My new kitten is weak, vomiting, and has diarrhea. What to do?

Hello. Thank you for rescuing this kitten. I would be most concerned about this kitten having an infection & most certainly having a large number of parasites it its gut. Roundworms are especially common in kittens & can cause significant discomfort & diarrhea. It would be best to have the kitten seen as soon as possible as she may need some medical treatment to get her going on the right track. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Miklo. Poor boy. He could have a severe stomach illness causing his vomiting and soft stool. Whenever a kitten has both vomiting and soft stool, they are considered too sick for a home remedy. The best thing to do for him is to take him into a vet immediately to get this diagnosed and treated. I hope this helps!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Kittens may have diarrhea and low energy due to a number of conditions including intestinal parasites, viral infections, or a change in diet. I recommend having both kittens examined by a vet as soon as possible, as it is likely that the condition is contagious. To speed up the diagnosis, I recommend bringing a stool sample from the sick kitten in a disposable container for your vet to check for parasites. It is important to have the sick kitten evaluated as kittens can quickly become dehydrated and have low blood sugar, making them feel even worse. While it is unlikely that your son got sick from one of the kittens, it is possible. I recommend that you have him seen by a physician if you are concerned.

Hello! You will want to take your new kitten into your veterinarian to determine what the cause of the diarrhea is so the appropriate treatment can be prescribed. Your vet will do a fecal test and place your kitty on a Rx medication if needed depending on the fecal test results say. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend taking Shiro back to the vet with a fresh stool sample to check for intestinal parasites. If normal I would recommend an abdominal X-ray to rule out a foreign body. It may not be the food and there could be something serious. He should not be vomiting daily and I worry he could dehydrate. Good luck and kisses to Shiro!

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend taking Lea to the veterinarian as diarrhea in a kitten this young can quickly become life threatening. She may have parasites that need to be treated. Good luck, I hope she's better soon.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If he is otherwise normal and still eating / drinking, I would withhold food for at least 8 hours and initiate a bland diet as outlined below. If he continues to vomit even on the bland diet or he worsens, I would get him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. 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. 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.