why does my 7 week old kitten have diarrhea?

Question

this is one of 5 kittens that my cat had in her litter. and about 2 days ago I think he started to get diarrhea, what is this from and what can I do to stop it? I don't plan to keep him. but he's been eating purina kitten food for about a week now and he doesn't really nurse anymore. Thanks any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

ok thanks for all the advice! first getting the mother spayed could have prevented this problem yes, but thats besided the point.. We wanted her to have kittens! and his diarrhea went away it was only the food that he was getting used to so hes fine. and I don't see anything wrong with feeding them purina.

Answer 1

I'm not sure of the dosage for a kitten that small but you can give him pepto. maybe 1/2 cc. you can check with your vet. at 4 months old my vet told me to give my kitten 1cc of pepto 3 times a day.

Answer 2

At this age it's most likely worms or the food. Are you giving him milk? Cats should not have cow's milk cause they are lactose intolerant. Goat's milk and the special cat's milk you buy at the store is fine for them. If he is not eating this could be dangerous. You might want to try a different food and make sure he's not eating anything else other than the kitten food. The food would have to be a higher quality than the food you are currently using though. If this doesn't help I would call a vet and see if you can get him wormed.

Answer 3

I know adult cats do better on soft food because it's more easily digested than kibble. Whether it works the same way for kittens, I don't know. But I do know it's normal for kittens to get diarrhea for a while after being weaned. Going from a milk diet to solid food can be hell on the digestion. Human babies get the same thing.

But all kittens are born with worms which can also cause diarrhea (or add to the problem). Don't use over-the-counter worming treatments as they are often inaffective and can cause discomfort to the kittens. Just take them all in to be wormed, then wait for their tummies to get used to eating solid food.

Answer 4

make sure that the kitten is drinking water not cows milk with the kitten food.

cows milk will give kittens diarrhea

and if the kitten food is wet food try adding some dry with it, sometimes wet food will do that to a kitten

or if that is not the case if the kitten food has milk added in the formula that might be doing it.

and one other thing (purina brand) might not be setting well with him

Answer 5

He may have worms in his stomach. did you dewormed all of your kittens yet? If you did then it might be his stomach is adjusting to the kitten food. some kittens take some time to adjust. Mine took about a month for her stomach to get normal again. You should bring him outside to eat some grass. That will help his stomach. Just make sure the grass doesn't have any pesticide! Good Luck.

Answer 6

You can buy some deworming meds from the store. Get a can of wet cat food. Break the pill in half (powder in middle of pill) and mix it with the food. The cat will still eat it. That is how I dewormed my kitten when he was that age.

Answer 7

we'll for one thing, get mom spayed and you won't have that problem! anyway, if the kitten hasn't been vaccinated or dewormed, there are a number of things that could be causing it. coccidia is one, and other intestinal worms could also cause it. could also be feline distemper (feline parvo). in this case, you can get antibiotics to help, but the kitten has to fight off the virus on it's own. there really is no way to know for sure unless you take him to a vet though. hope i helped some!

Answer 8

You should check with a vet. It may be due to a virus in his stomach or he may have eaten something that you are unaware of. He may also have a bowel virus which you would not like passed on to the other kittens. Most vets will not charge you very much for a routine check up.

Answer 9

Feed him dry food