Hi could anyoe suggest what I can do with my cats for some reasn the all have diarrah .even the 8 week old ones. Can someone tell me what to give them that will help stop it thanks

The first question is: have you wormed your cats lately? If not, that might be a first move. You can get some yellow liquid called pyrantel pomoate at some pet stores.

Next question: are you seeing anything else, like symptoms of a cold, runny eyes, vomiting? Runs are not always just a simple problem, the may be part of a bigger one.

It can also be caused by a change in foods.

If it were one cat with an upset tummy, I would say treat it with kaopectate, as long as the bottle does not have acetacelcylic acid in it. But where there are multiple cats with runs, I suspect they have a parasite of some sort.

I would recommend taking fecal samples to the vet for testing, then worming, and see what your vet recommends.

HI No they have no other symptoms I have not wormed them the kittens are only 7 weeks old. They are eating imams kitten food. I did try a new hairball formula and it seemed to start there with the mama cat. Stopped feeding them that thankyou for the answer

It's never a good idea to switch foods on young kittens.

They should start being wormed at 5-6 weeks when they begin eating. If you can get hold of a bottle of pyrantel at a pet store, it will give you the dosage. Then worm again in ten days.

Are the runs simply liquid poop, is the poop very light in color, and does it have a bad odor? The combination of those three generally means there is a bacteria at work, and they need antibiotics of some sort.

The most common cause in kittens is either infection, of a mother who is starting to cycle again and they pick up hormones through her milk that make then loose.

I would worm all your cats first of all. Then for your adults, get a can of pure pumkin, NOT pie filling. Give each of them a teaspoon of this morning and night till the runs stop. This is full of fiber that will absorb the excess fluid in their bowels.

You might also get some Kaopectate, especially for the kittens, because diarrhea can lead to dehydration and death in a very short amount of time. At 7 weeks, I could say 1cc or 1ml of Kaopectate each, three times a day. I would be hesitant to give them pumpkin and upset their diet as well.

I start my kittens out on canned food, one bland flavor, until they are 8-9 weeks old when they get into the adults dishes. This keeps their stomachs from becoming upset, or getting the runs from a change of diet.

Good luck and let me know how you make out.

kapoectate to stop the diarrhea, you can mix this in milk. And electrolytes in the form of Gator aid or Pedialyte I have great luck with the Gator aid usually orange flavor. you can give it straight or in their water or milk.

You should figure out the cause but in the mean time get them on the kapoectate and electrolytes.

Not to scare you but diarrhea can kill animals if not stopped quickly.

Gatorade should not be given to kittens. It has salts and ingredients that are not digestible by their systems. The human pedialyte, unflavored is better for them, but do NOT mix it with formula if you are giving them that as well. If they are drinking from a dish, or you need to syringe water into them, then use the plain pedialyte for that.

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Originally posted by PublicAlert:
Gatorade should not be given to kittens. It has salts and ingredients that are not digestible by their systems. The human pedialyte, unflavored is better for them, but do NOT mix it with formula if you are giving them that as well. If they are drinking from a dish, or you need to syringe water into them, then use the plain pedialyte for that.

Great info PA!

Hi thankyou for advice. I have wormed all the cats and given them kaopectc . took them off all the canned food. stuck with dry. they all ate some pumpkin and seems to be getting better. only 1 stil has poos bad. taking him to vet . Thankyou all for your advice anne

I do recommend canned food, as the carbohydrate level in dry is high enough to cause obesity in some cats. But when you start kittens out on canned, it should be one "mild" flavor until their digestive systems are developed enough to cope with different flavors and ingredients.

Try using just a plain beef canned food. As for your other adult cats, I suspect it may have been worms or a bacteria of some sort. The flotation tests will not always show an intestinal parasite, either. But your vet may choose to put the last one on antibiotics as a preventitive measure.

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I do recommend canned food, as the carbohydrate level in dry is high enough to cause obesity in some cats. But when you start kittens out on canned, it should be one "mild" flavor until their digestive systems are developed enough to cope with different flavors and ingredients.

Interesting! It always heard the opposite with dogfood! Canned dog food is higher in fat content then dry.

Different fats, DC. Dry carbs from grains cause obesity. Cats being primarily meat eaters do better on canned foods, both for moisture content and protein. Most commercial chows have lousy formulas unless you search for a good one. The first two ingredients at least should be protein sources like chicken, and chicken meal.