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Hello all, I was wondering if someone might be able to give me some advice as a new(ish) cat owner who is feeling a little concerned?

Marty is 11 months old and generally a very playful and excitable kitten. Last Monday I picked him up from the cattery where he had been staying since Christmas Eve. When we returned home I noticed that he was more lethargic than normal, however I put this down to the situation of him returning home from his holiday. The next morning I woke up to find that he had had an upset stomach through the night (vomiting and diarrhoea), which once again I thought might be down to the trauma of returning home, so I took extra care of him.

The diarrhoea carried on until Wednesday but then seemed to be absolutely fine from that point on and over this last weekend... Today, however, I have returned home to find that he has been extremely ill once again, and this has got me concerned.

A few points to note, the cattery has 'sneeze guards' between each cat. They also use the same food that we use at home. Since the first time he was ill passed, Marty has been himself, very active and hasn't seemed lethargic or similar, also his appetite hasn't dropped (in fact he was asking for food when I returned home today). I have tried to think of connections food wise between the two instances, but there is nothing that comes to mind.

I'm sure I may well be worrying over nothing, however with it being two seperate instances in quick succession it has got me slightly concerned that there might be something more underlying that needs to be checked out.

Any advice as to what I can do to try and stop this from happening, or things to look out for, or even just reassurance that I'm worrying too much, would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you so much in advance.

best thing would be to feed him only boiled chicken breast and white fish (coley will do) for a couple of days, and only water to drink, to give his digestive system time to settle - if he is still suffering d&v then a vet visit will be necessary

I assume the cattery insisted on vaccinations?

Kay wrote:best thing would be to feed him only boiled chicken breast and white fish (coley will do) for a couple of days, and only water to drink, to give his digestive system time to settle - if he is still suffering d&v then a vet visit will be necessary

I assume the cattery insisted on vaccinations?

Thank you for your reply;

Yes, the cattery is quite strict on vaccinations and always asks if the cat has been ill before taking him in (so I assume this is normal practice with all cats staying there).

I will try some boiled chicken breast/white fish for a few days and see how he gets on, thank you. We currently feed him Whiskas dry and wet food - I've heard rumours more recently that big name brands of food aren't necessarily the most healthy option - could this possibly be related?

Thank you once again for your reply.

Whiskas dry is pretty much junk food, and I'd certainly suggest you find a better, but if it is what he is used to, and had in the cattery, it's not likely to be at the root of his current problems

Hi there...

Yes Whiskas dry food is really not good at all......Royal Canin do a brilliant range of food for dodgy tummys ...my Barney can only have Royal Canin Fibre Response or Intense Furball as he suffers with constipaton....but they do amazing digestive food for sensitive tummys too......I have tried everything else believe me and its the only range that seem to have it right........as many here will testify......best of luck ......x

Thank you for all of your advice - I'm going to go on the hunt for some better quality food for Marty today, and have boiled up some chicken for him for the next 24 hours or so to help settle his stomach. Fingers crossed this will get him back to full health - really don't like him being under the weather!!

Thanks again

Please wait until his tummy has settled down before introducing a new food and when you do please do it gradually adding a spoon at a time to his existing food until you have him completely switched over.

greenkitty wrote:Please wait until his tummy has settled down before introducing a new food and when you do please do it gradually adding a spoon at a time to his existing food until you have him completely switched over.

Yes, will do