7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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Fredy
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7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Hello all,
This is my first post in this forum.
I'm in need of your help and knowledge. I adopted Kitty 12 days ago.
The day after she was with us, she started to go in diarrhoea. And since then she hasn't stopped. Took her to the vet and was given a dewormer and some paste to soothe her gut. That was given 7 days ago but it hasn't helped. So took her to the vet again and was told she needs a faeces test. But it's so expensive and I didn't take an insurance as everything happened do fast. I was planning of taking out an insurance but now the insurer won't insure my Kitty.
I have now started given her boiled chicken and boiled fish. She doesn't like boiled rice.
But this evening she looks so poorly and very tired.
What can I do? :(
Thank you.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

Is she 7 weeks now, or was she 7 weeks when you got her? Either way, she was very young to leave her mother, which may have contributed to the diarrhoea. In such a young kitten it can be serious - dehydration can kill. I would get her to a vet as soon as possible, and in the meantime try to get fluids into her - a basic recipe is one litre boiled water, 1/2 teaspoonful salt, 6 level teaspoonfuls of sugar, keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours then discard and make a fresh batch. Dribble a few drops at a time into her mouth using a syringe or teaspoon. Don't give her milk or other dairy - plain chicken and fish are fine in the short term if she will eat them. But a kitten this young needs to see a vet - it may be cheaper in the long term to get the tests done than to keep paying for visits and treatments without knowing what the problem is.

If you are in the UK and on a low income perhaps the PDSA can help?
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

We don't really know how old she is exactly. The previous owner said she was 8 weeks. When I took to the vet, she was weighted and she was only 600g and the vet said she was not even 8 weeks. The second visit to the vet she weighted 670g.

She is otherwise very playful and happy. She eats her bland foods and drink.
When I spoke to the previous owner I was told that my Kitty eats a particular brand of food but that was not true as I found out later.
Probably the radical change in food brought about digestive disturbances? I'm just hoping it's nothing to do with viruses or bacteria...

Honestly I cannot pay for the vet treatments. Since I purchased my Kitty I spent over £400 in 10 days, she was only £60! I work and not in receipt of benefits so PDSA won't help. I tried asking around to other charities but none will help and none will re-home my Kitty. They say they are all busy. I think they don't want to re-home her because she's not well.
I have already contacted:
RSPCA
Mayhew
Guardian Angel
PDSA
My local cattery
Blue cross
Battersea
And some other local and non local catteries.

Today I'll try new foods with her, grain-free and see if it helps.
I'm also carrying on with pro-kolin.

I'm heartbroken! My child is heartbroken too.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

If she is happy and playful it may well be the sudden change in food. It is also a good sign that she is gaining weight. I would continue with the bland diet, and perhaps add a very little ground eggshell for calcium - the equivalent of a level teaspoonful per kilo. Don't start another food until her tummy has settled, and then introduce it very gradually - just a little of the new food mixed in with the one you know she can eat safely. If she will accept it one of the multivitamin pastes might also be a good idea while she is on a restricted diet, and the water you cook the chicken and fish in will help keep her hydrated if she will drink it.

Upset tummies are very common in kittens when they change homes - the excitement, stress, change of food, etc, etc. When you said she was quiet and sad it rang loud warning bells, but a happy playful kitten is a different matter. Hope things improve over the next few days.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Ruth B »

Poor little thing, and poor you, it is never easy having an ill pet.

Is the diarrhea constant or urgent, making her leave small brown puddles in places, or is it just very runny when she uses the litter tray. If she is getting to the tray then there is a good chance it will clear up in time and could just be a matter of the stress of being rehomed, and a new diet etc. My lad came to me at 6 months old and what he left in the litter tray had more in common with a cow pat than what a cat normally produces. He had tests at the vets, a various range of pills and powders for parasites and special food for upset stomachs, nothing worked but he seemed fine otherwise so in the end i just accepted it, if he hadn't used the litter tray and gone outside I would never have known anything was wrong. Over the years he has improved but even now, 4 years on, what he deposits isn't as solid as what my others leave, but it is just the way he is.

