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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Advice needed for situation with poorly cat

489 replies

Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 01:03

I need some advice please. So we have a kitten still but he isn't well. We've been to the vets countless times. He's on prescription food, he's been on 4 rounds of antibiotics and he's not getting better. I've tried a few vets and they all say he might just always be ill as a complication of the virus. I want to take him to the vets again. But my husband wants to give him up to a cat charity so he can be looked after and possibly re homed. I'm not sure and think we should try to get him better. Its cost me a fortune in treatment so far.

The lady we got him from lied about everything. She said he was a she. She said he was flea treated but he was riddled with fleas. (I took him.straight to the vets and he was flea treated and wormed and vaccinated) She said any cat food was fine but he had diarrhea from the day we got him. After weeks of messaging her it turns out she was feeding him a raw food diet. He was only 4 months old and he got campylobacter ( like salmonella) vets reckon this is the cause of his illness.

He doesn't have campylobacter now as we got this treated but the constant diarrheah is an ongoing complication and he's not putting on weight even though I feed him 4 times a day. Kids are devastated because he said we need to give him up. I'm quite upset but part of me agrees with him and the other says we should carry on looking after him.

The other problem is that the vet refuses to do his vaccinations again or neuter him until he is better. But then also said he might never be better. But won't advise what we should do! I've tried all 3 vets in our area and they say the same. He can't have top up vaccinations as he has the diarrheah and so now he would need them re started but again can't because he's ill.

So now I don't know what to do as he is very much loved! But I feel awful that he's not getting better and looks like there isn't anything we can do about it either. The vets kind of given up!

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 19:09

Well. He completely turned his nose up at the fish. Will maybe try again a bit later

But!!!!! He just did a semi normal poo!! I'm actually thinking you lovely lot and your eggs might have foxed things.... I will stick to his gi food pro bionics and add a little egg couple of time s a day for a few days and se if it helps!

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 19:12

That was awful typing but I'm very excited! It was a normal colour too

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StBrides · 27/12/2023 19:18

That's great news!

He might prefer chicken - cats can be notoriously picky once they get their paws under the table. Its another reason for not rushing out to buy new expensive food, the moment you stock up on something he likes, he'll turn his nose up at it 😄

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 19:19

So he has the chicken and rice digestive one and the GI West both royal canin. He's only been on the chicken and rice one for the last couple of days and I added the egg today. Looks like egg is helping. I know that was fast. But when you poop like 8 plus times a day, things move quickly! I hope it continues!

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 19:21

Take that back. He just ran to the litter box. Diarrheah again but not runny 😔

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StBrides · 27/12/2023 19:21

I think egg generally does work quickly, I have a dog who can't even have half an egg because it hits him so strongly!

Egg on white toast is my go to when I start to eat again if I've had a tummy bug

Cherry35 · 27/12/2023 19:25

You can try AD cat food, it's to help them gain weight quicker. I think he's not gaining due to the dhiarrea.

Also, give him probiotics, maybe try a different brand from the one you're giving him.

Find what food he loves and give him that food boiled, e.g. boiled boneless chicken. I used to give this to my cat who had kidney disease to help her keep her weight, plus prescription dry food.

Of course you can't give him up, a pet is a lifelong commitment and unfortunately he got sick early on. Next time only adopt from a rescue.

Kittens sleep a lot, so maybe his sleeping pattern is normal. I got my last kitten from a rescue at 6 months old and he would sleep for hours on.

https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-d-urgent-care/dp/54659?utm_source=petmd.com&utm_medium=productcard&utm_term=54659&utm_campaign=cat&utm_content=%2Fcat%2Fnutrition%2Fwhat-feed-cat-weight-gain

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 19:32

Thank you @Cherry35 we tried hills before and he wouldn't touch it unfortunately

I will see how he gets on for a few more days and then I will start using the advice on here one thing at a time over days and see how we get on.

