4 month old w/ diarrhea

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  • 26 April, 2010 at 3:30 pm #36522
    Poof
    Participant

    Due to last weeks glitch right after I joined, I’m going to re-post this in hopes to continue the dialog and help Poof get to normal.

    DOB 12/19/09 Male

    March 10, 2010 I brought home Poof, a Seal Point Persian. I purchased him from a cattery in Tampa FL. The ladies home was clean and there were many other kittens still from the same litter all playing around. Poof’s mom and dad were there and were very healthy handsome cats. I was given a FL health certificate just signed the previous day from the vet stating the kitten was free of parasites and was healthy. Everything seemed perfect.

    It was a 3 hour drive home from Tampa and my daughter rode with me to hold the kitten if it didn’t like the kennel. Well you know he did not, so Vicki got to hold Poof the entire ride home. She soon discovers that he has poo matted into his little back feet and starts calling him “Lil Poo Foot”. I wanted to call him Theodore and didn’t want her name to stick, lol! We laughed and laughed about “Lil Poo Foot” until we hit the Walmart in Starke and had to stop to pick up some baby wipes so she could try to give him a little bath. I’m sure you can only imagine how much more laughing we did the rest of the trip while she is trying to clean his little feet. Since then we started calling him “Poof”, short for “Lil Poo Foot”.

    Ok…The problem is that Poof has had diarrhea since I brought him home. Since he had poo matted into his feet we feel like he had diarrhea at the breeder also. He has been tested weekly for parasites and the tests always come back negative. The Vet put him on Lixotinic & Metronidazole which seemed to help some but still we do not have a normal stool.

    Poof’s breeder had him on Royal Canin Kitten which I also continued at our home so that he would not experience any problems changing food. I give him filtered water because our city water is not fit for me to drink! Two weeks ago we decided to switch the food to Wellness Brand Kitten, no change in the stool. The vet thought that food was a little too rich maybe and recommended Hills z/d. He has been on this now for a week and the volume of stool has reduced but the consistency has remained the same.

    Here it is Monday and we need to decide what is the next course of action. On Friday the Vet called stumped and asked if she could do a $185.00 test hoping it would pick up something. Since she had just changed his food only a day and a half earlier I asked that we give the Hills food a chance to show some difference before spending even more money on tests.

    Both Poof and I are getting very tired of the every other day foot & bottom baths and having to wash the bedding. Not to mention his little bottom is getting sore.

    I would love to hear any and all experiences that may be related and help us find a solution.

    I love TDK and have become addicted to logging in and reading all the old posts. Thank you Kitten Master!

    Teresa & Poof

    26 April, 2010 at 7:41 pm #548303
    Dee
    Participant

    bump

    26 April, 2010 at 9:54 pm #548304
    Poof
    Participant

    I called the vet this morning (7am) to ask for Thursday’s test results and to see what the next course of action should be and they were too busy to talk to me. No problem I told the receptionist, please ask someone to call me when they have a minute. No call with results. I think because the vet is stumped she is avoiding me. The results came back Friday morning and they didn’t call me then either.

    A second opinion was recommended both here and by family, but I hate the thought of dropping another $400 in vet bills to get the second opinion.

    Poof HATES the Hills z/d food and is only picking at it because I refuse to give him anything else. I’m very flustered at this point but feel grateful that this is the only issue we have right now. After reading posts all day I almost feel bad complaining about diarrhea.

    Teresa

    27 April, 2010 at 3:42 am #548305
    Khom
    Participant

    Your vet is avoiding you?? Well, I think it’s time to change vets then. How irresponsible.

    Do make sure he is hydrated enough because diarrhea leads to dehydration and kittens can go downhill very fast once that happens. Have you tried probiotic supplements with live cultures? You could just feed him a teaspoon of yoghurt if you can find asny nearby. But first you must be able to rule out parasite infection. So I’m afraid another vet visit is inevitable.

    27 April, 2010 at 12:51 pm #548306
    Poof
    Participant

    Good Morning TDK’rs,

    Got a phone call from Poof’s breeder last night. She was sorry that I was having problems and suggested a few things.

