Kitten with the runs

Scatty · 7 July 2017 at 11:00AM

I have a 17 week old boy, Oscar. Since I've had him at 8 weeks old he's had a mixture of wet food, and dry food, and always eats it. Since Monday he's been off his wet food, drinking a lot more water and has had the runs (luckily in his litter tray but it still stinks and as he's long haired, it sometimes sticks to him - joy). He sometimes sleeps with his bum 4 inches away from my face which is nice :-/

I've popped him on Iams wet kitten food, but he's more interested in the dry food.

I can't get him to the vet until Monday and I'm hoping he'll get past it by then as its not nice for either of us but does anyone have any ideas? By the way, he's an indoor cat.

sam.4000 · 7 July 2017 at 11:11AM

He needs to go to the vets now, not wait till Monday. Kittens can deteriorate really quickly especially since he has had this since Monday.

Scatty · 7 July 2017 at 11:29AM

They've not been able to fit him in but I'll ring them again. He's had the runs since Tuesday night but only three times.

GwylimT · 8 July 2017 at 8:40AM

Kittens with the runs need to be seen straight away, they can fade from dehydration very quickly, any vet who doesn't fit them in is rubbish.

Stop feeding dry food, it is very dehydrating and can lead to all sorts of things like UTI, urine crystals, urethra blockages, obesity and diabetes.

Why would a 17 week old kitten not be an indoor cat?

donnac2558 · 8 July 2017 at 2:23PM

Because OP wants the cat to be an outdoor cat. Nothing wrong with that.

Trina90 · 8 July 2017 at 3:10PM

GwylimT wrote: »

Kittens with the runs need to be seen straight away, they can fade from dehydration very quickly, any vet who doesn't fit them in is rubbish.

Stop feeding dry food, it is very dehydrating and can lead to all sorts of things like UTI, urine crystals, urethra blockages, obesity and diabetes.

Why would a 17 week old kitten not be an indoor cat?

Probably confirmed he's only ever been indoors so we know he hasn't 'caught' anything outdoors. It doesn't hurt to have all the details, even though they may seem obvious to some.

Obviously, I second the vet visit advice. My adult cat used to have runny poos, from day 1 when I brought him home from the breeder. She claimed that his poos were fine before, even though I hadn't changed anything. So I then changed his dry food from the one she fed him and he now has solid, healthy poos!

Trina90 · 8 July 2017 at 3:22PM

OP.. also just a heads up to say that you should not listen to anyone who tells you that you are wrong to feed dry food. You've probably already done your research anyway so I possibly don't need to tell you but the wet v dry food debate is not black and white. In my opinion, those who feed a mixture of wet and dry are playing it the safest. Wet food has its downsides (ie, feeding a wet food-only diet is no good for teeth), just like dry food does, so it is good to have the balance of feeding both. I have two very healthy adult cats who are fed both, and most breeders/owners do the same.:)

Scatty · 10 July 2017 at 2:42PM

Hi guys

Well just an update. Got him into the vet on Friday. He immediately gave him a massive cuddle and said "ahhh kitten therapy". He's perfectly healthy and the vet reckons he's picked a bit of human food up and it didn't agree with him. He's had chicken and rice all weekend. I introduced a bit of wet food last night and he had a bit of a sloppy poo (joy!) this morning so back to chicken tonight. He has probiotic powders too. So all good hopefully.

I usually use wet and dry food daily so he gets a balanced diet. I've mixed it up since I got him and he's been as good as gold.

Incidentally, I've chosen for him to be an indoor cat because there is an inordinate amount of traffic where I live, I don't have a catflap and there's been a bit of cat theft around recently. I couldn't live with myself if he got killed or went missing. He's happy indoors with lots of things to do and when he's a bit bigger we will get a harness and lead and take him for a walk (if he allows!). He's with me every second of the day I'm at home - my shadow - and we have lots of playtime.

Oh and he's the most beautiful boy ever

Kitten with the runs

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