Expert: Jessica - 8/13/2009

Question
I have 6 kittens that have contracted coccidia. their mother was a rescued cat that I brought home.  they are 13 weeks old. One has had the more severe case of it being the smallest kitten.  They have been to the vet for the albon suspension and have been on it for 11 days, they have been on diarrea medicine also. five have overcome the diarrea at this time but one still has it.  she has lost weight and only  weighs 1 lb and 9 oz.  she was nibbling at her food so i supplemented with syringe feeding and pediolite.  She now is not eating.  she tries to but she acts like it hurts her mouth.  she paws at it like it is stuck on her teeth.  all of this is new to me, i dropped her off at the vet this morning on the way to work.  If I get to bring her home today, are there anything else that I can be doing for her that I am not doing now? I do not want to lose her.

Answer
Hi Mary.  Sorry to hear the little one is doing so poorly.  It sounds possible she has something secondary going on, and I'm guessing by now you have spoken with the vet about their findings.  

Did the vet find any mouth sores present that could explain why she’s become reluctant to eat and why she’s pawing at her mouth?  Kittens this age often contract calici virus, which causes painful ulcers in the mouth.  While the virus itself is rarely fatal, many cats do not want to eat when they have these awful sores in the mouth, and this can quickly cause weight loss and malnutrition in kittens, making it a potentially life-threatening disease.  Although I haven’t lost any kittens to calici, kittens who won’t eat absolutely must be force fed through the active infection or they won’t survive.  If the vet found sores, the kitten will likely be given a second antibiotic to help fight bacterial infections that frequently invade oral ulcers.  While it varies very widely, most cats recover from the ulcers in around 10 days.  Some vets prescribe a medication called sucralfate, a drug labeled to treat stomach ulcers, to help heal ulcers in the throat and mouth caused by calici.  This treatment is not widely agreed upon, but I see no trouble in trying it.

I also would urge you to talk to the vet about possibly giving the kitten some fluids under the skin at home if she appeared dehydrated when she was dropped off.  The vet can show you how to check for dehydration at home.  Dehydration can occur as the result of diarrhea, fever (which tends to accompany calici if she has it) and refusal to drink.  If you have never given subcutaneous fluids at home, it may sound a little daunting.  But most cats are pretty cooperative, and it’s not as challenging as you may have imagined once the vet shows you how to do it.  It is nowhere near the fight that bathing a cat is, and I find most cats even accept sub-q fluids far better than they accept oral medications.  It’s amazing how much a cat’s appetite and activity level can pick up if they have been dehydrated and this is corrected.

Finally, I am guessing that the vet will send this little one home with a special diet.  If not, I would encourage you to request one.  Let the vet know that you are having to syringe feed the kitten, and see if you can pick up some Hill’s a/d or Royal Canin’s Recovery RS.  These are both gentle on the stomach and have a smooth consistency that makes syringe feeding easy.  There are also formulas made for kitties who are having gastrological upset, such as Hill’s i/d and Royal Canin’s HE (there are other brands, too), but because of the high caloric values and appetite stimulating aromas of a/d and RS, I personally prefer those two for kitties who are anorexic or malnourished.  I am not a vet, however, and the final decision should be up to the doctor.

You can also tempt her to eat with some boiled chicken breast.  Even if this is the only thing she will eat voluntarily, it's okay, as long as it's keeping her appetite alive.  Continue to syringe feed her, but offer her as much chicken as she'll eat.  It's lean protein that her body will use efficiently, and feeding it to her for a few days is not going to cause her any deficiencies.

Good luck with the baby!

Jessica