I really do appreciate all the advice

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 22:22

3 horrible bought of diarrheah since I last posted. He turned his nose up at the plain chicken too.

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AwkwardPaws27 · 27/12/2023 22:28

I'd ask for a referral to a specialist - Royal Veterinary College's Queen Mother Hospital is great if you are near London (well, Potters Bar).

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 27/12/2023 22:30

@AwkwardPaws27 I will look into it. We areclose to brighton

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FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 27/12/2023 22:44

Do his symptoms match colitis?

Paddleboarder · 27/12/2023 22:46

One of my cats had periods of loose stools with blood in, on and off. Vet prescribed Vetpro Intestinal Health and Recovery capsules, they definitely helped with our problem. Can just buy online and are natural probiotics.

Is there another vet you could go to if you don’t feel you’re getting anywhere?

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 28/12/2023 00:10

Thanks @Paddleboarder this is our 3rd vet!
1st one said it was normal for kittens... after our 3rd visit I changed vets. 2nd vet really wasn't interested and wanted to put him under sedation for blood tests but I felt he was too small and wanted to explore other ideas like more antibiotics as he still had blood in his stools so we moved to the new cat clinic that opened. She agreed he needed more antibiotics first so he was on them for 3 weeks and the blood stopped. So we are here now. So I'm going to ask for the blood tests now that the blood has stopped. She's the one who recommended the extra probiotics

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 28/12/2023 00:12

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy I believe it is colitis or IBD but they said they can't be sure without blood tests. Although they said it wouldn't show this and they would have to piece things together to come to this verdict.

So I guess check for anything underlying and if nothing treat it as IBD. Although I'm thinking treat it as IBD until proven otherwise for now.

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MadeOfAllWork · 28/12/2023 00:29

Poor baby boy.

Silly question but are you giving him kitten food rather than adult food?

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 28/12/2023 00:32

@MadeOfAllWork he was on kitten food but the vet said to give him the adult GI to up his calories as he's pooping so much

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FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 28/12/2023 07:35

When it was my Bengal going through this I found vets spectacularly unhelpful too, they crack on they know about nutrition but they clearly don’t & have such little interest in helping.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 28/12/2023 07:38

Silly question but has he been wormed?

Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 28/12/2023 09:44

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy he has but he is due to be done again I think. Saying that I ordered some pancur last night

Vet emailed me back this morning and she wants to do another faecal test. So I need to go and pick that up tomorrow. £193! This will be the second one. Then if that doesn't show anything then we need to do blood tests £226

She said the insurance may or may not cover it. So hopefully they do. They covered the cost of the antibiotics

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Original poster
Poorlycatadvicewanted · 28/12/2023 10:47

So I just went and collected the faecal test kit but she only gave me one pot. And she wants 3 x daily samples. I said last time I did one I had to use 3 seperate ppts and she said no we do it this way. I triple checked as well.

Is that normal?

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AwkwardPaws27 · 28/12/2023 18:07

Yes for some tests a pooled sampled (all in the same pot) is normal

GettingItWrong33 · 28/12/2023 18:12

Yes it's normal to put the 3 poo samples in the same pot

beanontoast · 28/12/2023 18:19

OP just to add - with stomach/food stuff you do have to give it a while, if I change my cats’ food they tend to get diarrhoea, the egg is worth persisting with if he did a normal poo but don’t keep changing loads of stuff in the diet. I know it’s a pain but try to stick to changing one thing at a time and monitoring. You will get there in the end. We tried all sorts with one of mine and it turns out he can’t eat grains.

Allthecatseverywhereallatonce · 28/12/2023 18:31

I know humans have faecal calprotectin checked via stool I wonder if they can do the same for cats? I don't see why not. If they suspect IBD maybe he needs steroids as, his poor little bowel will be too inflamed to retain any nutrients meaning he will struggle to gain weight.
You have had some good advice certainly human IBD is treated with bland foods and if possible small portions of high calorie food to aid weight gain.
I hope you get some answers soon he is beautiful ❤️.