My 7-month-old kitten is sick. What to do for vomiting & diarrhea?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Kenzo is losing weight and having persistent diarrhea, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him and test his stool for intestinal parasites. If he has parasites, he will need to receive the appropriate treatment to treat this. In the meantime, I would initiate a bland diet as outlined below. If the stool tests negative for parasites, then I would transition to a completely different kitten food altogether and see if this helps. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you! GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Buddy. How lovely of you to take in this stray kitten!! Yes I suspect it's the kitten food causing Buddy to have an upset stomach and vomit. Sudden changes in diet can lead to these symptoms. Feed him a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones or skin) in small amounts a couple times a day for a few days, the start slowly adding in his normal diet. If he refuses to eat the bland diet, vomits the bland diet, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, continues to have diarrhea, has blood in his stool, and/or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend switching to a different food such as a hydrolyzed protein diet and feed this for the next 4 weeks to see if this makes a difference. I would also add in a probiotic such as Purina Fortiflora, which can be found online or at your local pet store. If the vomiting persists or worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend withholding food for at least 8 hours and then initiating a bland diet as outlined below. The blood is likely due to gastritis with irritation in the stomach / GI tract. If the vomiting does not resolve or it worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps and that he feels better soon! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! I am so sorry that Max is sick! We are not legally allow to prescribe medications because we are unable to examine the pets, which is required to have a client-veterinary-patient relationship. A week is a long time to be sick. Causes of vomiting and diarrhea are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, he ate something gross. he has something stuck (blockage), pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, food allergy/intolerance, reaction to new food/treat/table food. In an ideal work Max needs a Vet exam, a fecal test for worms and X-rays of his belly. If that is fine then I would deworm him, start an anti-nausea like cerenia (veterinary only) or metoclopramide for the vomiting, metronidazole for the diarrhea and put him on a commercial intestinal diet like Hill's i/d until his stools are normal. If you truly have no access to a Vet. I would deworm him with pyrantel or drontal, change his cat food protein source (chicken to beef or fish to chicken), and start a probiotic like Purina Fortiflora. I wish you the best! https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3464

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that he is not feeling well. The symptoms you are describing could be due to multiple possibilities. If you have recently switched his food or added in a new treat it could be dietary indiscretion causing this. If this were the case, I would withhold food for 12 hours and introduce a bland diet as outlined below. If, however, there has been no recent switch to his food and he has been on the same thing his whole life this is likely something else. My recommendation would be to have a veterinarian take a look at him and run some testing such as blood work to see if there are any concerning changes that need to be addressed. If you are concerned about money, then you can start the bland diet as outlined below but if the vomiting and lethargy persist for more than 24 hours I would strongly recommend he be seen by a vet. CareCredit is a good option to look into. This option will allow you to put Veterinary expenses on a line of credit specifically for that purpose and you will pay Care Credit on a monthly basis. I would call and check to see if the vet clinic accepts Care Credit First. If he is one that choose toys and things that he shouldn't, then there is a chance this could also be a intestinal foreign body obstruction. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other concerns. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm.

Withhold food for so long in such a small kitten is not recommended. Diarrhea is a signs referring to a intestinal problem. It could be due to parasitic infestation (very common in kittens) dietary indiscretion, inflammatory disease, bacterial diseases or viral diseases. You could provide bland food (boiled breast chicken or white fish or gastrointestinal commercial diet) for a 24-36 but, if she continues to have diarrhea, might get dehydrated and therefore need to be checked by a veterinarian. Also if you can spot blood in the faces or if she get lethargic and not eating, or if she start vomiting, I would suggest to have her checked by your veterinarian as soon as possible. 
Good luck and post again on the forum if you need further advices. I hope my answer was helpful.