My young kitten has parasites or GI issues. What treatments are safe?

Hello, thank you for your question. To ensure that your kitten is dewormed appropriately, you would have to be prescribed a product by your veterinarian. The most commonly used dewormer in kittens is called fenbendazole, and is given for a few cycles based on the life cycles of most intestinal parasites. There are other topical products that also do treat some intestinal parasites, however not all of these products are safe for kittens unless they are over a certain age. Therefore, to ensure that your kitten receives a safe and appropriate deworming medication I would recommend contacting your veterinarian. Hope this helps, good luck!

Poor Luna! There are many different parasites that she could have been passing in her stool -- roundworms, hookworms, or tapeworms. She most likely acquired parasites from her mother either through the placenta or milk. Pyrantel pamoate is a common dewormer used to treat both roundworms and hookworms, but it is not typically started until 2 weeks of age. However, this medication is extremely safe and may be used off-label prior to 2 weeks of age. Ideally, I do recommend taking Luna to a vet to first determine the type of parasite present, and then determine the best treatment for her. It is important to note that not every dewormer treats every type of parasite. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Luna!

Yes they certainly work, but they are rarely useful and used and the risk of overdosage is very high. It is definitively best to treat the underlying cause instead of of giving symptomatic treatments.

Kittens can be given flea treatment at 8 weeks of age. One important thing to do is make sure the spot on treatment is for kittens only. You can't give dog flea treatments to kittens because cats have a higher sensitivity to the active ingredients in flea medications. Vomiting and diarrhea are signs of a both a mild and moderate to severe reaction to flea treatment, and I would recommend taking Simba into your vet immediately for treatment. These symptoms can get worse and lead to death if not treated promptly.

If your kitten is active, playful, and eating and drinking, then I'm not too worried. Your kitten may have overeaten and his GI tract might be working hard on digestion, or there could be intestinal parasites or gas causing the GI sounds. If he is otherwise happy and active, I'd just monitor for now and mention it at his next kitten visit, and bring in a fresh fecal sample for your vet to check for parasites. However, if he's lethargic, vomiting, or not eating, then this should be checked immediately. Hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Pet Coach with your question about Izumi! She is very cute. I do not recommend giving Metamucil to her. I can't say that it's safe to give her, and you have to be very careful giving human medications to young kittens, as you can accidentally do great harm. In addition, it may not be the right treatment for her diarrhea. For example, diarrhea in kittens can be caused by intestinal worms, which Metamucil will do nothing to help with treatment. You need to take her into a vet as soon as possible, as persistent diarrhea is dehydrating. The vet can diagnose what is causing her diarrhea and can treat her for it. Best of luck.

Given her age there are several things that cross my mind, but a common issue in these young kittens is parasites. Sometimes their parasite burden can be so high that they cannot maintain adequate glucose levels, and also can become uninterested in food and sometimes will begin vomiting. I would recommend deworming her. Also, it would be important to rule out signs of infection and/or sepsis. I think she needs to be seen by a veterinarian right away. Such a young and small animal can deteriorate quickly even with easy to resolve issues like gastrointestinal parasites.