Momma cat and two of her four kittens

by Lori
(Cincinnati, OH)

Hi there, I have taken in a momma and her 4 kittens, I took them all to the vet 3 months ago. They were treated for worms and tested for FE Lukemia. Only 3 are still having diarrhea, not acting sick at all. They eat, drink play and are gaining weight. I can't afford another vet trip but I would like to stop the diarrhea. I have vouchers to get them all fixed so I need to get them healthy before I can schedule the surgeries. Is there any over the counter / homopathic treatment?
Thank you,
Lori

RESPONSE:

Lori,

First, I want to commend you for taking in Mama Cat and her 4 little waifs. I wish there were more people like you who were able to voluntarily save these poor critters from a very difficult life of just surviving day by day. That being said, the diarrhea problem should be able to be resolved.

Typically, worms are the culprits and since your cat and her kittens have had treatment for worms, I’m assuming that the vet did a fecal test to determine the species because the treatments are species-specific and have to kill the worms that your kittens are hosting. You also had feline leukemia eliminated as a possible cause by the tests done by your vet. Basically that leaves the cat/kitten diarrhea as caused by either worms or dietary problems (although a temporary case of diarrhea in kittens is often related the stress of a new environment).

So, if you give the cat or kittens a saucer of milk, which they love….., they could be displaying their lactose intolerance of cow’s milk which is a common cat problem. There are milk substitutes available in such as Cat-Sip available in grocery stores and pet shops. Another major cause of stomach upset in kittens is the switch from mother’s milk to solid kitten food because the mother’s milk is less gaseous and goes down smoother in the small kitten body. The transition time is usually a week for the kitten to adjust.

Digestive issues and food allergies also come into play. Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d was created as a nutritious food for cats with digestive problems. It supports growth in kittens so that’s a possible option to try. Another possibility is Hill’s d/d, a hypoallergenic diet created for cats with food allergies. Although it sounds crazy, if you can get the cat and kittens to eat a little canned pumpkin, it adds some fiber to their food and often firms up the stools.

You can also make a home cooked meal for them. A bland recipe of two parts rice (or mashed potatoes), mixed with one part chicken (or hamburger) will be easy for a kitten to digest. Or, adding half a teaspoon of Metamucil into the cat’s regular food usually has a normalizing effect on cats with diarrhea.

You have to give them more water because diarrhea causes them to lose fluids and the electrolytes in those fluids are essential to cats because it controls their nerve functions. You don’t want the mama or kittens to become dehydrated and you can check if it is dehydrated by gently pinching the loose skin at the back of the neck. Normal hydration…the skin snaps right back down. Dehydration…the pinched skin will slowly smooth out or remain elevated. In that case the animal needs fluid replacement right away.

I’ve read good things about a product called Diar-eze (a homeopathic liquid which also comes in granules). This is an AllergicPet.com product and this is the link to the page: http://www.allergicpet.com/products/diarrhea_formula.html There is detailed information on the page including a few reviews by persons that have used the product.

Another product I’ve noted is at EntirelyPets.com which is where I purchase a lot of my cat products and these links are for the gel and the tablets: http://www.entirelypets.com/propectalin30cc.html (gel) and http://www.entirelypets.com/pectalin250.html (tablets). If you scroll down the page you will see customer reviews. If and when one of my cats has a diarrhea problem I will try these products but so far it hasn’t been an issue.

Good luck with trying one of these. Please give me feedback about the results you get if you try one of these items. Again, thank you for being such a generous and caring cat owner.