Vocal Kittens, Various Problems/Issues?

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  • 22 May, 2014 at 1:40 am #808848
    Laura Williams
    Participant

    Hello everyone. I think I’m just looking for some reassurance and advice on how my kittens are doing and that I’m doing the right things.

    I have two longhair calicos, both who are about 7 weeks old. They are on wet food, and one is thriving and becoming more and more of a playful handful (Callie). The other, who was the runt of her litter (Polly), is CONSTANTLY hungry, but has some massive diarrhea problems. She will meow and meow and meow while sitting at the food bowl. I don’t want to overwhelm Polly’s system, but at the same time I know that she’s so little and has so much catching up to do compared to her sister Callie.

    Should I be worried about the constant hunger or diarrhea or constant meowing?

    I want Polly to make the progress that I’m seeing in Callie, but I’m really worried about her right now.

    22 May, 2014 at 3:09 am #808860
    Sikandar Nirmal Singh
    Participant

    hi laura! did u recently change her food? if not, try to gradually give her some different food. dont hurry or it can cause more diarrhea. it could be a food issue. she may be having a reaction to soemthing in whatever ur feeding her now. it’s good that she has an appetite. hopefully she doesnt have an infection. if she had an infection, she’d probably lose the appetite, so i’d say probably a food issue

    22 May, 2014 at 9:51 am #808867
    jcat
    Participant

    Hi, Laura, I don’t think you’re unreasonable to be a bit worried. There could be more than one reason for Polly’s diarrhea, eg worms, bacterial infection, but diarrhea can become life-threatening to young kittens because of dehydration, whatever the reason, and most especially if they stop eating and drinking. So I really would suggest a visit to the vet. You might as well take both of them at the same time for a general check-up, it won’t be wasted, as soon you will need to plan with the vet about their shots and if they need worming, etc. I don’t know if you can get something called Scourban where you are, that can help.
    I would also suggest a paste called Nutrical for kittens, it is great for supplementing the feed of under-nourished or sick kittens. It has everything they need in it to build them up.
    And, finally, I know our kitten expert, Buttons, would suggest goats milk (canned in the baking aisle at Walmart) or, even better, goats milk yoghurt (from a health store) to help replenish the helpful flora in Polly’s tummy. Fortiflora can also help.
    The main thing is to keep an eye on Polly for dehydration, which can set in very quickly in young kittens. I’ll give you the tent test and recipe for homemade pedialyte:
    The tent test is to test for dehydration:

    Tent test: pick up a good pinch of kitten’s skin at the neck and let go.If it snaps back immediately, she’s hydrated okay. If it takes a little time to go back down, or, worse, it stays up in a ‘tent’ shape, she needs fluids, such as pedialyte (from the supermarket, children’s aisle) or home-made pedialyte below.

    Note, in the United Kingdom, pedialyte is called Dioralyte. Also known as rehydration salts.

    Home-made pedialyte (from World Health Organization)…no preservatives so short life-span

    * 1 cup water (boiled then cooled)

    * 2 tsp sugar

    * 1/8 tsp salt

    * 1/8 tsp baking soda

    * (this Pedialyte formula gives needed electrolytes & some sugar for energy)

    Combine all ingredients and warm slightly.

    Make new after 24 hours.

    The constant miawing suggests to me that she’s either hugely hungry because of the diarrhea or something’s causing her distress. So I think the vet really is a good idea. Also click on the pink tag ‘diarrhea’ for other threads on this subject. Best of luck, they sound adorable!

    22 May, 2014 at 8:47 pm #808923
    Melissa
    Participant

    I just have to say that the goats milk is awesome. My 8 week old Alice loves to have some mixed with her wet food and will finish the goats milk before the actual wet food. Check to see what type of food you are feeding her is high in quality products. When I first got sunshine I researched all types of cat food to give our cats the best and realized that we had been feedin our older cat one of the worst (meow mix) we have switched everyone to blue buffalo because it has no corn wheat or soy which aren’t necessary for a cats diet. Our older cat made the transition and we have her some goats milk on the side to give her some extra nutrients while she adjusted I the new food. She sees goats milk as a treat since the babies get milk lol good luck to ya

    24 May, 2014 at 2:49 am #809045
    Laura Williams
    Participant

    Sorry that I haven’t replied back; I’m between places so the kittens are living at my parents place. They have their first vets appointment scheduled for Tuesday. I told the receptionist about some of the concerns I have for Polly, and she agreed that she probably needs to be seen soon. Her stomach looks so big compared to the rest of her body, and between that, the diarrhea, and her constant meows, I really have a feeling there is some imbalance.

