Hi

My first post on the forum and it's about poo... Sorry...

Two weeks ago we got two bengal kittens. A 15 week old F3 male and a 13 week old bengal.

After being here a couple of days I began noticing very loose stools and some blood in the stools of the little bengal. I took him to the vets who put him on promax & gave him a Milbemax wormer tablet. We also gave a milbemax to the F3 and to our 11 week old puppy (just in case).

Both kittens still have stools that resemble chocolate sauce, I also noticed more blood in the stools of the smaller bengal last night.

The breeder had them on Royal Canin dried kitten food. I have continued to feed them this but have added in some canagan wet chicken food and canagen chicken dried food. I did initially think that the transition in food to the canagan triggered it. Not so sure now.

Both cats are extremely bright, full of energy, playful and inquisitive. They also both have good appetites (for the wet food especially). Although the play like crazy both will have lovely affectionate purr times with me too....

We are taking the bengal back to the vets on Sunday with poo samples taken between now and then. She has also advised they go back on promax for a few days. She did note that the younger bengal is very small for his age, on the slip side the F3 is enormous! Almost the size of a small adult cat already....

Can anyone offer any advice?

I've attached a pic of the cats (not the poo ;-)

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about the 'poo' problems. It is fairly normal for runny poo when they first move to their forever home due to the anxiety and stress this can bring on. Probably should have settled by now though and the blood shouldn't be there.

I imagine that the vet will check for parasites from the poo samples. Does it smell particularly bad? If so, ask for it to be tested for TF - there is lots of information on here for this if you look at the stickies under Health Care. Could also be Giardia which I believe is quite common. Is there a lot of blood or just a bit?

Hendrix has always had a bit of a sensitive stomach - I put him on Royal Canin Sensible whilst still a kitten and that firmed things up for him and he still eats it now. It contains easily digestible proteins.

It sounds like you did the food change correctly by adding it in gradually, but you never know, there might be a certain ingredient in there causing a reaction. There was a food I used to give mine that was just too rich for Hendrix - I noticed a trace of blood in his stools and they were runny again. Took him off the food and it cleared up straight away.

Good luck at the vets on Sunday and let us know how you get on.

Beautiful Bengals by the way, and yes the F3 is huge! Maybe he's had a growth spurt though and the little one may start to catch up soon!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Welcome to the forum! Your kitties are beautiful! There could be several things going on with the poo! The first thing is parasites! There are varieties of them and they all cause diarrhea. Testing a stool sample (must be less than 24 hours old) can get results. I'm dealing with coccidia with my bengal right now and I will be dropping off a stool sample this morning for them to see if it's gone with all the medication. Just know that you need to be giving the proper medication to treat the problem.

Since both of your kitties have the same problem, I'm guessing it is a parasite -- they are very common in kittens where it can be transmitted easily. Make sure you get the right diagnosis from the vet so it can be treated! Blood in the stool is a prime example of something is wrong in the digestive system.

Naturally, this is not pleasant for the kittens, so the sooner you can get it treated, the better. Also know that the kittens can be contaminated over and over again. With most parasites, they are expelled in the feces, so make sure you keep the litter box spotless and the kittens aren't getting into any of the stool or they can be reinfected.

I'm sure if you asked your breeder, you would be told there are no problems in the cattery. But many kittens leave with infections and parasites that new owners have to deal with.

As Clare stated, it is common when new kittens arrived at a new home to be stressed out and they don't eat properly which can bring on diarrhea. Since it's been a couple of weeks and they have settled in, my bet is there is a parasite somewhere, so please get them checked out again and have them test for everything.

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The little monsters 3

Thanks for that reminder, Brian. Raiden's poo is still runny, but the coccidia is gone. They gave me a probiotic to put on his food, but if it's not cleared up here in a few days, I'm going to take him back and have them test for this. Jusr to make sure. Raiden only poos once a day -- even with runny poo.

Hi

Thanks for the replies, hugely appreciated. We're heading to the vets today and I will mentioned these parasites to them. Both cats remain extremely active and both are putting on weight ... put the poo remains very loose.

I'll let you know what the outcome is

Darn, Raiden's is STILL soft! Will give it a few more days and call the vet if it doesn't harden up. There's been no change in his diet.

Hi,

Vets have seen both cats now. They say we'll have the sample results from the poo very soon. They have about 3 days worth of the stuff & one sample that was taken about 20 minutes before we left for the vets.

She did say that both cats seem totally fine in every other way. Tummies feel as they should and development is good. Naga the little bengal is gaining about 18 grams a day in weight. Rufus the F3 is gaining weight at quite a pace too.

So I guess it's a case of sitting and waiting for the results...

Is there anything they can take that gives symptomatic relief while we await diagnosis? The poor things are still passing brown liquid

It's interesting that the color of the poo can tell you a lot of things. Raiden's was mustard colored -- a sign of coccidia. It is fairly common for new kittens to get runny poo just from the stress of a new environment. It's really odd that the vet is so far behind in the tests because it's important to test the stool sample with 24 hours.

Raiden poo this morning was well formed in the beginning and then became soft! I guess that's an improvement. The vet sold me a probiotic to help get the balance in the digestive system back to normal.

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The little monsters 3

Plain pumpkin can be given to cats. Works in humans as well.

Hi, sadly the saga continues. The vets didn't find anything in the initial poo sample. They prescribed antibiotics for little Naga (as he was showing blood in his poo) and some panacure. The Poos did then harden back up to nice cuban cigar shaped dark / mid brown .... .but now the poos have become loose again. There is inconsistency however, sometimes I see decent hard poos in the tray, other days they are soft patties.

A 3 day grouped poo sample from Naga has been sent off for analysis again.... apparently the initial test DIDN'T include giardia of TF !!!!! (Why they don't beggars belief) .... I've read up on TF extensively now... and I know that a conclusive test is not easy.

The cats both remain active, happy, playful, affectionate and full of lovely energy and both have a huge appetite. The vet has advised they stay on a strict diet of sensitive cat food (wet pouches) ...

They have now been given a course of antibiotics each to try and ease the symptoms (but no one is holding out hope for this to cure it)..... They have had bloods and urine done, all came back normal.

The breeder has been contacted but denied any knowledge of problems with their siblings / parents.

I want to know if anyone has tried this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ingredients-for ... +probiotic

or this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002 ... XUOWAGXYI1

???

I'm keen to try and treat the symptoms with a more natural approach than pump them full of endless drugs....

All in all an extremely frustrating situation. They are lovely cats and I'm desperate to get, and keep them in tip top health with the best food and environment....

Any more help suggestions would be welcome. I have wondered if there are any testing labs in the UK where I can send poo samples to for the TF and Giardia testing? I could send them multiple samples myself and cut the vets out.... try to get a firm diagnosis.

I know exactly how you feel as Hendrix's problems have resurfaced as well and I was at the vets today to see if we can get to the bottom of it.

With Hendrix, it could be diet related so he's being taken back to just dry food in the first instance. It could also be stress related or a bit of both so I'm going to keep a diary now of when I notice problems and what is happening at home at the time, ie have we had people to stay, has my other half left for sea again. Not so easy for me to keep tabs as Hendrix goes outside and this summer decided he wasn't popping home to use the tray anymore.

I was recommended a probiotic on here, protexin synbiotic d-c I think from memory. You can break open the capsules and sprinkle on their food and its tasteless so Hendrix will still eat his food. I'm going to start that again. I was prescribed some paste but Hendrix was having none of it!

It is very frustrating, if the poo does really smell bad def get it tested for TF and giardia. I'm sure someone on here will be able to advise you where to send the samples if you want to do this independently of your vet.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

My cats are using this probiotic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IW ... ge_o01_s00

I swear by probiotics. Give it a try. Even my vet said to keep giving it to them.

My vet recommended FlortiFlora which comes in envelopes and is sprinkled on top of the food I feed Raiden very little canned in the morning and sprinkle it on there so I know he will eat it all. It definitely helped him. As you've noted, there are many types and brands out there. Some kitties just have sensitive digestive systems. It's always a pain when soft runny poo starts up. Usually means a trip to the vet for the poor kitty! And antibiotics most of the time. Humans get soft, runny poo at times, too! But we don't go to the doctor for it as it usually clears up in a few days. With our little babies, it could be anything.