If you are boiling fish or chicken for her, make sure there are no bones in it when you give it to her and give her some of the water it was boiled in, dehydration is the main danger so getting her to drink a lot is important. You might also want to try adding pureed pumpkin to her food, there are brands that include it, Applaws is one that I know of that does Chicken with Pumpkin, but it is expensive and isn't a 'complete' food so not ideal long term, buying a jar of pureed pumpkin or even making it yourself, there are plenty of pumpkins around this time of year, would also be a lot cheaper. Pumpkin is very good for cats with dodgy stomachs strange as it sounds. If she has gone from 600g to 670g while you have had her then you have to be doing something right, that is a good increase in weight

In the end I have a feeling she was far too young to leave her mother which is the fault of who ever sold her not yours. It may also mean that she has been force weaned onto cat food and her system is struggling to adjust, naturally a kitten would be trying a bit of solid food interspersed with their mother's milk. If you can persevere with what you have been doing I think there is hope she will recover on her own. If she is happy and playful then she can't be feeling too ill, and I assume the vet took her temperature when she was examined, if her temperature was normal then i would say her condition is most likely down to parasites which have been dealt with, or stress from all the changes not an infection, either way, time is probably the best option now. If she becomes lethargic, or stops eating then I would suggest taking her back to the vets but while she is happy, eating, drinking and playing then try and bide your time, even a vets visit could stress her and overturn any improvement.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Thank you ever so much to the both of you for your kind advice, words of encouragement and support.
Kitty was low yesterday but my hubby said she is usually quiet in the evening as she gets tired ( usually I'm at work in the evening and yesterday I was off).
Otherwise she's happy and playful.

I'll try the pumpkin and will carry with chicken and fish for few days. Then I'll introduce kitten dry food; after a research I am thinking of purchasing Applaws dry food for kitten.
She was on Aldi food when she was with her previous owner but I was told she was eating Wiskas Dry and wet food for kitten 2-12 months which I bought and gave it to her.
When she came to us her poop was normal. She started to have lose stools the day after she was with us, after eating Wiskas.

Her temperature was taken at the vet and it was fine.

What vitamins, if any, can I give her?
Thank you once again x
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by booktigger »

One thing I would suggest is using a 5 day course of Panacur paste, if they sold her that early she likely hasn't been wormed, and while a normal course is 3 day, a 5 day course is what they would use if a fecal sample showed giardia, which is one of the most common parasites. I wouldn't introduce any dry foods, in my experience of kittens who haven't been weaned properly, dry is the one they tolerate least. Might also be worth putting her back on Aldi food if that was what she was on - it's not that essential for kitten varieties, they are a relatively new invention and many cats coped fine without.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

Canned pureed pumpkin is sometimes available in supermarkets that cater for US bases, around Thanksgiving - I stock up for the year. It needs to be the plain pumpkin, rather than sweetened pie filling of course, Roast or baked butternut squash works just as well - freeze it in ice cube trays as you only need a very little at a time. I have to admit that I have not had much success getting the cats to eat it, although the dogs love it.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

So today I've tried the canned pumpkin and mixed a little with boiled chicken, she loved it! She passed lose stools oy 3 times today and they were much less smelly.
It was a much better day altogether.

As for the dewormer, Panache paste, yes will need the vet to prescribe some but she's not even 700g...
Will see how she copes with the new diet.
Thank you once again for everything.
I'll keep you updated.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by booktigger »

You can buy panacur without a prescription and you know her weight, when fostering we'd start worming kittens at 3 weeks old, worming helps a lot with upset tummies.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

Sounds as if things are settling down - keep up the good work!
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Re: dewormer; where can I buy it? She had already a 3 days course of this, can I give her more now? Also how many times at month/year do you deworm?

Woke up this morning only to find a normal motion in the litter! I'm so relieved and happy Kitty is better and doesn't have any diarrhoea!

I'm keeping her on Applaws wet food and AVA dry food for now. Will gradually introduce both to her.

Boiled chicken, boiled fish and pumpkin have really helped so much.

Thank you to you all x
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

If her tum is settling down I would hold off on further worming for now, as you know she had a dose from the vet. You may need to treat again when she is 12 weeks old, but more probably at 6 months. Panacur is widely available online and in big pet supply shops, or you can ask your vet for it - you should not need an appointment if your cat is registered and has been seen fairly recently.

