Kittens with diarrhea

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that these guys are having problems! While I won't be able to tell you for sure what is going on, let me give you a few of my thoughts.

My first concern would definitely be for some type of parasite. It is good that you have dewormed them....but they may need additional deworming. If they have roundworms which are a common parasite, then they need to be dewormed every 10-14 days. If we only deworm them once, then we kill the adult worms but there may have been eggs and larva that have now matured into adults.

It's also possible that they have a parasite that is not killed by over the counter dewormers such as giardia or coccidia. These parasites would need to be diagnosed by your vet by doing some tests on a stool sample. If they have these then they will prescribe medication to help.

I'd stay away from the formula at this point. It's not going to be helpful at all.

It's also possible that they are fighting a virus such as panleukopenia. However, this usually makes kitties extremely sick with diarrhea and usually vomiting.

Another possibility is if mom and the babies have a serious virus such as feline leukemia virus, FIP or FIV. These viruses affect the immune system and make it very difficult for an animal to be healthy. Unfortunately there is no cure for these viruses. Your vet can test for them but it is a little bit pricey.

It's also possible that Maggie is not well because of an infection or an illness in her organs. If she is unwell and then the kittens are nursing off of her they could be getting sick because they are drinking her milk. At 13 weeks the kittens do not need to be nursing any more. It's best to keep them separated from Maggie. This will help Maggie to feel better as well as it takes a lot of energy to produce milk.

My guess is that a change in food is likely not the answer here...I think there is a medical problem going on.

It would really be a great idea if you could take Maggie in for another checkup and also take some of the diarrhea from the kittens in for a check for parasites.

Hope they are well soon!

If you have more questions, feel free to reply. However, I will be going offline in a few minutes' time and won't be able to reply until later today.

Dr. Marie.


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