posted
Ok so my wife and I are without children and we won't able to afford them for about 1-2 years. So we got a kitten to sorta fill in the gap.
He's black with green eyes (halloween is approaching what can I say?) and he is really cute. We named him Mao Mao (pronounced mm ow mm ow, think "How" with an M)
Since bringing him home he has the runs like nobody's business. He farts occasionally and it smells horrible, but occasionally he will start leaking and he can't always make it to the litter box in time. We have to wipe him off from time to time otherwise he cleans his posterior himself (I'm assuming this is not healthy). He has had his vaccinations and worm shots, and he has also been neutered (I didnt know they neutered cats so young he is only 8 weeks old).
What could be causing this sickness and how should we treat it? Diet? Medication? What?
I really just want him to stop suffering because I know the fecal matter is causing his anus to get raw and slightly bloody.
Also sometimes he does his business next to the litter box, does this have anything to do with there already being poop in the box itself? Will cats shy away from using the box if they deem it too full? I clean it daily but by the end of the day he has put an astonishing amount of poop in the box.
Thanks for any help any of you can yield me, I just want my kitten to be healthy.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Kittens are so much fun. My husband and I have 3.
The poopy problems are probably caused by diet (ie. giving cats milk will often give them the runs). What are you feeding him?
You may also want to take him into the vet just for a checkup to make sure it's not being caused by an illness.
Yes cats will shun their boxes if they think they're too dirty. Is it easy for him to get in and out of his box? Sometimes if the sides are too high it's difficult for kittens to get in and out and they may opt for the floor.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Originally posted by ludosti: Kittens are so much fun. My husband and I have 3.
The poopy problems are probably caused by diet (ie. giving cats milk will often give them the runs). What are you feeding him?
You may also want to take him into the vet just for a checkup to make sure it's not being caused by an illness.
Yes cats will shun their boxes if they think they're too dirty. Is it easy for him to get in and out of his box? Sometimes if the sides are too high it's difficult for kittens to get in and out and they may opt for the floor.
Absolutely no milk, I learned that lesson a long time ago with another cat. I guess taking him to the vet would be best. Its easy for him to get in and out of his box. We are feeding him hard kitten food and water. So I don't think its his diet.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
At the clinic I worked at last summer we listed that cats might have diarreah for a few days after surgery. And we didn't neuter or spay until 8 weeks old, and at least two pounds (which I think is considered a pretty standard minnimum), so it's possibly that. But I would check into food. My cat gets urinary crystals unless we feed him a human grade food (sensible choice is what he gets now).
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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It is very important for him to get at least one checkup with a vet in the beginning, especially as a kitten with these problems. The smaller creatures are, the more prone to problems from dehydration secondary to diarrhea.
Since cats have kidneys that are very sensitive to dehydration, he is particularly vulnerable. A long bout of unmitigated diarrhea could well knock out those kidneys for good. This needs to be addressed ASAP.
posted
What brand are you feeding, I'll do research if you'd like. But yeah the vet would be a good idea, and take him to the one he went to before you got him, or at least call them. Also could it be caused by the worming meds (that's something I have very little experience with) if they were just given?
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: I really just want him to stop suffering because I know the fecal matter is causing his anus to get raw and slightly bloody.
Aw, poor baby!
You're a good Big Cat/Daddy to worry about him.
quote:Also sometimes he does his business next to the litter box, does this have anything to do with there already being poop in the box itself? Will cats shy away from using the box if they deem it too full? I clean it daily but by the end of the day he has put an astonishing amount of poop in the box.
probably you've nailed it. Even if he cannot sometimes. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Sounds like it could be Giardia, in which case you'll definitely want to take him to the vet. The medicine for it is pretty nasty-tasting, judging by the reaction of the cat I had to treat for it years ago, but it gets the job done.
