Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 8/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: Excuse the title, but I need advice before we give a lovely
male 4 month spotted tabby away. He and his sister are such
joys; they don't bite, keep scratching minimal, play hard
with each other, but Mr. Batiste has a fatal, disease-
originated flaw. He came from the shelter with Coccidiosis,
and he began defecating upstairs on floors and (newly
cleaned) carpet. We put barriers to the bedrooms, but he
will still occasionally not use his downstairs boxes like
the female. He's rid of the Coccidia, but was treated "just
in case" with broad spectrum antibiotic, too, for bacterial
colitis. We have fed him yogurt and several cat foods, too.
Still, he sneaks in the piles that will lose his lease on
living here. What can we do but leave them both in the
basement for their whole lives? Parting them will be
wretched on us and the siblings, but my wife goes back to
teaching and that's the end.

ANSWER: Sounds like he still has coccidia. It is not easy to get rid of and the kittens constantly re-infect themselves. You need to treat him probably three times and clean EVERYTHING up with a diluted bleach water-20-1.

That is the only way to completely remove this tough and persistent parasite. Antibiotics only add to the demise of his intestinal flora to boot so I would get him some 'probiotics' from the vet and give those to him in conjunction with more Albon or whatever you are using.

Coccidiosis can be fatal if left untreated but most cats recover from it once they stop re-infecting themselves.

You must be diligent about cleaning and bleaching the litter boxes as well.

The food he is eating might also contribute and changing foods frequently will DEFINITELY give him diarrhea.

So you are actually causing some of these issues unintentionally.

Get rid of all of his food and get him and his sister on Science Diet Kitten growth formula. This food will help straighten out his digestive tract and will give him the optimal nutrition he needs to help fight off the coccidia. Purina kitten chow is covered with cow's milk which is an instant ticket to diarrhea for most kittens. Cats and dogs are lactose intolerant once they are weaned.

It takes few weeks for the food to really show effects but it should help with the stool along with the probiotics. Make sure you switch them over to the Science Diet over a 7 day period.

So get some more albon, stock up on bleach and get the Kitten Growth Formula from the pet store.

Hopefully this will work for you. It has for all of our clients.
Please let me know how he is doing in a few days.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Will he just have the upstairs bathroom habit ingrained in
that head? It won't work, ever, to have him doing it
upstairs. We have had cats together 34 years and never saw
this behavior. His sister is the 'control' and she never
uses anything but the downstairs boxes. Should the shelter
have given us the male? The first time I picked him up he
messed on my leg... still loved him. Thanks again, we're
desperate.

Answer
I am not quite sure what you mean by him having the upstairs habit ingrained in his head?

Once his stools are back to normal after treatment he should use the same litter box as his sister, but realistically you should have two boxes for them.

The shelter should have never adopted out ANY cat that was still exhibiting signs of diarrhea and especially coming from a place where they knew the premises had coccidia.

Coccidia is a protozoa. It is not a bacteria. It is a little animal that gets in there and wreaks havoc on the intestines.
That is why it's hard to kill.

Follow the protocol and you should see some results soon. The Probiotics are very important as is the food so do NOT skip that.

Get the albon and start dosing him.