young kittens and dry kibble (warning: don't read while you are eating)

[ginnyinWI]

Hi all, I'd like to draw upon the collected wisdom of all you cat owners for a minute: I currently have two foster kittens, about 8 weeks old now. One of them is still having bloody diarrhea some of the time. It has been happening in the morning.

Since these kitties have already been treated for worms with two different medications, the shelter is puzzled about what could still be happening. I am going to bring in a sample tomorrow for them to read, but meanwhile, has anyone found that dry food can cause a tummy upset like this in a small kitten? They have had trouble with diarrhea since being turned in as strays at four weeks old--which is normal for small kittens weaned too young--and it is getting better, except for this diarrhea one of them has in the mornings.

What I'm wondering about is that I have been leaving some Purina Indoor dry kibble out for them at night. The rest of the time they get canned Friskies. I gave less dry food overnight last night and her symptoms were less; tonight am going to give none and see if it still happens. My last litter of fosters had no problem with this kibble--although I do believe that wet food is much better for any kittens and cats. I just think they need to know how to eat both kinds when they go to a new home.

What do you think? Could all the corn and stuff in the dry food be upsetting her tummy? Even to the point of there being blood in the stool?

[Arkansas Granny]

1. I have fed dry kibble to kittens and cats for over 45 years and I've never had this problem.

I would suspect something besides diet causing the problem. I would consult a vet.

[ginnyinWI]

2. Thursday

A vet will look at the sample on Thursday.

[Ino]

3. maybe overeating?

The one time I had a kitten with chronic diarrhea, the vet asked how much food she was eating. Well, this kitten was constantly begging for food and acting like she was starving, so she got a LOT.... way too much. Maybe the one kitten is eating ALL the kibble you leave out?

Other than that, and parasites/worms, the only thing I can think of is maybe she needs some probiotics or just bland food to give her system a rest... then reintroduce regular food a little at a time.

I hope the stool sample tells you something, and she is OK soon!

[ginnyinWI]

6. yeah it was worse when I gave them all they wanted

They would eat too much and it made things worse. Now I ration and feed only so much, regularly throughout the day so as not to overwhelm their systems. Tonight they got no dry food, just to see what happens. I did give them a bit more wet food to last them overnight. But I kind of think it is some parasite that has so far resisted the treatments. Yes we will see soon.

They are on probiotics, mixed into their canned food. And pumpkin too, which is supposed to help.

[Sunlei]

4. could be giardia or coccidia from the stress in the life of the kittens

here's some info about it.

http://pets.webmd.com/cats/coccidiosis-giardiasis-cats-kittens

It's good that you wormed them twice. It's probably not the food. Your Vet may or may not see giardia or coccidia in the sample. Treating with one of the antibiotics mentioned in the article really works well in most cases of tiny stressed babies- pups/kitties I have fostered.

good luck, thanks for helping the little ones.

[hamsterjill]

7. Yes, most likely this.

I've seen this, as well, as there is generally a great response to simple antibiotics.

I have three right now that I'm fostering and they are about the same age as those mentioned in the OP. They are a hoot at this age!!!!

[kestrel91316]

8. We don't generally find antibiotics to be helpful in diarrhea. Salmonella is an exception, IMHO,

but there is considerable debate about even that.

Diet is generally the culprit if it's not parasites.

[hamsterjill]

9. Good to know!

I will ask my vet next time. He has usually prescribed something as a precaution.

Thanks for the info.

[kestrel91316]

10. I do use Albon or Baytril if there is a problem with blood in the stool, diarrhea or no,

but that's to protect against septicemia and not to fix the diarrhea.

ETA: Antibiotics are famous for messing up the GI microflora and can do so with disastrous results at times.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Bloody diarrhea is never something to take lightly.

If it were just diarrhea, I would suggest a bit of yogurt. That helped my kitty when nothing else had. But there was no blood.

Who knows, the little one may have eaten something that got stuck in there and is causing the bleeding. Or it could be just irritation from prolonged diarrhea.

If you suspect the hard kibble, stop it for a while and see what happens. Or if you want to use it, soak it in warm water before you give it to them to soften it up. But I have never known kibble to cause this problem. Take it seriously.