Posts: 957 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Is it cheap food? Ask your vet for some recommendations. My dog didn't do well on cheap food. Had to fork out some major cash for the good stuff. But heh, no more digestive or allergy problems.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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They almost always can get something, with a loop. It'd be nice if you could get a stool sample, within oh 6 hours. But yes it's possible for this you'll need to make several trips.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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If your kitten has had a change of diet recently, that can also cause stomach upset. They don't like changing food, even from one type to another within the same brand. Any changes need to be gradual, as in mixing in one type of cat food with 10% of the new one, and gradually increasing until you're totally switched to the new. Since you just got the kitten, it's likely that you're not feeding him the same kind of cat food he got before.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The change of diet probably did it, combined with the stress of changing environments. Depending on where he was kept before and what your local water system is like, it could also be the change of water. I brought a dog from New York to Seattle and he had some of the worst, most horrifying diarrhea I've ever seen from an animal. The vet said it was the sudden change in water differences. Giving him bottled water to drink for a week or so cleared it up.
But a trip to the vet is definitely in order, just to rule out any serious problems. Chances are, the vet will tell you to ride it out and maybe try bottled water. Before you go, bring a fresh poopy sample and that should be enough to test for all the major causes of diarrhea in one go.
As for not pooping in the litter box because there's already poop in there - that could be what he's doing. Some cats are super fastidious. We had that problem initially with our male, and we got an automatic, self-cleaning litter box. It was totally awesome. He decided to use the box like a normal cat, though, after we added a second kitty to the home. I guess she made fun of him for his poop-phobia, or something.
Posts: 1006 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Definitely need to take the kitten to a vet. Giardia isn't very common in cats, so I doubt it's that, but it might be coccidia or another kind of intestinal parasite. Coccidia is extremely common in kittens, and one of the usual symptoms is stinky yellow diarrhea and a raw butt. Do you know what kind of dewormer he was given? Most of them only cover a couple of different kinds of parasites, so he could still have something even though he's been dewormed.
Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I'd always been told to keep kittens with their mother until 10-12 weeks so they could fully wean, get used to solid foods, learn to use the litterbox, all that good little kid stuff. No other advice beyond what's been given, just good thoughts headed your way that you and kitty are able to get through this.
And how appropriate is it that the Google ad is for the Mows?? LOL
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Well my trusty wife setup an appointment for 11:00 today and thats during my classes so I could not go with her. I collected a stool sample in a bag and Tiffany drove me to class. Apparently she put Mao Mao in a box with a lid, poked some holes and drove him to the vet. The cat obviously wigged out in the box and somehow pushed the lid off and got out of the box (even though my wife insists she was holding the lid down. Of course the stress coupled with the diahrea caused that cat to go in the box, but once he got out all hell broke loose and he ran all over the car and clawed Tiffany whenever she tried to get a hand on him. The stress caused him to expel copious amounts of fecal matter all over my wife and the car causing Tiffany to hit somebody.
No damage was caused to either car apparently and I am sure the guy seeing my sick wife, crying, and covered with cat poop could do nothing but say, "Its fine miss, just dont worry about it." Seriously what else could he do, "Uh could I get your insurance info?"
The vet did some tests, gave Tiffany some antibiotics and told us to bring Mao Mao back on saturday for further testing. I told Tiffany to just stay home from work today and play video games, reality is a pretty scary place, she needs to escape if only for a few hours.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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You can get pet carriers quite inexpensively. It'd be a good idea for you guys to pick one up to make vet trips easier in the future. I actually have a plastic carrier (I think it was about $35 when I bought it 5 years ago) designed for medium-sized dogs - two of my cats are quite large so this gives them plenty of room to stand up, turn around, lay down, etc and makes car trips easier for everyone.
Hopefully the tests will all come back ok and Mao Mao's just adjusting to the big changes in his life.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Get the one with the metal front, not the plastic door. Our cat can break through the plastic door, and be loose.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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My cat loves his carrier. He is quite protective of it, and climbs in voluntarily when I want him to. It's rather small, but big enough for one cat and has a metal door. It can also be disassembled enough to take the top off if a cat decided to refuse to come out of the carrier.
He feels safe in it and I leave it open in the apartment so he can climb in for security if he needs to. He never does, but he did as a kitten sometimes.
Posts: 1990 | Registered: Feb 2001
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