Expert: Ali - 5/15/2009

Question
Thank you so much for all information.

Isa have done a little improvement, but I'm still concerned he just used litterbox for an hour ago maybe, and i noticed it wasn't very loose as it was in the beginning but it's still kinda more on the soft side and still more smelly than my older cats stool His tummy is still big and hard. His health issues is very similar to my other kitten i lost.
I'm afraid that you are right about he might have the distemper. I read about the illness and i think you are right about my other kittens suffering from that illness.

Tomorrow i will contact the vet's you gave me information from.

Do you think a vaccination will stop that virus ? or the vaccination will only be effective if he got it prior to the virus ?

I feel kinda hopeless, stressed and sad

Thanks for your support! It really feels good that someone have an understanding to ones concern.

Answer
Zahra,

The fact that Isa responded, however slightly, to being given yogurt probably rules out distemper as a cause. There could be any number of reasons for the kitten's loose bowels including intolerance to certain foods, stress, improper nutrition just to name a few possibilities. Kittens with distemper usually appear quite sick, they have a fever, sometimes upper respiratory symptoms are present, and infected cats often hunch themselves over the water bowl because they're so dehydrated from the frequent episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. The sooner Isa receives medical attention the better, I'd strongly suggest that you start working on accessing the resources I sent your way immediately. Only a vet can diagnose this kitten's illness. Distemper is a possibility, I'm not a vet so it's important to understand that unless a vet diagnoses an illness there's no way to say for sure that's what's going on. Right now the main issue is getting the kitten to the vet so that his illness can be diagnosed and appropriately treated. Since bloating and diarrhea are the only real symptoms you've seen there's a good chance that Isa just has some sort of digestive issue that can be easily treated, so don't give up on him yet - diarrhea isn't a life sentence, but it can cause some pretty serious dehydration in young kittens so be sure that Isa's getting plenty of fluids such as the solid food I recommended for him last night. Some vets may consider the option of allowing you to pay for the cost of treatment in installments. Care Credit will finance vet care and you can pay them back in installments over time. The actual cause of Isa's bloated belly and loose stool has to be figured out before you make any decisions about his future and it's important to realize that if diarrhea and bloating are Isa's only symptoms he could simply be in need of appropriate supportive care until his stool firms up. I was wondering, does Isa have foul smelling gas? That might indicate an intolerance to the formula you've been feeding which would mean that his symptoms might lessen or disappear completely if he's placed on solid foods...