    1. Need to clip his legs and tail fur back even further than I had. I had took the hair back quite a bit but she said take it all. (obvious)

    2. She guessed that Poof was sitting right on the litter when pooing and thus getting it everywhere…she was right. He doesn’t lift his hind end when using the litter box.

    3. Like many of you suggested some yogurt. She said he needs some high fat dairy. So I asked for some examples, heavy cream, whipped cream, half and half & yogurt.

    I’m off to the grocery store to get some of the above!

    @Khom~ Poof is drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot also. We have had weekly parasite tests for all kinds of different things some expensive and then the regular stuff. Last week the vet used the word “stumped” and asked me to do yet another test that was $185. I really think she is just grasping at this point. Maybe I’m wrong but that is the perception I’m getting.

    Any suggestions on how often to supplement with yogurt?

    27 April, 2010 at 1:02 pm #548307
    jcat
    Participant

    Why would he need high-fat dairy? That’s not good for anyone, however nice for an occasional treat.

    I do think the probiotic yoghurt is a good idea though (and that’s low fat so it won’t hurt him). Try a teaspoonful once a day and see how you go. Hopefully he’ll enjoy it 🙂

    27 April, 2010 at 3:03 pm #548308
    gini
    Participant

    I wouldn’t give him dairy like the cream. Dairy upsets a LOT of cats stomachs and can give cats who don’t have digestive problems diarrhea. If Poof is already feeling bad, I personally would stay away from the cream. It is going to make him more sick. Yogurt is great though and the probiotics will be wonderful for his system

    Is Poof on dry Hills z/d or wet Hills z/d? Picky cats usually prefer wet, so if he isn’t doing well on the dry maybe you should switch him over to the wet. If he is on the wet and isn’t taking it well, put it in the microwave for a few seconds. The aroma warmed up will entice him more. Also, try mixing a little bit of tuna juice into the food (this can work for wet food or dry food) and odds are he’ll want to lap it up a lot more.

    28 April, 2010 at 4:52 pm #548309
    Poof
    Participant

    Poof is on dry Hills z/d and not happy about it. He is eating about 3/8 of a cup a day. He is a vocal kitten and meows often for something else. I offered him the wet and he liked it even less!

    I offered Poof some yogurt…the first time he licked it twice, he hasn’t licked it again and I have offered multiple times.

    The vet called and last weeks parasite tests were once again negative.

    After a full week on nothing but dry Hills z/d his stool has deceased in volume but the consistency has not changed.

    Time for Plan D any further suggestions?

    🙂

    28 April, 2010 at 7:26 pm #548310
    JB
    Participant

    Wish I had some suggestions, Someone else will have more. I know my boy likes Kefir (a drinkable yogurt type drink) even better than yogurt, but he will also randomely reject it.

    Sending you and Poof healing light. Glad that he seems otherwise healthy.

    28 April, 2010 at 11:14 pm #548311
    Poof
    Participant

    Picked up the FortiFlora from the vet, charged me $10 more dollars than Amazon would have, next time I will order myself. I won’t have to wait a week and will save money. (I didn’t know this was the “pro biotic” I was waiting for.)

    FortiFlora is a dry powder so that means I need to mix with some wet food. Since Poof is not interested in the Hills z/d wet and it doesn’t seem to be helping anyways, I bought him some Wellness brand high protein wet food. If we are going to have diarrhea he might as well enjoy the food. After lots of reading today high protein wet food was a common thread in a lot of articles.

    Poof meowed while eating the food…I almost cried…he loved it obviously. The vet doesn’t want to see him for another week or two unless the diarrhea gets worse. If she had diarrhea for 6 weeks I wonder if she would be so casual.

    I certainly appreciate everyone’s input and concern.

    Teresa

    🙂

    28 April, 2010 at 11:27 pm #548312
    GreatDane
    Participant

    I dogsit a dog who’s on FortiFlora as well and he gets it sprinkled on his dry food without a problem, so you may be able to do that with Poof’s food, too.

    When I first got my Milo at 6 weeks, he had diarrhea, too, and the vet gave him medicine for it which helped, Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it. Another thing that helped a lot was feeding him rice – that is great for diarrhea. He agreed to eating it if I mixed it in his heated up wet food.

