# Help-- Sick kitten



## Siouxqie (Jun 10, 2012)

I know cats aren't technically part of this website, but I've gotten good advice about other animals, and I'm hoping someone can give me a clue.

I have three kittens from different litters ( got them three weeks ago), their names/ages/symptoms  are:

Loopy- 12 weeks-- SEVERE diarrhea (sp?), no fever, no vomiting; started acting "off" on Friday, took her to the vet Saturday.  She was tested for FIV, Feline lukemia, parvo, and a bunch of other things, she was pretty dehydrated, so the vet gave her fluids under the skin. The vet could not find anything "wrong" with her as far as bacterial/viral infections or parasites. The vet reccomended we give her canned food or chicken (anything she will eat), and add plain chicken broth to her water.  She is eating/drnking a litte bit, but not much and has gotten VERY skinny the last three days.  She got out (the are quarantined) and she had REALLY watery diarrhea and it smelled extremely FOUL.

Paul--8 weeks (but very large) started getting diarrhea yesterday (saturday), but not as severe as Loopy.  He is drinking and eating better than Loopy, but still not as well as he normally would.  

Dizzy--10 weeks... seems fine, no diarrhea, acting normal (other than being a little upset that the other kittens are acting off)

The two sick kittens are shakey and unsteady on their feet.  They are acting like they are cold (probably from malnutrition).  We have warm water bottles wrapped in towels for them.  I have been cleaning them up as needed per vet instructions, changing the litter and sanitizing the box several times a day....  I was told by someone to try giving them small amounts of electrolyte formula and some kind of ingestible clay (can't remember offhand what it's called).  Does anyone have any advice?


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## ksalvagno (Jun 10, 2012)

So they tested negative for everything? Wow, that is a hard one. Didn't even find parasites?

Had their feed been changed at all? Have you given any probiotics?


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 10, 2012)

*You need to ask the vet to check for cocci and Giardia, they don't sound very well off. I would get some Flagyl from the vet if you can, that stuff has cured up some pretty bad diarrhea in kittens. (I've worked for a cat rescue and vets for over 3 years)... I've seen them test negative for Giardia but put on flagyl anyway and it cured them, sometimes the tests are not accurate. I would also get some warm kitten milk (or canned kitten food) into them and if they are dehydrated you might need to do sub-q fluids. You should do this sooner rather than later as they dehydrate fast. Also make sure they haven't been treated with permethrin (a poison to cats) and make sure they don't have fleas. You can try deworming them with Drontal, it kills all types of worms a cat can get. *


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## Goatherd (Jun 10, 2012)

> I have been cleaning them up as needed per vet instructions


Did your vet actually see these kittens?  Have they had any medical attention by a vet?


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## BrownSheep (Jun 10, 2012)

Make certain that the third kitten doesn't come in contact with the other two.


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

Goatherd......the op said that she had taken them to the vet. They certainly got vet attention if they were tested for those various dieseases,

Flagyl would be a pretty good idea, at this point.  They probably need some electrolyte support and if you ask your vet, he/she should be able to give you some NutriCal.......its a nutrional supplement that small mammals do really well on.

Please be sure to wash your hands........Giardia infections can be transmitted to humans, and if you have children or any elderly in your house, I'd recommend that they not handle the kittens for a couple weeks.


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## Roll farms (Jun 11, 2012)

If it's not giardia or coccidiosis, I'd start looking around at houseplants (if they're in the house) or some form of poison....could they have eaten a dead mouse or bait in the barn?


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## Goatherd (Jun 11, 2012)

> Goatherd......the op said that she had taken them to the vet.


My bad.


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

Do you have a bird in the house?  Any kind...

Young kittens can get salmonella poisoning easily from lapping up bird poop.


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## Siouxqie (Jun 11, 2012)

I managed to get ahold of our vet this morning and asked about salmonella.  She tested for that as well, I asked her about nutrical (which we already have on hand) and gave them some this morning.  We don't have any houseplants because of dogs/cats/birds...  The cats have not been outside at all, because they are still really little.  We've been washing hands, sanitizing everything (feed dishes, their blankets, the oversized kennels they are in).    We are all stumped.  The other cultures they took came back negative this morning, they don't have any increased anitibodies that would indicate some type of infection.  

At night, we've been keeping them in an infrequently used bathroom because they are still little enough that they need supervision when they are running around the house.  I am wondering if there was soap residue around the bathtub from my kids taking baths.  I caught the girl that is still doing OK licking the shower stall in another bathroom.  Maybe the other two have been licking the bathtub and there was soap residue?  (I know ingesting soap can cause diarrhea).  

The good news is that they are eating REALLY well this morning.  Vet suggested we add a touch of unsalted/onion/garlic free meat juice to their water to entice them to drink, and they are drinking it now.  Maybe they will pull though this.

