My adopted kitten has a big belly. Is it worms? Can I treat at home?

Hi and thanks for your posting. Kittens are frequently born with roundworms they get through their mother's during pregnancy and through nursing. A pot belly appearance can indicate an intestinal worm infection. The good news is deworming Meena is not complicated and requires just a few rounds of deworming solution you can obtain from your veterinarian. A fecal test is run before and after treatment to confirm Meena has cleared the infection. During the course of deworming treatment, you may see worms passed in the stool. I would schedule an appointment with your veterinarian soon so she can get dewormed. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Congratulations on your new kitten and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm glad to hear that he is doing well at home. The enlarged belly can be due to parasites (or worms), which are not uncommon in kittens. He should definitely be evaluated by a veterinarian within the next few days, and it would be very helpful to bring a sample of feces with you in a ziploc bag or disposable container (it shouldn't matter if there is litter in the feces). This will help the vet determine if your kitten has parasites, and if so, which ones they are and the best medication to use to treat them. Unfortunately, some parasites are actually transmitted by fleas, so those will definitely need to be treated as well. While the enlarged belly is likely due to intestinal parasites, it is important to make sure that your kitten does not have a viral or bacterial infection or has ingested a foreign body. These scenarios are unlikely as long as he is active and eating well. The vet will also have recommendations on how to treat the fleas, do a general exam, and make sure that everything else is normal! Good luck with your new kitty!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Kittens often seem to have bloated bellies. Sometimes it is just their immature anatomy, sometimes it is internal parasites, especially roundworms. If she is eating a wet kitten food, she is probably getting a fair amount of liquid every day. You usually will not see such a young kitten drinking water consistently. It would be a good idea to take the kitten to your veterinarian for a fecal analysis & proper health check. They will determine what, if any worms the kitten has, & administer the proper medication. Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes a pot belly in a kitten can occur from intestinal parasites. However, it appears that your veterinarian has already ruled this out. Sometimes kittens do tend to have a pot belly appearance that it is not associated with anything concerning and it can be normal. If she is otherwise doing perfectly fine, I would not worry much about this. If at any point she developed any gastrointestinal signs such as diarrhea, inappetence and/or vomiting, have her evaluated by your veterinarian. Otherwise, enjoy your kitten!

Amelia is gorgeous! I just want to give her a kiss! Intestinal worms are very common in kittens, and yes you can give her a deworming treatment. I'd bring her into a PetCo vet clinic to get checked out.

Jasper could still have intestinal worms. It will take at least two deworming treatments in order to kill all the worms in his intestines. The first kills the adults already present, while the second kills the adults who had not yet hatched at the time of the first deworming treatment. I'm not sure how old Jasper is, but he will need one every two weeks until he is 12 weeks old. Then one every month until he is six months of age, and after that he should be dewormed once every three months. If it has been two weeks since his last deworming treatment, you will need to get one from the vet. Should Jasper be up to date on his deworming treatments and has been dewormed at least twice, then I would take him into the vet for an exam to make sure there isn't a medical cause behind the pot belly.

A bloated belly in a kitten is usually suspicious of a high worm problem, but there are other possibilities. If she has a thin layer of muscle in her belly, then this can cause it to appear bloated. It can also happen with liver, spleen and other organ enlargement; and also if their is excessive fluid in the abdominal cavity. Considering there are many possibilities, it's best to have Astrid evaluated by a veterinarian. They may suggest an x-ray, or ultrasound to find the cause of this. I hope that helps and all is well with Astrid.