Thanks so much, Lollo!

Amy

I got my new Bengal kitten on Monday it's now Thursday, he's been quite the joy to watch play around the house. Today however he had a very loose poop early this morning and since has pooed again only for it to be a clay ish , smelly water ( I feed him what the breeder did, and he's hardly touched his food today). He's very lazy today also only have played for about half an hour and is sleeping in his bed and has been for about an hr. He had litter mates that had dies from a bacterial infection so I'm a little beyond worried. I have booked him into my vets for this after noon.
Can any one please give me any idea what it could be and if he's going to be ok ?! Please.
I lost 2 cats last year. I don't know if I could cope with another.

brooke_the_cat_lover:

Many kittens actually get upset tummies when they go to their new home. It would help to know what food your kitten is on normally (before he came to you).

However i would be tempted to get your vet to test the poo for things. Even if your vet says it's not necessary, just explain that you would rather get clear negatives straight away than wait for weeks with problems. The vet can usually test onsite for most things but the TF that this thread is about has to be tested by an outside laboratory. It is done by a PCR (or QPCR) test. There is information in this thread about it and you can always print out the FAB information to give to your vet. I did this with my vet. It seems that a lot of vets do not know much about TF.

Did you kitten come with any insurance at all? Most kittens in the UK come with 4 weeks Petplan insurance.

For now i would rest his tummy a bit. Just boil some chicken and shred it up. Give him small amounts often with some of the cooking liquid as extra hydration. Hold off on the dry for a day or two. make sure he has access to water.

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Lollo

Hi and thank you

I actually feed him what the breeder did and cook it how they did too, but today was just a bit scary, when I took him into the vet he hadn't heard about TF either ?!

After we had gotten home again and all was well I set his food out which he nibbled at ( cooked chicken ) and less then half an hr later he threw it up. So I cleaned out his bowl of all chicken and placed a few buiscuits with a small portion of his usual tin food. Which he ate some of and has kept down. *phew* and a few hours after that he did another poo, very watery but finished a little like toothpaste. Not quite solid but had form to it rather then straight liquid. He has still been drinking a lot also, and the vet said he had a normal temp too.

I'm in Australia and there was no given insurance, pet plan or anything like that. I'm not so much worried about vet bills ( I lost one cat to cancer and one to kidney failure last year so I'll do what I have to to have a healthy kitty ) thanks for the reply. If and when I have to go back I might just give him a copy of the info in this tread.
Thanks again

What was the breeder feeding him before he came to you?

Vets are clueless about TF!!!

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Lollo

Hi Brooke,
Just wondering how young your little guy is. As Lollo said, a new house and new people are going to be stressful to some degree for any cat, and a kitten will be going thru the separation anxiety of leaving Mom and the siblings. Good luck with educating your vet on TF.
Plain yogurt, allowed to warm to room temp and fed off the tip of your finger (seems just like milk from a nipple to them) may also help (especially if sweetened with honey Probiotics to help intestinal balance, and help restore much-needed fluids after all the puking and pooing.
If s/he lets you, perhaps some gently massaging of tummy and lower abdomen might help. Touch is the original healer! Also, massaging along the spinal column and around head/neck area is extremely relaxing, just as it is for us two-leggeds.
Best wishes,
Amy

Hi all,

I'm jumping into this thread a bit late, but it is very interesting to me as I just brought a kitten home a few days ago and he has had runny poos and lethargy since arriving. The breeder told me it was normal due to the stress of the change and reccommended adding a tiny bit of plain yogurt and pumpkin to boiled chicken and his wet. I don't know how long it would take to see a difference, but no difference yet after two days. I called the breeder again and have not yet heard back.

Took him to the vet this morning for his 1st arriving check up, and the vet said he was dehydrated (sticky gums, pronounced spine, etc), and a bit underweight and that she suspected a parasite. She injected some fluids, gave us a script for Metronidazole (which I need help getting him to swallow!), and gave us a high calorie wet food to bulk him up. He slept for most of the day, but ate well each time he woke up. Still with the runny smelly poos.

