Diarrhoea in kittens

[JBalways2000]

i was wondering if anyone knows of any reasons why kittens might have diarrhoea? my two newbies have had it on and off since i got them-and by on and off i mean they can pass some solid stools and then a few hours later have the runs. i have tried starving both of them and then feeding them only chicken breast for a day or two and then slowly giving back the dry food. during the starvation peroid and chicken only they have absolutely no runs, but as soon as normal food is given back it starts up again. i have tried giving them whiskas kitten food, and then i mentioned on here if it would be ok to try them with my boys adult burns food so tried that and it was still the same.

both boys are absolutely fine in themselves, still mad as ever not dehydrated and definately not gone off their food greedy little things they are! both have been wormed so im just wondering what could be causing it. is there any other food i could try them on incase that is the cause? im just puzzled as to why two completely different foods would cause the same problem.

they are both going to the vets in the morning for their first vaccs so obviously il be asking for advice then but thought someone here might be of more help

and incase it makes any difference the boys are 9 and 11 weeks old.

[dinahsmum]

Changing their food may, in itself, cause intestinal 'hurry'. At this stage in their life, any change should be very gradual, over a week or more, by substituting 10% on day 1, 20% on day 2 etc etc.
If they seem well in themselves i think I would be inclined to chose which food I was going to use and just stick to it, for at least a fortnight, to try to get some consistency. Ignore the occasional looseness, make sure they always have access to fresh water, and keep an eye out for other symptoms.
Good luck

[Fran]

Are they up to date with worming?? Worm burdens can cause diarrhoea. Have you changed their food? This too can cause diarhoea. Stress can cause diarrhoea, it could just be the stress of moving homes. I think the vet would be a good one to ask. Good luck and do let us know how they are.....

[sarah5]

Thanks for posting this, my wee kitten (16 weeks) has got the runs too bless him he only just makes it to the litter box in time (amidst lots of rather rude noises poor lad). We only bought him home last week so could be stress related for him.

I will be watching replies with great interest. Thanks, and I really hope your little boys are better soon x

[Elaine]

Originally Posted by dinahsmum

Changing their food may, in itself, cause intestinal 'hurry'. At this stage in their life, any change should be very gradual, over a week or more, by substituting 10% on day 1, 20% on day 2 etc etc.
If they seem well in themselves i think I would be inclined to chose which food I was going to use and just stick to it, for at least a fortnight, to try to get some consistency. Ignore the occasional looseness, make sure they always have access to fresh water, and keep an eye out for other symptoms.
Good luck

I agree with dinahsmum and love the phrase "intestinal hurry"

[JBalways2000]

sorry not had chance to come and check this thread until now-thankyou all for your helpful replies as usual.

well i mentioned it to the vet and he agreed that it is most likely down to stress of moving home and changing the food.

i have kept them just on the burns food now as i didnt want to put them back on the kitten food just for them to sneakily steal of older boys food!

it is still pretty much the same at the moment, they do some stools that are near enough normal and then others can be very soft. to be fair they have only had what id describe as proper runs a couple of times and they havent done that this week at all, just lots of soft stools that they like to stand in and have me wash off their little feet!

should i just keep on with what im doing, continue to feed them as normal with just the burns adult food and see if it settles on its own? i do have kitten natures menu pouches for them but not even attempting to give them wet food while their bellies are like this.

Sarah5: how is your boy now? i do hope his belly is better bless him, it isnt very nice for them is it?

oh and yes they have both been wormed with panacur granules-i managed to do that last week for them.

[dinahsmum]

If your vet is happy with the situation I guess you just wait for things to improve.
Maybe you could ask your vet if a probiotic would help? Something like this http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?mai...du cts_id=249
or Canikur granules to help gum things up?
But with little kittens i don't think you should give any 'medicine', no matter how mild, without your vet's say-so.

Hope it sorts itself out soon - all that foot washing must be getting a chore

[JBalways2000]

Originally Posted by dinahsmum

If your vet is happy with the situation I guess you just wait for things to improve.
Maybe you could ask your vet if a probiotic would help? Something like this http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?mai...du cts_id=249
or Canikur granules to help gum things up?
But with little kittens i don't think you should give any 'medicine', no matter how mild, without your vet's say-so.

Hope it sorts itself out soon - all that foot washing must be getting a chore

oh yes its not much fun dunking a whining kittens foot in some water and having to give it a wash for him

i never thought to ask for some probiotic for them. if it is still the same next week then i think i will have to do that. i suppose the main thing is that they are well in themselves other then the soft stools so fingers crossed it sorts itself out without me needing to do any more for them.