    29 April, 2010 at 1:09 am #548313
    Poof
    Participant

    I just assumed he wouldn’t eat it over dry food, let me give it a try. TY

    Milo is one handsome lil guy! 🙂

    29 April, 2010 at 1:15 am #548314
    tuttibella
    Participant

    Hi Poof,

    Wellness is a great brand and I am sure Poof will enjoy. When I read the things that your vet did or rather didn’t do, it is very upsetting. You really ought to find another vet that will openly communicate with you and is not afraid to answer any questions you may have.

    I hope that the probiotic will help Poof and that he will get over the diarrhea soon enough. Also, remember to give Poof plenty of liquids. If he is not drinking regular water, entice him with chicken soup or canned tuna juice.

    All the best!

    29 April, 2010 at 2:10 am #548315
    pucca
    Participant

    So glad Poof is eating and enjoying the Wellness! I have never had to try this, but I have read in a bunch of sources that mixing in a little canned pumpkin into the wet food (pure pumpkin, not pie filling)is great for diarreah and very tasty for the cats.

    29 April, 2010 at 3:24 am #548316
    jcat
    Participant

    I would also wonder why the vet said dry food when Poof has diarrhoea? If you think about it, he is in danger of losing fluids through his diarrhoea, and becoming dehydrated, and then he is in danger of losing more fluids through eating dry food, which sucks moisture from his little body. I would stick with the wet food, particularly if he enjoys it more. Diarrhoea means you need to keep his fluid levels up.

    29 April, 2010 at 3:31 am #548317
    SoxsMom
    Participant

    6 weeks is a long time–you have a great deal of patience! Prayers are with you.

    29 April, 2010 at 4:04 pm #548318
    Poof
    Participant

    Poof was a happy eater this morning. I gave him the wet Wellness Core & his FortiFlora. He then played and ran up and down the hallway with his ball.

    JCat, I too have started wondering about the dry food after reading til my eyes feel like they are bleeding on the subject. Seems LOTS of cats have this problem, some for life. He drinks a lot of water each day and is putting on weight so I feel good about that. He was under a pound when I brought him home 3/10/10 and is now 3.2lbs.

    I’ve posted some new pics this morning since he was feeling so frisky!

    http://www.catster.com/cats/1130573

    Again Thanking everyone for their help & support.

    🙂

    29 April, 2010 at 7:56 pm #548319
    CheetahBoysmommy
    Participant

    I thought Poof was named that because he’s so fluffy. Now that I’ve read his Catster page I have to LOL about how you really picked his name.

    29 April, 2010 at 9:19 pm #548320
    JB
    Participant

    Poof is just becoming more and more gorgeous. Hope the food and Forta flora will do the trick. He clearly isn’t suffering too much, since he is gaining weight and being happy. The cleaning up is definately a stress on you.

    30 April, 2010 at 12:23 pm #548321
    Poof
    Participant

    Happy Friday to everyone. Poof woke me up at 6:00am this morning demanding some more of that good food! So like any good human I got up and prepared his breakfast. Hour and half later I can hear Poof running down the hall and know that he is coming to nap with me. He was covered in poo!! (I’m not surprised, are you?) 7am now…bath time! Boy did he need it!! He just stands in the sink for the most part not minding the bath until you get to his bottom making sure it is clean. I’m sure by now he enjoys the relief the warm water provides. He hates the hair dryer no matter what speed it is on or which one I’m using. (I think I have a pretty quiet one as far as hair dryers go.) After getting him about 75% dry I release him, he wants to go curl up in my bed now and go back to sleep. Meanwhile now I’m very wide awake and WET!! 🙂 I’m going to try and shave some more hair off his back legs once he is all dry.

    The stool seems to be retaining a little more shape than it has been I think, maybe I’m just projecting what I want to happen, it’s still too loose though. It’s only day 2 of the wet Wellness Core & FortiFlora, so I’m still hoping for a change.

    I have a kayaking outing next weekend that will keep me from the house for 3 nights…I’m already having anxiety about leaving him for that amount of time. I hoped by now he would be self sufficient to a point that with a house sitter coming by once a day he would be fine. I can’t bare the thought of kenneling him for 4 days @ the vets.

    Enough ranting…need to find coffee! Maybe I will see if the TDK Cafe is open.

    🙂

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