Though we love our kitty already and had no hesitation in paying for all this, I feel a little put out that a kitten that I just paid a LOT of money for, came to us with all these issues that cost me $100 above and beyond the standard kitten check up? The breeder said he was fully wormed and that he might look a little thin due to a recent growth spurt and the diarrhea was temporary from stress. Does that sound plausible?

I'm wondering if I should take him back in and ask to get the TF testing, or just wait and see if the plan of action we are on will do the trick? I don't want to waste time getting my little guy feeling perky and healthy again.

The TF testing needs to be done before starting any antibiotics or at least 1 week after finishing a course. Did the vet test a sample of poo before prescribing Metronidazole?? It is unwise really to treat without isolating something.

Worming is standard treatment for kittens and won't stop the same things that metronidazole will. Unfortunately this little guy may have something else. It is plausible that it could be down to stress but if it has persisted then i doubt it.

If you haven't given any antibiotic i would get a smaple quickly to the vets and tell them to send it of for TF testing by PCR or QPCR. That is the only reliable test to pick up TF. If you have given the antibiotic then you must wait to test for TF.

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Lollo

This may be a daft question, but if everything seems to point to TF, would you need to other teting? Why not go straight for the treatment?

B

It is highly possible, and likely in a lot of cases, to have multiple parasites. One treatment does not cure all. It would be silly not to test for the usualy suspects as well as TF. A lot of cases are also positive for Giardia for instance.

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Lollo

OMG I am so glad I found this post. I NEED your help!!! I had gotten a kitten back in feb, extreamly healthy... very loving, silky fur, purrs a lot.. a dream, we loved her so much, that we decided to get a boy and wanted to try to breed. we recieved him 4.28. at 10 weeks old the night he came home he pooped on the floor next to my bed with dirreah. we let a few days go by thinking it was stress, a new home, i have a 2 year old and a 4 year old, because a other kitten was in the home... finally contacted the breeder told her what was going on. she said she knew what it was and that she had meds bring down the kitten.. told her we had another cat which she knew already so she gave meds for that one too. told us to contact her friday (5.4) with two doses left of the pancour. I emailed, i called twice after her already telling me it was a parasite caused from the mother giving it to him and that another kitten in the litter had it. I was talking yesterday to a friend of mine who is a vet tech.. and she asked me who the breeder was telling me she worked with her and that i guess she had a history of tritrichomonas. so I called the breeder yesterday, she didnt answer. we showed up at her house trying to talk with her. i told her that i thought it was irresponsible of her as a t.i.c.a bengal breeder where i spent. 1300 on my other kitten and 1400 on her kitten so far and not even yet 500 for breeding rights for him yet for her to know that another kitten was sick, to put him in a home, jepordizing another cat to get sick when honestly we dont have the money at the moment to be spending 500 plus on vet bills at this moment.. and when i mentioned that my friend who worked for her and said that her cattery had the tritruchomonas she admitted to having it but said its cleared and they all test negitive, but when i asked her for the parasites she said that it was giardia and coccidiosis is what they have. then after we started talking she had her "co person" there and then she started denying everything and he blamed me and my other cat for having it. What do i do?? I am taking it now we cant breed?? and that this is something they are stuck for for life?? and that if we do breed the kittens will have it?? and unlike her i dont want to be irresponsible for the kittens and families in the future.. her kitten came into our home by our choice of course but we signed no contract and got our kitten sick. we didnt want this, we wanted two healthy cats, now instead our complety loving kitten we have had for 3 months is puking, and has chronic dirreah which started day 5 of him being here. and our boy we have no idea what he is like healthy because the only personality we know is him being sick and scared and weary of everything. If anyone knows anything it would be much appreciated. thank you very much.

Firstly, i can tell you are upset and angry but it is really difficult to read your post because there are no capital letters or breaks.