Thank you for the advice everyone.  *fingers crossed* Hopefully things will start getting better.


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## Siouxqie (Jun 11, 2012)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> If it's not giardia or coccidiosis, I'd start looking around at houseplants (if they're in the house) or some form of poison....could they have eaten a dead mouse or bait in the barn?


We don't have mouse poison anywhere because of dogs and kids.  We use traps exclusively.  We haven't had them exposed to our barn cats at all.


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

What about houseplants?  What kind do you  have, if any?

and what do you use to clean your floors?  We saw a puppy at the clinic once who had gotten sick after laying on a freshly mopped floor and then licking the "wet" off his feet.

eta:  oops, nevermind the houseplant question. I missed a post, lol.


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

sorry bout that, lol. I read the post that I missed.

Cleaning chemicals are notorious for causing problems with kittens.  Just a lick or two of the wrong thing can make them very sick, esp pinesol, greased lightening and the "scrubbing bubbles" stuff.  

Another thing to consider, is that sometimes our critters just get a virus, just like we do at times.

SO glad to hear that they are eating better!


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## Siouxqie (Jun 11, 2012)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> sorry bout that, lol. I read the post that I missed.
> 
> Cleaning chemicals are notorious for causing problems with kittens.  Just a lick or two of the wrong thing can make them very sick, esp pinesol, greased lightening and the "scrubbing bubbles" stuff.
> 
> ...


As far as cleaning chemicals go, we're pretty limited.  Most of what I use consists of baking soda, vinegar, steam and citrus essential oils and tea tree oil.  We do have bleach for some of the laundry, but they don't have access to the laundry room.  I don't know what's wrong with them.  I'm just pushing food and fluids frequently, and crossing my fingers hoping they pull out of this soon.


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## Siouxqie (Jun 11, 2012)

Oh.... and we use voldka or everclear for the floors.


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## redtailgal (Jun 11, 2012)

hmm.  Nothing in the cleaning supplies sounds alarming.

Hopefully its just a virus and will work its way out.

Keep us posted?  

I hope they continue to improve.


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## Hardin (Jun 12, 2012)

I would still stress the giardia issue. A. Because you can get it, and B. I work at a vet clinic, and we had a case a few months ago involving kittens and chronic diarrhea. And like this ALL tests and cultures came back negative from samples sent to labs. In the end they were euthanized, and biopsies of their colon were done, which came back positive for giardia. Again, ask your vet if he/she would treat for it if the stools are not getting better.


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## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 12, 2012)

Hardin said:
			
		

> I would still stress the giardia issue. A. Because you can get it, and B. I work at a vet clinic, and we had a case a few months ago involving kittens and chronic diarrhea. And like this ALL tests and cultures came back negative from samples sent to labs. In the end they were euthanized, and biopsies of their colon were done, which came back positive for giardia. Again, ask your vet if he/she would treat for it if the stools are not getting better.


*
X2... in the vet hospital where I used to work we would see giardia in kittens ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the time, even if the tests were negative! Treat with Flagyl! *


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## babsbag (Jun 13, 2012)

Did your vet check for feline distemper? Even though mine had a fever when they had it I don't know if they all do.  This herbal stuff might soothe thier digestive tract and help even if they don't have distemper. 

I am pretty much a traditional western medicine kind of gal  but when the vet told me to just put down the 6 stray kittens I found that had been orphaned when their mom died from distemper I knew I had to try something. This is what I used and how I used it. I saved 5 of the 6 kittens and would have saved them all if I had had access to an antibiotic for pnuemonia at 2 in the morning.  It is a pretty long article so I will just post the link.

I hope your babies pull through for you.

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/heal_feline_distemper.html


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## Siouxqie (Jun 14, 2012)

The vet refused to give me anything for giardia (sp?), especially because Loopy (the one I didn't think was going to make it) is doing EXCELLENT, so she believed it was some sort of toxin though we never did figure out what it was.  Dizzy never did get any symptoms.  Paul was put on antibiotics, but it was essentially useless. Yesterday and Tuesday  he really seemed to be getting better, the diarrhea slowed down to almost nothing, he seemed to finally be maintaining his weight, he was a little playful, and looked MUCH better.  This morning I got up and checked on him, and he felt like he lost half his body weight over night.  I got him as cleaned up as I could without running a bath and tried bottle-feeding him, but to no avail.  He passed away a few hours ago.

Thankfully both girls seem to be doing wonderfully.  They are in quarantine (in a new area) for another 24 hours to make sure they are over the diarrhea is gone.  Loopy has gained back all the weight she lost and then some.  If they are still doing well tomorrow, they will have run of the house again.

I scrubbed the area they were kept in really well, and sanitized it with bleach, then steam-cleaned it (J'm a little paranoid about germs). 

I'm really disappointed that we lost the boy, but such is life.  I'm thankful that the little girls are doing well, and thank you for all the advice everyone.


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