Very good to hear about the solid poo - those of us who have experienced weeks of the squits will be celebrating with you!
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by booktigger »

Glad her poos are settling, we used to worm fortnightly till 9 weeks and then monthly until 6 months, then 6 monthly.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

I think more frequent worming is needed in situations where larger numbers of animals are kept together - the Panacur reference sheet recommends monthly treatment for kennels, for example, but fewer treatments for cats less likely to pick up parasites.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Ruth B »

Glad to hear things are settling down for her. I would be wary about keeping her purely on Applaws wet food as I now it is a 'complementary' food not a complete one (unless you have found a variety that is different to what I get) so might be lacking in some essential vitamins or minerals. I'm not familiar with the AVA dried food, it could be if that is complete then that will give her enough of what she needs. There are plenty of equally good 'complete' foods out there that you could introduce, Thrive Complete might be worth a try. Whatever you decide, make sure that any changes are small and slow, you don't want to set off her stomach again.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

booktigger wrote: Fri Oct 11, 2019 7:06 am Glad her poos are settling, we used to worm fortnightly till 9 weeks and then monthly until 6 months, then 6 monthly.
Thank you.
Will look into doing it monthly now.
Also about vaccinations, does an indoor cat needs them?
How about fleas for an indoor cat?
Thank you x
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Ruth B wrote: Fri Oct 11, 2019 8:33 am Glad to hear things are settling down for her. I would be wary about keeping her purely on Applaws wet food as I now it is a 'complementary' food not a complete one (unless you have found a variety that is different to what I get) so might be lacking in some essential vitamins or minerals. I'm not familiar with the AVA dried food, it could be if that is complete then that will give her enough of what she needs. There are plenty of equally good 'complete' foods out there that you could introduce, Thrive Complete might be worth a try. Whatever you decide, make sure that any changes are small and slow, you don't want to set off her stomach again.
Thank you for that. I'm looking into other wet foods, grain free. I didn't know that Applaws isn't a complete food. Don't they have wet foods for kitten that isn't complementary?
AVA Is the Pets at Home brand and it is grain free too.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

I would ensure she is up to date with vaccinations - some nasties can get tracked into the house from outside, and she may slip out at some point - but discuss with your vet what she needs, as it may vary according to the risks in your area. Fleas, unless she is showing signs, I would leave for now - combing through with a fine flea comb will soon show the tell tale black specks if she has any.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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fjm wrote: Fri Oct 11, 2019 8:21 am I think more frequent worming is needed in situations where larger numbers of animals are kept together - the Panacur reference sheet recommends monthly treatment for kennels, for example, but fewer treatments for cats less likely to pick up parasites.
It is advisable when kittens haven't had the best start to life, which is why I suggested it in this instance. Fleas will depend on whether she currently has any, as she is underweight, they will be more serious for her.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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Fredy wrote: Fri Oct 11, 2019 8:37 am Also about vaccinations, does an indoor cat needs them?
How about fleas for an indoor cat?
Thank you x
Personally I don't vaccinate and we do fleas and worms on a need basis, for my indoor cats, but your little one is a very different case. Having had a bit of a rough start, being away from mum quite or possibly very early and having had the dire rear for 2 weeks at such a young age, I would certainly start off with recommended schedules for all of this.

She is much less likely to get parasites and infectious diseases of course, being indoor, and maybe later this might be a subject to revisit. There are arguments for much less chemical intervention but in her case I wouldn't think about those until she is at least a couple of years old.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Just an update about Kitty.

She's is doing fine. Diarrhoea has stopped. I've started to introduce dry food (very little once a day) mixed with her boiled fish or boiled chicken and pumpkin.

I've booked her in for her first vaccination and for fleas treatment. As she's been dewormed already I've been told to wait until after she reaches 1kg to do another deworm treatment.

I think the worse is behind her. And we are so happy to have her at home with us, healthy.

One thing thou I have learnt from this experience is that my vet isn't keen on given any health advice other than what she learnt at Uni and in her veterinary books! I dunno about other vets out there but if my child gets diarrhoea GP will always advise me to keep my child on a bland diet and to keep up his liquid intake, water.
My vet just wanted money from me and she scared me into thinking that Kitty was going to die and that all of my family would get infected with Giardia. Shame!

Thank you for all your support. Very much appreciated x
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Kay »

personally I don't think many vets can find out too much about internal problems simply by an examination - and I find sometimes you have to push for blood tests, xrays, scans etc before you get a diagnosis - there's a bit of a tendency to shove antibiotics at you and hope for the best initially

and they don't seem to teach trainee vets much about nutrition either

are you going to insure Kitty? I do suspect some vets are more inclined to push expensive diagnostic procedures on to owners when they know the pet is insured, but from your point of view that is not a bad thing
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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In fairness to vets diarrhoea is such a vague symptom and can have so many causes from innocent to life-threatening that theirs is a really challenging job. Really expensive tests can only sometimes yield answers and a simple poke around certainly isn't going to confirm any diagnosis. As my vet put it, we have to try starting with a balance of most likely and least expensive and work from there until hopefully we hit on something that works. I will never know if my boy had lymphoma, irritable bowel or something else, we hit on a treatment that kept the symptoms under control.