You have found a very irresponsible breeder. I would be very wary about breeding from your kittens as i would not really trust the breeder that the kitten is a good example of the breed. You need to only breed from kittens that are healthy, good exapmples, from health screened parents. Bengals need to be tested for HCM (yearly scans) and PK Def (one off test) plus the standard screening that should be done prior to mating. Buying breeding cats needs a lot of research. To be honest, it is a fairly big step that needs a lot of research and you need to be prepared to spend a lot of money. You will need to make sure you can screen your cats and have the funds in case of emergencies... I am assuming your kittens were bought on the 'Active' register??

Onto Tritrichomonas...
It is treatable. Get you vet to send a sample of their poo for PCR or QPCR testing. This is the only test that is reliable for TF. Do not listen to a vet who tells you otherwise as it is not true. The sample needs to be taken 1 week after finishing antibiotic or Panacure treatment as this can give you a false negative. If your kittens are positive, they need treatment with Ronidazole. Again, this is teh ONLY drug that will kill TF. This treatment is 1 dose per day for 14 days. Once they are clear, there is no reason not to breed from a TF point of view but remember your kittens have not had the best start in life so may not really be suitable to breed from

This is a UK fact sheet but the facts are still true if you are in the US it's just the recommended laboratory that is appropriate:
http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infoshe ... monas.html

Please get them tested at the appropriate timescale... and please really think about breeding.

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Lollo

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Lollo

Sorry about no capitals, I usually dont write that way on facebook when talking to friends, sorry its easier. I am very upset, not only because she already knew and admitted it was parasites and it came from the mother, but because the breeder is irresponsible and I do not want someone else to go through this. I honestly do not want do have to go to court or do anything legal, but if its something serious like this and costs my kittens and wont allow me to get future cats and will cause them to get it too then I will be taking legal actions. and making her pay the vet bills. I dont know what else to do . right now its already too late our female is infected and she is up to date on ALL vaccines minus feline leukemia because we heard bad things about it and I wanted to do more research first. And she is up to date on worming and then we get our boy and all of this happens. We are heartbroken and even more so are my children.

In my case We picked him up from the breeder on april 24 (there was a 72 hour Health Garentee) I contacted her may 1 , the 2nd she gave us meds to help us, contacted her friday (the 4th) called her twice yesterday and emailed her and showed up at her house because she wouldnt return our emails, messages or phone calls - we have only had him for 12 days as of today. I contacted her 6 days after we got him and she admitted it was a parasite and gave me meds for him and my other kitten. that morning 6 days of having him my other kitten started having diarrhea. So I mean. .. I dont know its just so stressful right now.

Monday morning ASAP we are going to take them to the vet testing their stools to see what exactly it is and what can be done. after we find out the answers that is what will define the next step or course of action. The breeder has already denied us a refund and taking back the kitten but she has offered to bring in the kitten into her home and nurse him back to health. He just has diarrhea. Our girl is the one that has it way far worse, she has chronic diarrhea and is vomiting. something a vet told me yesterday is a possibility because our boy is immune to it because the mother is the carrier so he was born with it. IF this is what they have, i will NOT breed them. I would not be the person she is and be irresponsible and put some family into this position. I just wanted to expieriance having a litter and giving a family the opportunity to expieriance having a loving Bengal as a lifetime pet. but now that is a high change that wont happen. The Bengal breed is a amazing breed, we absolutely feel in love with our kittens. Once the breeder offered to bring the kitten into her home, we told her because of this we have lost her trust and that we would be bringing them to a vet. we dont feel comfortable with that.
So if tritrichomonas is treatable, that means it goes away. when it says carrier, does that mean if i do breed will the kittens have it?? because if there is the slightest little maybe i need to know now so we can spay her. Okay.. now.. both kittens have been on Panacure for 6 days.. so can I buy Ronidazole online because what if they do a stool test and its neg because of the Panacure?? then they dont give us the Ronisazole?? And yes we are in the Us.
Thank you so so much you have no idea how much this helps. i had no idea what to do.. two vets yesterday told me to take legal action and to call animal control and the cops in two different counties.