Author Topic: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now  (Read 5797 times)

Offline sheryl

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #26 on: March 15, 2013, 13:56:11 PM »
Brilliant news Hun, so pleased for you and the babies xxx

I used to use LactoB Probiotic but cant get it anymore so am now using Aviproplus when needed - might be worth ordering a tub to keep in "just in case"
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Offline fluffybunny

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #25 on: March 14, 2013, 23:25:20 PM »
Great news, so glad things have settled down; it's amazing how simple the solution can sometimes be!

I think I agree with the first vet on the vaccinations though, the data sheets always say that vaccinations should only be given to healthy animals, partly in case they make them poorly and partly because if the animal's body and immune system is already working hard against an illness, then it probably won't develop an immune response anyway.  I think it's much safer and more effective to have waited until their little problem has cleared up.

Good luck, lets hope those runny bottoms stay well away! X x

Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #24 on: March 14, 2013, 23:05:00 PM »
That's good to hear  ;D I'm surprised as to why vets don't think of probiotics themselves when prescribing these heavy-duty antibiotics. I might be having a false memory syndrome as it was a while ago now but I'm sure I had to ask my vet about probiotics too!

Offline LouiseJ

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #23 on: March 14, 2013, 16:21:39 PM »
Great news

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #22 on: March 14, 2013, 16:09:37 PM »
So pleased  ;D

Offline Dawn F

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #21 on: March 14, 2013, 15:00:38 PM »
great news

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #20 on: March 14, 2013, 14:07:07 PM »
Just another update, both kittens are now doing much better.

Thanks to you lovely people! I asked the vet for some probiotics and they have done the trick as they are both much much better!
 :thanks:

Plus the vet was quite surprised that his collegue hadnt given them their injections so did their first jabs there and then. They are back in 3 weeks to get the second jab and also to get checked over to make sure all is well for them to be spayed.

thank you all so much for your advice and support - much appreciated!

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #19 on: March 09, 2013, 19:06:36 PM »
Well the good news is that Cookie (who was not really eating much of the SC dry) is happy to eat the SC wet food. The bad news is that Toffee doesn't like the SC wet and is trying to bury it. She wont touch it, she will nibble at the dry stuff but has hardly eaten anything today. No change in the poop - but they only started on the SC food yesterday so I guess these things take time.

I know she is in heat - could this be why she isn't eating? She has other things on her mind I guess... like the tomcat that came and sat in our garden and meowed at her yesterday (and I presume again today!)

I'm asking the vet about getting them vaccinated and spayed on Monday - as I don't want the poor thing to have to go through this all the time. She looks so unhappy.

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #18 on: March 08, 2013, 23:35:35 PM »
Ask your vet if they have any protexin capsules, you need wet food to mix it in............open the capsule and half of one a day, it will help to offset the effect of the abs killing off the good bacteria

Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #17 on: March 08, 2013, 23:33:03 PM »
Hope the wet SC will do the trick, when I was first given it one of my cats was feeling under the weather so refused to eat it but I persevered and he started wolfing it down once he was feeling better. I always keep some in the cupboard now for 'emergencies' and my two think it's a real treat when they get it and lick their bowls clean within record time. It was actually the wet SC in conjunction with probiotics that seemed to do the trick for my two so some good may even come out of you running out of the dry :crossed:

The vets who refused to sell it to you without registering and examining your pets are talking nonsense - it's NOT a prescription food hence being able to purchase it online freely. My vets is around a 15 minute drive away and a few times when I have run out of the wet SC I have got it from an unconnected vets two minutes away from my house rather than drive 15 mins to get it from my normal vets - the other vets have no qualms in taking a crisp ten pound note from me in exchange for a solitary box of cat food!

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #16 on: March 08, 2013, 22:50:08 PM »
Thanks Sheryl  I will keep the raw meat idea and may try that.

I don't really want to keep chopping and changing their food though as that can't help the issue. I've been advised that any sudden change can also exacerbate the problem so everything new is having to be phased in - which is of course taking time.

That's one of the reasons why I am so ticked that I've run out of the SC food, as I had specifically ordered it so that it would arrive in time so that wouldn't happen. I wanted to see see if they improved once they were on it for a decent uninterrupted time period...

