts for it. You might get some to keep his strength up. All the luck!

 

[MissClouseau]

Kittens that age get tested a lot by the nature in my experince with strays. Especially if they are not vaccinated. Their immune system is forming and they might get exposed to multiple different problems at once.

If there are other stray cats around and sounds like there are, he is probably getting targeted by adult male cats as well and going through that stress too. Even some neutered male cats have territorial fights.

I suggest discussing with the vet for a multivitamin. And separate the litterbox with your own cat.

 

[gleason]

I'll check with the vet about the lysine treats. Also I'll ask about deworming again.
I've been giving him a high calorie booster every day.
We run a dehumidifer all winter. Our house gets pretty dry.
I tried a heating pad on low with towels on top so it wouldn't get too warm and he wouldn't even lay on it.
I keep him in a spare bedroom at night. It has it's own heat which I keep at about 65. He has a night light, litterbox, food and water. During the day he has the run of the rest of the house.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Has he gained any weight since moving inside? 3 lbs seems extremely small for a 7 month old

 

[Twylasmom]

I believe a more thorough vet checkup, including a stool samplethat can be checked for a variety of parasites, would be very helpful.

 

[cataholic07]

For sure a very thorough vet check-up and test for FeLV/FIV if you haven't. 3lbs is for sure too small for a 7 month old, could be something as simple other kitty is eating his food or mice, but it could be parasites or other diseases.

 

[gleason]

He's only been inside for a week now. He's also just got over the diarrhea yesterday. I weighed him yesterday and he hadn't gained any weight. He's been eating a little more each day so I hope he is on the road to improvement.
When he was neutered, they didn't seem concerned that he was only 3 lbs. When I took him to the vet they weighed him and he was 3 lbs. The vet didn't seem concerned either.
The outside kitties get fed twice a day. The food and water is in our garage that they have access to. When he was out there with them I watched them and he had no problem eating with the rest of the cats.
It seems like ever since the weather turned cold, he's been having problems. And he was neutered during the cold weather.

 

[molly92]

Oops, I skipped over the Revolution bit-that's great! Perfect for fleas and a few parasites. It is not uncommon for a parasite to take hold and take a few rounds of medication to fully eliminate though, and panacur, metronidazole, etc, tend to be the medications of choice, depending on the parasite. Keep an eye on stool for consistency/color and clean with ammonium-based cleaners (bleach does not kill coccidia) as a precaution.

If it is a parasite, it's actually common for rescue groups to know a bit more about them than the vets because they see them more, so they might be a local resource for you in the future if you need more help.

It might not be a parasite and could be something else, which is why I'd go to the vet if you don't see steady improvement. I'd probably go to the vet again for a thorough check up anyway and get some tests done to get a clearer picture. Keep up with the food, kitten wet food would be good. And a probiotic or some unsweetened yogurt would not hurt.

 

[molly92]

I'm attaching a handout I had from my shelter volunteering days about parasites just in case. It's not current, and from what I've learned since, ponazuril is probably a much more effective treatment option for coccidia. But the rest of the information might be useful.

 

[gleason]

I read your article and found it very interesting. Since his diarrhea is gone, he has some poop that is brown and then some will be yellow. This morning he had a small one that was hard (so I thought he might be constipated) that had what looked like a worm. It was not like a grain of rice. It was twice as long as a grain of rice. Later in the day he went again and this time it was normal with nothing in it. It was yellow not brown. He doesn't cover so it's easy to see. I've been giving him a high calorie booster twice a day. I'm wondering if that is affecting the color of his poop.
I tried kitten wet food and he doesn't care for it. It's been trial and error with food. What he doesn't eat I give to my indoor cat and if she doesn't like it I give it to the outside kitties. They eat anything. I finally found that he really likes Fancy Feast beef flavored wet food. He also likes to eat dry food.
I tried powdered probiotics before and he wouldn't eat as much. I may give it another try as long as he is eating more now.

 

[gleason]

I'm noticing his poop is not really yellow but a light brown/tan. Half the time it is dark brown and then some will be the lighter color. I was just reading an article that says higher fiber in the diet can cause the lighter color. He's getting a high calorie booster every day right now. As he's eating better I will probably be cutting back on it. Hopefully that s what is causing the lighter poop.

 

[molly92]

I'm noticing his poop is not really yellow but a light brown/tan. Half the time it is dark brown and then some will be the lighter color. I was just reading an article that says higher fiber in the diet can cause the lighter color. He's getting a high calorie booster every day right now. As he's eating better I will probably be cutting back on it. Hopefully that s what is causing the lighter poop.

It could be! I think as long as his appetite keeps increasing and other symptoms don't appear you're in good shape, but you probably want to watch him closely for a while while he recovers and grows.

 

[gleason]

I just hope he grows and that he isn't stunted for life!