    I have goats milk that a co-worker gave me, but it really upset her system; runnier diarrhea than she had before. Between that and her not really drinking a whole lot of it, I’m not sure if she has much of a taste for it.

    She’s also struggling to wash herself; we had to give her a bath tonight because her fur was so greasy and stringy.

    Right now I’m wrangling my kittens who seem to want to play all around the laptop. Go figure. They just figured out how to get up onto the bed, so they are up here with me constantly.

    24 May, 2014 at 6:57 am #809049
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Poor little one… JCat has great advice 🙂 it’s very surprising that the goats milk would have caused a reaction like that… I would double check the goats milk your friend gave you incase it was already opened or been left unfridgerated and had spoiled a little I would always reccomend buyin direct from store so you know exactly what your getting..The goats milk yogurt would almost certainly not have done this and might be what is needed in her case or alternatively Sheep Milk Yogurt make sure either is fresh within date and is the “natural” kind no added flavours…. As Mellisa said make sure she’s on the right food for her .. ( delighted everything is going well with the new ceral free diet mellisa 🙂 )

    I think at this stage she really needs to see the vet ASAP it sounds like she is in distress and that could be caused by so many things.. It could be a simple as a parisite in her system or a genitic issue… The vet might need a stool sample to test for some hard to find parasites …

    Good luck with everything and I hope she gets better soon ..

    24 May, 2014 at 8:22 pm #809070
    Laura Williams
    Participant

    Well, it was fresh goat’s milk; the co-worker raises goats. I am taking them both to the vet on Tuesday for a wellness check and vaccinations, so hopefully the vet will be able to shed some light on what’s going on with poor Polly. I have them both on a blue buffalo diet, since I’ve heard good things and know from my mom that it has done wonders for her cat (who’s quite grumbly with the babies here at home).

    25 May, 2014 at 12:35 am #809076
    Buttons
    Moderator

    That could explain the diarrhea after the goats milk… If your friend has fresh goats milk from her own herd it’s probably not been pasturised .. This process is essential when giving goats milk to sickly cats/kittens.. The goats milk HAS to be pasturised to eliminate any harmful parasites and bacteria.. Unpasturised goats milk commonly contains the toxoplasmosis parasite ..

    I know a lot of people love to rear their own milking stock (cows, sheep, goats, camel..ect…) and they see the benefits to unpasturised milk but both people and animals build up a natural resistance and immunity to harmful agents present in unpasturised milk…

    I hear great things about the blue buffalo food 🙂 unfortunately it’s not available here in Ireland …

    31 May, 2014 at 6:00 am #809488
    Laura Williams
    Participant

    Just wanted to give you all an update. Their vet appointment went well on Tuesday. No parasites, but a ridiculous amount of ear mites. They got their first round of vaccinations, some drops for their ears, and most importantly, a prescription for what I’m pretty sure is fortiflora (too lazy to look for the box right now). Callie is 1.5 lbs and Polly is 0.5 lbs, which just means my baby girl has some catching up to do.

    My parents have been taking care of them while I’ve been in the middle of a move. Well, I came back today to SOLID STOOL!!!! and two very playful kittens! It has been a complete 180, and I’m so excited my girls are doing so much better. Just gotta get Polly growing a little and everything will be grand.

    I also got the surprise of going back and looking to realize that my kittens were spotlighted a few days ago! It’s been a great day today 🙂

    31 May, 2014 at 6:34 am #809489
    Buttons
    Moderator

    I’m delighted they’re doing well 🙂 and yay for star kitties 🙂

    31 May, 2014 at 1:17 pm #809497
    JerseyJoan
    Moderator

    Yay for Polly and Callie! Yay for solid poo too! I am so happy for you Laura!

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