I am getting quite concerned about Cookie, she has always been a bit better than Toffee, but today she was very poorly indeed. She has been 'leaking' which she is clearly not happy about and doesn't want to go far from the litter tray (understandable). She has been eating the special SC food when mixed with kitten but tonight she has hardly eaten at all (very not like her) - I'm going to see how she is in the morning.

I really do appreciate the support from you all, as I am starting to feel like it is some how my fault and that I am failing as a career for them. Hope we can sort it for them soon.

I am in awe of people who have kids, if I am this worried with kittens, I hate to think how neurotic I would be as a parent!



Offline sheryl

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #15 on: March 08, 2013, 22:22:29 PM »
I really hope you can get them sorted and know how frustrating it can be - we spent a fortune at the vets and the antibiotics etc just seemed to make them worse - also being homonal and on heat wont help.

When I said Grain/wheat free I meant cat food such as Orijen and Arden Grange sensitive dry food - my Benglies neve got on with the RC at all - have you tried them with raw meat at all?
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Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2013, 18:11:33 PM »
Also just to add -  Toffee didn't manage to eat the wool. I got it off her and have gone over the entire house to look for anything else she could pick up. I think this piece must have just been sticking out from under the wardrobe and she pulled it out....

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #13 on: March 08, 2013, 18:05:58 PM »
The vets have told me that they can't get it in...as their supplier is out of stock. I tried Pets at Home and they wouldn't sell it unless I registered the cats with them and they examined them. I really don't want to take them to another vets as the car journey is just going to stress them out big time, and I feel that they are going through enough right now! 

I have some arriving from VetUK on Tuesday - It was supposed to arrive today but they lost it!

I'll try them on a combination of the wet SC food and the dry SC food tomorrow as at least that will make the SC dry last until Tuesday when I get some more.... the logic being tomorrow would have been their first full day on just the SC dry so if I am going to be making a change it probably makes the most sense for it to be now, rather than have a day of just the dry and then change again to dry and wet..

They have had access to lots of water and unsurprisingly they are drinking a lot!

They finish their anit-biotics tonight so hopefully they might improve over the weekend. One of the side effects of the meds is actually diarrhoea so its hard to know if what they are going through right now is just a side effect of that!

Will push again at the vets for answers and probiotics. It is driving me slightly crazy.

Just caught Toffee trying to eat about 10 inches of wool, which she has managed to get out of a cupboard where it was put away! I think these two are going to be the death of me!


Offline LouiseJ

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #12 on: March 08, 2013, 17:52:54 PM »
Agree with Gill re the vets. At the very least they should be able to call round neighbouring practices to see if someone has it in stock.
As Pets at Home have vets I'm thinking they must have the specialist food in stock so surely should be able to help?
Poor babies they must have such sore tummies.

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2013, 17:45:12 PM »
I can only recommend what I did with Lupin and wouldnt put them on dry food to be honest cos thery need the liquid that comes in wet food.

The vet should have been able to order the food to get it by today and find it appalling that other vets wouldnt sell it to you.

Orders online can take up to a week, which is why the vets are quicker

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2013, 17:38:48 PM »
Hi all,
Just to give you an update on Toffee and Cookie. They are still poorly and in fact the runs appear to be getting worse (more watery). Ive been slowly moving them onto the Royal Canin Sensitivity Control (SC) dry cat food (as recommended by the vet) by mixing it in with their normal dry kitten food and slowly increase the ratio of SC to kitten by about 10g per day.

They are both eating. Cookie a little less than normal, but I know she isn't a massive fan of the new food. Thankfully she will eat it, but certainly doesn't look happy about it!

The only problem is that now I will have finally gotten them onto just the dry SC food, I am going to run out of the SC dry by the end of the weekend. Frustratingly  my Vets don't have any more in-stock, no where local will sell it to me without my registering the cats at the vets and the place i found on line lost my delivery (it was supposed to arrive today! so that wont get here till Tuesday). My vets were able to provide me with some pouches of the SC wet though.


1) Will it be OK to give them the wet food now? They have not had any wet food for ages (over a month) and I am hesitant to change their diet yet again now that I will have finally gotten them onto just the SC dry food.

