8 week old kitten wont eat, diarehhea

we got an 8 week old kitten from the spca last week. all of sudden the kitten who was playful, took a turn for the worse. she wont eat or drink
and has diarehhea. i have taken her to the vet twice in the matter of 4 days. the vet seems to think that it is an upper respiratory infection however shes not getting any better with the antibiotics. we have force fed her and fed her pedialyte with electrolites through a syringe to get her some of the nutrients that shes losing. taking her back to the vet, they have done a fecal test on her and it was negative. we also have 2 dogs at home that have adjusted to her well. we have prescription canned food to feed her and tonight we are going to get her some canned baby food, hoping that she will eat some or gain an apetite. shes also very lathargic and she sleeps all the time. she also walks and cries. HELP!

 

do a 2nd fecal exam...sometimes various parasites might not show up for awhile.

I'd also have them do some bloodwork - if the shelter didn't already.

You might have to try various foods (kitten foods). My Zeus had horrible "dire-rear" when I adopted him at 9 weeks old - ended up the fat in kitten food went right through him. I tried them all....the most expensive, to the vet stuff and it ended up being canned Friskies kitten food that did the tricl. Took a few days but his stools firmed up and he started to gain.

Best of luck - it can be so hard.

 

:m23: and welcome. Some cats won't eat if they can't smell the food. Try some stinkiest foods like tuna. Just a little to stimulate the appetite. Also Mary what is that appetite stimulant that they sell? You might want to give your baby steam baths for 10 min. intervals every few hours. It might clear up her sinuses and make her feel better. What is her name? We love to see pics when she's all better. There's some bad GI bug going around. My Monty wouldn't eat for 2 days but is fine now. The tuna did the trick. Now Milo has the runs but he's eating really well. Please keep us informed on her condition.

 

I wouldn't give a kitten that young an appetite stimulant. It's too stimulating LOL but vene has good suggestions

 

As already suggested, i would have blood work done on her. They can pick up all kinds of things all shelters being around all those unvaccinated animals. I had several diarrhea issues with Vianne. First we thought it was just stress or sensitive tummy to change of food. I was working in the animal clinic and had her there constantly doing fecals on her...always negative. I had total bloodwork done on her and everything came back normal. Finally i saw the tape worms sticking to her rear end. So we took care of those. Then a couple months later, her diarrhea returned and we found coccidia. This is with several fecals inbetween mind you. So we had her on Albon for that. Then most recently a couple months ago, he diarrhea came back...i was about to go nuts....once again, more negative fecal exams. So i got an ok from the vet to put her on metronidazole, since we think that perhaps she somehow got some contaminated water after the hurricanes down here. Well that did the trick and now she's been back to normal again for the last month or so. The moral of the story? Fecal exams aren't everything, even if you do them every week, they could still turn up nothing. Check her rear end for tapes, try giving her food that doesn't have any of the common allergy triggering ingredients and keep talking to you vet about it. Good luck with that. Its so frustrating to watch your babies suffer with the runs and not know whats causing it. Hang in there!

Oh, and i also wanted to add...pick up some Nutrical if you haven't already. Good stuff to have around. I also gave Vianne some Chamomile tea to help calm her tummy. If your kitty does have URI, then it could takes weeks before you notice any major improvement. Every kitty is different and some take it harder than others.

 

Mary I learned that from you.

 

what vene says is true. last night volunteering at the kitty shelter, i had to help another volunteer force feed a kitty who had a severe uri. we fed the kitty wet food, diluted and watered down by spoon...to difficult to get into a syringe. just opened his mouth like a baby...and spoon fed him. he didnt want to eat. if they dont eat...they can get fatty liver disease.

fairiedust...i know only too well what you went through. from age two and a half months to the present...i have dealt with...girardia, clostridium, ultrasounds, xrays, medication...liquid, pill and shots...and he still has loose stools (max). metronidazole is the best med in my opinion though. ive tried tylan powder, amoxil, mixtures of meds, worming meds, b-12 shots, and steroid treatment for thirty days. :shock:

so good luck dartmania....i will say a prayer for your little kitty... :wink: