Our 2 Bengal kittens have had stomach troubles since the day we brought them home from the breeder. Diarrhoea every day, frequent bowel movements, truly foul smell, wind, constant accidents, leaking slime & blood etc etc.

After months of testing for worms, standard parasites etc with no joy, as well as all the diet advice under the sun, we finally got them diagnosed with Tritrichomonas foetus.

Despite the vets trying to advise against using it, we decided to try Ronidazole after doing lots of research online. The vet ordered a dosage of 10mg/kg for each kitten.

We had a few troubles with the administration of the tablets originally but gradually they got used to it and - low and behold - they both began to show drastic signs of improvement within the first 3-4 days.

The diarrhoea eased, they became more lively - even more loopy than normal - and we witnessed none of the neurological side effects we'd read about, so we continued with the treatment.

We reached the end of the 14 day treatment period 2 days ago and whilst Lily, the female, seems to now be absolutely fine, Tiger (her brother) has suddenly descended into the worst bout of diarrhoea we've ever witnessed. It's just leaking out of him to the extent that we've had to shut him in the bathroom this evening as he's covered the lounge, sofa & bed with it.

The poor love clearly can't help it though so he's not being punished. We're just making a vague attempt to keep things clean!

I'm all ready to take him to the emergency vets tomorrow if he's no better.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Could this additional diarrhoea simply be a side effect of the ronidazole? Do you think we'll need to try it again with a dose of 30mg/kg?

The vets don't seem to know much about it all so I'm hoping you guys will!

Many thanks, Claire

Take a sample of the stool back to the vet and it rechecked! Actually, take samples from both of your kitties for a recheck. Either the medication did not work with one of the kitties, or the kitty requires additional dosage. Know that cross contamination is a huge problem and if you got rid of it in one kitty and not the other, the other kitty can be reinfected and you're right back where you started. Bless you for tolerating the situation that is not your kitties' faults. I hope you notified the breeder of this.

Thank you for your reply Sherry and apologies for the delayed response! I forgot to check the "notifications for responses" box so I didn't know anyone had commented.

After this incident I found out the cats had actually been on 30mg of Ronidazole per kg rather than 10mg as I initially thought - which I know is the maximum recommended safe dosage. From what I've read online it wouldn't be safe to go any higher with the dosage, especially as they're still only 9 months old.

Things did get a little bit better for a while after this, but both cats are still doing very sloppy stools - more like a squidgy cow pat than the normal poop you'd expect from a cat, and it still smells really bad. Perhaps not quite as horrendous as before but still pretty unpleasant and I can't leave it in the litter tray for any time at all as it just stinks out the house.

Then tonight again they seem to have taken another turn for the worse - dripping mucusy bloody blobs on the floor. I have just put them onto a new hypo-allergenic, grain free, super-sensitive food so I'm guessing it may just be the diet change that's sparked it but I thought once we'd got rid of the tritrich they wouldn't react like this anymore. As you say though, they may still have it.

Tiger also seems to have started peeing all over the place now for some reason so we generally live in a cesspit and it's really beginning to put a strain on our household. My other half has talked seriously about getting rid of them, saying he can't live like this anymore and whilst I don't blame him - I can't begin to imagine giving them away as I just love them so much, despite all their problems. As I'm writing this Tiger has jumped into my lap and curled up upside down like big soft fur baby. How can you give away a cat as affectionate as that?

I did let the breeder know about it and she actually refunded us £400 of the £950 we paid for them, to help with all the vets bills. She said she hadn't had any problems at her house and none of the other kittens of the same litter had had any issues. She did decide to get all her adult cats tested though, as a precaution. I sent her a message to find out the result of that but she never replied - so I'm guessing she may have had a positive result but didn't want to admit it to me!

I'm really at a loss to know what to do now - and my other half has pretty much set winter as the deadline for getting them sorted, as by then it'll be too cold to keep opening the windows wide to let out the smell. At that point I think he's pretty serious about giving them to someone else.

I've suggested we get Tiger neutered to see if that helps with the peeing situation. As for getting them re-tested again for tritrich and then possibly treated again - we just can't afford it! We've already spent about £600 on trying to sort these problems, on top of the £950 initial purchase price. It'll be another £250-300 for re-testing and re-treatment and none of it is covered by insurance because they've had gut issues from day one.

If you or anyone on this forum can offer me some sort of lifeline of advice here I'd be really really grateful. I don't want to lose my fur babies but it seems to be heading that way rapidly :(

Many thanks,

Claire

First of all, Claire, calm down and relax. I am sorry to hear you are still having issues with your babies. Runny stools signify something is amiss. It may be something else going on. You might want to try a probiotic for felines (you can purchase it at any pet store or you can order it online). You can sprinkle it on the food and it has helped my Raiden who has a problem with runny stools. When there is nothing going on medically, the issue is that the food is not in the digestive tract long enough -- and it comes out before the waste has had a chance to solidify in the intestines. You've changed the food diet -- while that can cause digestive issues, they do make food (wet and dry) specifically for sensitive stomachs. The fact that BOTH of your cats are having runny stools concerns me -- they both have something going on.

The peeing outside the litter box can strain the best relationships. It is not pleasant. First thing is to make sure there is nothing medically wrong. I know taking a cat to the vet is expensive, but you cannot diagnose the problem and it cannot be treated without the vet if it is medical. Urinary tract infections, crystals in the urine can all be causes -- and a test to check that is not expensive.

If there is nothing medically wrong, then it's more than likely stress! I'm guessing your other half's anger comes out when one discovers a puddle of urine somewhere. The first thing I'm going to suggest is to add another litter box. You have two cats, you need three litter boxes. Make one different -- hooded or open. Try Cat Attract in the litter. Put the boxes where the kitty can easily get to it. If you have a 2-story house, boxes need to be on each level -- more than one is preferable. If you have a large home, then put on opposite sides of the house.

Next, has anything changed in your environment? A new neighbor with an outdoor tom cat that you kitty can smell or see? Neutering is absolutely essential for your kitties. It may or may not solve the issue, but I really think you are going to need the help of your vet with this. When one makes a commitment to own a pet, there are, unfortunately, expenses with that -- and the costs can be high if the problem is severe.

Your poor babies are not doing any of this to spite you -- SOMETHING IS WRONG! It is not their fault and I hope you can relate that to your other half.

You are so lucky your breeder decided to reimburse you some of the money. That does not happen very often. Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks for your response Sherry.

When we woke up this morning there were no puddles and no bad smells, so that was a big help and the kits are having such a calm, serene day today it's eased the stress slightly! I know that doesn't mean the problem's solved though, so I very much appreciate your advice.

I've been giving them Purina FortiFlora probiotic for a few months now without much effect but I've been advised on a different forum that that one isn't much good and to try a good quality human grade probiotic instead as well as looking into a raw/home cooked diet for them - so I'm going to do a bit of research around that.

I've also ordered a Feliway plug in to try and ease the pee situation and I'm going to book Tiger in to be neutered later this week.

We live in a one-bed flat and there are 2 litter boxes out currently, so there's not much problem with them being out of reach, but I'll try adding another one in as you suggest, to see if that helps.

The only thing that's changed in terms of the environment recently is that we went on holiday for 2 weeks. A neighbour came round to feed them and spent several hours socialising with them each day - but I wonder if that may have had an effect? We've been back for 4 days now though and they seem otherwise chilled out.

Thank you again for your help and advice - it's nice to know there are people out there to support me!

Hi Claire

Try Protexin synbiotic D-C. That is also a probiotic and worked wonders for Hendrix. He always had runny poo with blood in it. Also, he always has the dry Royal canin sensible which helped, it's specifically designed for sensitive stomachs and is easily digestible. If you switched food suddenly, that can cause diarrhoea too. My two constantly as kittens had diarrhoea on and off. Their tummies are quite sensitive at that age, and I soon learnt there were certain things like lamb or liver that would go straight through them.

The medication in itself may have caused irritation to their stomach linings. Did the vet mention this at all?

Look at single protein foods. Thrive is really good, check their website as they will send you samples. What food have you put them on at the moment?