2) if yes to the above, would I be better off giving them one of the pouches (they are supposed to have 2 a day) and half of the recommended dry food?

3) if better not change their diet yet again - anyone know of a place i can get a speedy delivery of SC food from?!

Just to further complicate matters Toffee has now gone into heat - poor love. I really want this sorted so that we can get them vaccinated and then spayed. She is calling pretty much constantly when she is awake and we have a tom calling at our backdoor for her as well now.. lovely... They are both off to the vets on Monday. I looked back over my notes and they have been poorly since Jan 21, so I would really like some answers. This constant diarrhoea can not be good for their growth and development - plus I really want to get them both spayed ASAP

Sherly - thanks for the tip about TF, I will ask if the fecal test they did would have included this and if not then I will ask the vet to test for that. They have been on a totally wheat free diet of chicken (which they wouldn't eat) and then boiled fish. Sadly neither helped.

Following advice from here I am also going to ask the vet about a probiotic.

thanks again - much appreciate being able to ask on here!


Offline sheryl

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2013, 21:49:06 PM »
Have you tried a completely grain\wheat free diet and have the babies been tested for TF - this is not something that vets test for routinely but is actually quite a common problem. 
I had runny bum problems with 2 of my Bengals when they were babies and as others have said probiotics worked wonders  (but not the ones from the vets) I changed them to grain free and they only have filtered/bottled water
Good Luck Hun and I hope the babies are sorted soon x
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Offline heather sullivan

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2013, 18:36:09 PM »
not quite sure how often kittens should be wormed, but someone on here will know. Also sometimes antibiotics can interfere with their gut flora and give them the runs? Hope they feel better soon :(

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2013, 18:34:45 PM »
Thanks to everyone for the responses so far!

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2013, 18:32:31 PM »
Yep they have both been wormed. Probably due for another dose soon, as I presume it should be done every month?

Offline heather sullivan

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2013, 18:24:45 PM »
have they been wormed? :)

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2013, 16:28:19 PM »
I had this problem with Lupin who I got at 10 months.

In the end the solution was RC GI food and a probiotic that I had not heard of before given by my vet. Its called protexin and half a capsule a day is mixed in food and is tasteless.

Its doesnt get well over night but I must have seen improvement quickly.

Once he was stable I tried other food with him, fish was terrible and made him ill again immediately as did whiskers and felix but he has been stable now for well over a year and eats gormet food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2013, 14:45:44 PM »
 :welcome: to Purrs

I have had issues with fairly long term diaorrhoea in the past (with my cat!) so know how frustrating and depressing it can be, not to mention the worry of how it's affecting the cats themselves :care: At one stage both my cats had runny bums but then it became an issue for just one of them. The vet initially thought it was some kind of infection and they both had antibiotics but when it lingered with just one of them they then said it may be dietary - despite them having eaten the same food all their lives! The vet said that cats can develop food intolerances at any stage so although it would seem unlikely that they were fine for 3 weeks and then suddenly became intolerant of the foods you were feeding them it's something you may have to explore later down the line - grain free, hypoallergenic, unusual proteins etc

One thing that it looks like your vet hasn't mentioned is a probiotic, the one I used has now sadly been discontinued but I have read good things about this one as an alternative http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/purina-veterinary-diet-fortiflora-nutritional-supplement-for-cats-30x1g-sachets.html

Once I got my cat stable poo-wise, using a combo of RC sensitivity pouches and a probiotic, I gradually weaned him back onto their normal food (although I switched the biscuits from PAH premium to James Wellbeloved on the vets advice as despite having very similar ingredients JWB are hypoallergenic) and haven't looked back *touch wood*

Also, was the Royal Canin sensitivity you tried the wet or dry version? My cat had the RC sensitivity sachets and they really did the trick with him so worth getting a few sachets from your vcet to try the wet version if you haven't already. Another good food is the sensitive Kattovit http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/kattovit Both the RC sensitive and the Kattovit are very palatable.