Take care not to keep Kitty on boiled chicken and fish any longer than you have to, that's not a balanced diet.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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Mollycat wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:16 am In fairness to vets diarrhoea is such a vague symptom and can have so many causes from innocent to life-threatening that theirs is a really challenging job. Really expensive tests can only sometimes yield answers and a simple poke around certainly isn't going to confirm any diagnosis. As my vet put it, we have to try starting with a balance of most likely and least expensive and work from there until hopefully we hit on something that works. I will never know if my boy had lymphoma, irritable bowel or something else, we hit on a treatment that kept the symptoms under control.

Take care not to keep Kitty on boiled chicken and fish any longer than you have to, that's not a balanced diet.
I agree to a certain extend. But at least, I think the vet could have suggested to me to try give Kitty a bland diet to see if things improved. Instead she left me with very negative thoughts and worries that left me crying all day as I left the surgery. I was so sad and felt hopeless until I found this forum. I couldn't afford £200 for a faeces test and I told the vet. In return she said to give up my Kitty to a cattery and to test everyone in my home for Giardia and that Kitty would die.

As for her diet, she now eats boiled fish, chicken and pumpkin three times a day and she gets 2 small portions of dry food (grain free) with vitamins and minerals twice a day.
So in the next few days I'll increase the amount of dry food each day and monitor her.

Next week she has her vet appointment for vaccinations, de fleas and a general health check up. I have changed vet and explained to the new vet the experience we had with the old vet and the troubles my Kitty went through.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Kay wrote: Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:40 am personally I don't think many vets can find out too much about internal problems simply by an examination - and I find sometimes you have to push for blood tests, xrays, scans etc before you get a diagnosis - there's a bit of a tendency to shove antibiotics at you and hope for the best initially

and they don't seem to teach trainee vets much about nutrition either

are you going to insure Kitty? I do suspect some vets are more inclined to push expensive diagnostic procedures on to owners when they know the pet is insured, but from your point of view that is not a bad thing
From my point of view it is quite the opposite. The vet should have advice me to put Kitty on a bland diet and to monitor the progress.
Instead she used scary tactics to get me to dish out ££££ for tests and medicines Kitty didn't need.

I have now changed vet. Kitty will see the new vet next week for a health check and vaccinations.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by booktigger »

Unfortunately, giardia is a very common reason for diarrhoea in kittens and can be fatal if not treated, although the chance of your family getting it is rare. I've never paid that amount for a fecal test though, so hopefully the new vet will be cheaper for other things as well, as unfortunately you may be faced with a large unexpected bill in the future.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

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Fredy wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:33 am I agree to a certain extend. But at least, I think the vet could have suggested to me to try give Kitty a bland diet to see if things improved. Instead she left me with very negative thoughts and worries that left me crying all day as I left the surgery. I was so sad and felt hopeless until I found this forum. I couldn't afford £200 for a faeces test and I told the vet. In return she said to give up my Kitty to a cattery and to test everyone in my home for Giardia and that Kitty would die.

As for her diet, she now eats boiled fish, chicken and pumpkin three times a day and she gets 2 small portions of dry food (grain free) with vitamins and minerals twice a day.
So in the next few days I'll increase the amount of dry food each day and monitor her.

Next week she has her vet appointment for vaccinations, de fleas and a general health check up. I have changed vet and explained to the new vet the experience we had with the old vet and the troubles my Kitty went through.
It's important to have a vet you can trust and who will work with you so changing sounds like a good idea. Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with this one and hopefully your new one will be more in tune with you. Diarrhoea in cats can quickly become very serious especially in kittens though and nearly 2 weeks is more than enough to be life-threatening to such a tiny young creature. Maybe your vet could have been more supportive and tactful and maybe Ktty is over the immediate crisis but at the risk of sounding doom-and-gloom she isn't out of the woods yet as she needs to work back towards a diet that provides all the nutrients she needs. Hoping your new vet will be the one to support you to nurse her back to full health and take the best care of you both for many happy years to come.
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by Fredy »

Hi all,
Just been to the vet. Kitty has gained weight, she's now 950g! She's healthy and vet said I'm doing good in keeping her on a bland diet and introducing kitten foods slowly.
She has been de-flead and de-wormed. Vaccinations to be followed in 2 weeks time.

Thank you once again for all your useful advice and suggestions.

Fredy
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Re: 7 weeks old tiny kitten diarrhoea

Post by fjm »

I am so glad to hear this - sounds as if she is growing up fast, and has suffered no ill effects from the early set back. The new vet also sounds much more reassuring than your earlier visits!
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