What is happening with the pee'ing outside the box? Is it next to the box, or somewhere completely different? Is it in front of you? If next to the litter box, there is an issue with the box, the litter, not clean enough, or something else putting him off - so he wants to use it, but for some reason can't. If somewhere totally different it will probably be a health or stress issue. So you do need a vet to rule out the medical side of it and they can also offer advice if it is stress related.

Jagger's been stressed recently, my other half is not happy about the extra box I've introduced so I know where you are coming from! I just get on with it and try to ensure he doesn't need to be involved if there is a little accident lol

Good luck!

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

Thanks Shelly,

The vets have been pretty clueless around this whole thing really, but I did read on another forum that the cause for the diarrhoea straight after the Ronidazole might be the complete stripping of all the gut bacteria - good and bad. That's why I put them on the FortiFlora but as I say, it's not done a great deal. I'll certainly check out the Protexin synbiotic D-C.

I've tried them on the Royal Canin before and it seemed to upset their tummies even more unfortunately. I'm currently giving them AVA "Vetinary Approved" kitten food (which is free from wheat, gluten, soya, pork and dairy, contains vitamins & minerals, pre-biotics, +Imuvita immune boosting ingredients etc etc.) It's too early to tell if they're ok with that one yet as I think they're having a bit of a bad reaction to the change. They certainly seem to like the taste though!

Before that they've been on James Wellbeloved grain free turkey kitten food for most of their lives. This has been the most consistent food for them and they seem to like it a lot. We've also tried Wainrights (which is supposed to be easily digested, hypo-allergenic and wheat free) and plain boiled chicken breast. But whatever we give them, the poops are always nasty - really bad for a day or 2 after the switch with blobs of blood and mucus, but then just consistently sloppy and smelly after that too.

With the peeing situation - it seems to be more of a scent-marking thing I think. It's nowhere near the box and mainly seems to be in the same spots - on the kitchen floor by the sink, behind the sofa in the lounge, behind a little corner table in the lounge and in the corner of the bedroom, when he manages to get in there (it's the only room with carpet so we tend to keep them out of there!)

Before now he always squatted down to simply pee on the floor but today I actually caught him spraying for the first time. Every time he does it I clean the area thoroughly and saturate it with anti-odour spray to try and prevent him from doing it again but just goes back to the exact same spot.

I did read that this tends to be a habit of male cats when they "come of age" and that neutering can help prevent it, so I'll give that a go. He seems to be sniffing his sister's butt a lot lately so I think he's possibly just maturing and not dealing with it very well! As I say, I've also ordered a FeliWay plug in, so I'll plug that in behind the sofa - which is his main spot.

Bless you - these men are not as patient as we women are they?! I've been cleaning up the accidents in secret too! I work from home while he's out most of the day so that helps. Personally I think it's all just a ploy to get me to do all the cleaning actually!

Get a feliway spray as well, give the area he's marking a little spray and put a bowl of food there as well, apparently they won't pee where they have food.

Definitely get him neutered as that should definitely help. Don't worry about the bottom sniffing, I have two boys who are always sniffing each other's bums lol

It took me ages to find food that didn't upset their tummies and that they liked! Jagger wouldn't touch Hendrix's Royal canin sensible dry so he has meowing heads hey good looking. But that had a terrible effect on Hendrix's tummy. I had to invest in microchip sure feeders so they can't access each other's food! Works though, Hendrix has perfect poos now, ne flies can get on their food and it keeps it fresh.

Wet food they have thrive and meowing heads but meowing heads are changing the recipe on that and they don't like it! Fortunately I can still get the old recipe at the moment but back to square one when I can't. Hey ho!

Really hope things improve soon.

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

Great advice from Clare to Clair! I'm really surprised the Florti Flora probiotic isn't working for you. That's the one I use for Raiden. You might want to try Clare's recommendation. It is always sad when new kittens suffer with this. They've already been through a lot with the TF. It's not easy for them to cope as well. Poor babies! At least you are trying different things and working to solve the problem. You obviously live in a small flat and you would think two litter boxes would be fine -- it's not easy finding a spot for one. Glad you will be getting one neutered as that may help somewhat -- but don't expect it to be the miracle that ends all of the problems.

We are always here to answer questions and help out with advice when we asked.