Kitten diarrhea?
We just rescued 2 kittens from a run down farm (our first pets!). Overall the kittens seem healthy, so bad cold symptoms, so eye boogers, no snot. They're just kind of skinny. The guy we got them from wasn't sure how old they were, my guess is 12-16 weeks. They seem to adjusting well, but the smaller one has been having a little diarrhea. I am slowly feeding both of them an organic protein based hard kitten food. I am guessing that the adjustment from crappy corn based mill food to the good stuff might be causing this. The slightly larger one is okay. I think the smaller one might be the runt, which might be making things worse for the little guy...?
Right now I've just been trying to get him to drink more water.
Thanks for any help!
More Questions From This User See All
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
First and foremost THANK YOU!!!!.... for rescuing them. You are a wonderful human being to take on this responsibility and God will bless you for it ten times over. And organic kitten food even..wow, those are certainly some lucky lil guys to have found YOU! You just made my day! I hear all these horrible things on this board and then someone like you comes along and reminds me that there are people out there besides myself who really do care!!
No doubt they've had no medical care until now. It's imperative that you seek medical treatment for them asap. I can virtually guarantee you they're infested with worms. As a precaution, considering where they came from, the vet will no doubt put them on Albon to treat Coccidia (which can also cause diarrhea) or any other internal parasites they could have been exposed to. They have fleas too I'm sure. Please do yourself a favor and get Frontline of Advantix for them. ($24.00 both per month) I promise you won't regret it. There's nothing quite like having your favorite kitty wrapped around your neck and then having fleas in your hair. YUCK!
They're already behind on their shots so once they've been checked out and treated for worms and such you'll need to get on that right away. I'm sure they have rabies clinics where you live. Ask the vet. If you can find one, shots will cost you about $14.00 per kit total. Right now, the vet bill for treatment of worms and Coccidia will run you about $18.00 for medication and whatever the cost of the office visit. Some vets will be kind and waive the fee since you rescued them. You may also call your local chapter of the SPCA. They will provide you with a free certificate for a check up for them, and that covers the office visit BECAUSE you rescued them. All you would have to pay for with a well baby certificate is the meds. They will also provide you with spay or neuter certificates which entitle you to reduced rates for spay/neuter fees.
I wish you the best of luck.. you AND your babies. I get the feeling they could not have found themselves a better home.
Your first pets come from a run down farm? Yikes. Get ready for some serious vet bills. These kittens most likely have worms, fleas, respiratory infections and maybe even Feline Leukemia.
How about getting them to a vet to be checked out? Diarrhea can be deadly to young kittens because they can quickly become dehydrated.
In the future I HIGHLY SUGGEST getting your pets from a shelter where you'll be assured of getting a healthy pet that's up to date on shots, tested for diseases, deflead, dewormed and already spayed or neutered. Do you have $300 - $500 to get all of this done?
Have they been taken to a vet yet? If they were from a farm I doubt if they have been treated for worms or fleas.
I would take them to the vets to get them treated for worms and fleas as this could be causing the diarrohoea.
You are right in the fact that it could be just a change in diet, but I would get them checked out to be on the safe side. At 12 - 16 weeks old they shouldnt be skinny.
Good plan with keeping them drinking water. Kittens become dehydrated very quickly so its a good idea to keep they water intake up. Its important not to give them any cow milk as cats are lactose intolerant which can also cause diarrhoea!
Good luck!
Some foods can aggravate their digestive system, and changing food could be something like the other person said. There also could be a parasite, just because you don't see anything in their stool doesn't mean there isn't anything.
You could try something like Kao-Pec, it's like pepto-bismol for animals. You can get a gallon of it from jefferspets.com or you can go to a pet store and they'll have other stuff. But if it's a parasite, these things might not help.
My suggestion would be to take them to a vet anyway, just because you rescued them and they'll need shots and to be fixed unless you intend to let them breed.
http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=0&pf...
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productI...
It could be the food, as well as the new environment. You should make an appointment with the vet just to have them both checked out. Bring a fresh fecal sample with you to the vet so that they can run a fecal test to check for any parasites. Diarrhea could mean the kitty has a parasite, which is common for cats that lived outside, but still needs to be treated with a dewormer.
It could very well be the switch to new food, but if this persists for more than a couple days, I would have a vet evaluate him, just to make sure he remain hydrated, and it isn't some health condition!
it could be the food. go to the vet.