:luck: and I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel!  :hug:




Offline Dawn F

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Re: Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2013, 14:33:47 PM »
I have a bengal who are noted for dodgy stomachs, as a kitten she was on rc for about three months it did settle her and she has been fine since so it might be worth giving it another go for a longer period - rc do a non prescription one called sensible 33 which it might be worth trying to see if they like that

Offline ToffeeandCookie

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Advice please - two kittens who have had the runs for a month now
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2013, 14:10:59 PM »
Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of advice as I am nearly my wits end with the two kittens I have rescued as they have both been poorly with diarrhoea since around 20th January.  I have already taken them to the vet and below is a bit more of the history of what has been tried so far. Apologies for the long post!

Toffee and Cookie are both rescue kittens from an animal shelter in London. They are not related but were put together as a pair.  Toffee was thrown out with someones rubbish (honestly some people!) and rescued by the bin men. Cookie was abandoned and found by the shelter.  We are not 100% sure of their ages but we think Cookie is around 4.5months maybe 5 and Toffee is around 4 maybe 4.5 months. Toffee had cat flu when we got her and so could not have her vaccinations. Cookie had her first jab and then also came down with cat flu and so needed a complete restart. Essentially neither one has been vaccinated yet and as no vaccinations neither has been spayed. They are now both over their cat flu. Other than the runs they are both very active, affectionate and playful kittens. They will jump and run around and play fight (including kicking each other in the tummy) and they are eating the kitten food. Both are not dehydrated although they are unsurprisingly drinking a lot.

We brought the kittens home on 28th December and fed them a combination of Royal Canin Kitten and one pouch each of Whiskas. This was split and given in two meals (am and pm). They were fine eating this and both had normal poop.

The diarrhoea started around the 20th /21st Jan. A few days previously both kittens had chewed on a Dragon Tree plant which was in the lounge. We had just moved house before we got the kittens and had not gotten rid of the plant yet. Unfortunately they managed to get into the room where the plant was.  As I know it is a toxic plant, I was naturally very concerned and took them to the vets. To be on the safe side the vet took bloods and was able to rule out any potential damage done by the plant in relation to kidneys and liver. So at least we know that their kidneys and liver are fine. The vet thought it likely that any diarrhoea would be temporary and likely to have been caused by the plant and recommended a bland diet of boiled fish for 5 days.

White fish was purchased and the kittens were very happy with their new diet. They were on this diet for around 7-10 days but the diarrhoea did not go away. I spoke to the locum vet and he advised that the royal canin be phased back in as they were not going to be getting sufficient nutrients on just the fish.  By the 6th February the diarrhoea had still not gone away. Back to the vets for a prescription of Metronidazole twice daily for 5 days as it was felt that this was now unlikely to be related to the plant.

The Metronidazole did the trick as within 2 days both had normal looking poo (hurrah!) However once they had finished the course the diarrhoea came back. Spoke to the vet, told to wait a few days before bringing in a stool sample for further tests. Sample brought in and kittens to be put on Royal Canin Sensitivity Control to rule out any food intolerance.

We tried the new food for 5 days but sadly Cookie and Toffee did not appear to like the new food and both went down to eating at most 30g a day (Royal Canin recommend that kittens have 90g of the stuff), plus it had made no difference to the poo, still very runny and cow pat like. I was worried that there were not eathing so spoke to the vet who confirmed that it would be fine to phase back to the kitten food as at least then they were eating.

Tests came back and the only bug showing up in their system was crytosporidium – no coccidia no giardia. Told to get some additional litter trays so that those not being used could be soaked in either either Ammonia or Hydrogen Peroxide to try and kill the bug. New antibiotics given (not got the name of those to hand right now) for two weeks.  We are now 7 days in and there has been no improvement in their poo. The Vet has today suggested that we finish the course of antibiotics and keep soaking the litter trays. I should also now phase them back into the Sensitivity Control diet so we can rule out any issues with food.

My concern is that I have already tried Sensitivity Control and boiled fish and neither helped.   Swapping to Sensitivity Control now doesn't seem like it will do anything other than result in the kittens no longer eating. The vet says that it can take 2 weeks for their guts to settle down and that 5 days was not long enough to get a result (clearly he has changed his mind from what he had said earlier)

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I can try, or have any similar experience? I'm starting to be quite concerned as this can not be good for their development plus I feel like I am running out of things we can try to get them back to normal!

Sorry for such a long post!

 :thanks: in advance for any suggestions/encouragement that this has happened before but will all work out etc!

 


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