Expert: Karen Craft - 6/25/2007

Question
QUESTION: My girlfriend an I adopted a "3 month old" kitten from a pound. I put 3 month old in quotes because he is only just over a pound and i think he should be heavier. Anyway, he was having diarrhea. We took snuffy to the vet and she game him meds for that. Then it only got worse. We took him back and the vet put him on special wet cat food(i/d), and more meds. Well he's not having diarrhea anymore although it is still lose. Our main concern is that we haven't seen him drink from his water bowl. It's always fresh water so that's not the problem. It also appears that he urinates very little. I'm worried that he may have a urinary tract problem. All we want is for this cat to be ok so we can show our parents that we can handle the responsibility. All of this has happened in about the last week. If there is any insight that you can offer or you can tell me what is wrong with our cat, it would be very appreciated. Thnaks

Randall,
Louisiana

ANSWER: Hi Randall,

Do you know the names of the medicines the vet gave you? I/D food is for cats with gastrointestinal problems. What did the vet tell you he had? Most 3 month olds should be a lot more than one pound.

I don't agree with the type of food the vet put him on. There are much better cat foods than that stuff. You need to get him on a mostly or all grain free food.

Go to a good pet store and get canned foods such as Wellness, EVO, Nature's Variety, or some other along these lines. I think you will find that switching your cat to one of these type of foods will be have him be doing better. Don't feed him dry foods. Cats get a lot of their water from their foods. Dry food defeats that.

Follow the label directions on how much to give him. I think this help him immensely. Good luck and write back and let me know how he is doing. And if he isn't putting on weight I will give you a recipe for some stuff that will do that.

Ciao, Karen

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

QUESTION: The food we are feeding him right now seems to be doing fine. Im really concerned about him not urinating alot. Any advice on that matter?

Randall

Answer
Hi Randall,

Cats are quick hit and run drinkers. You may not see him drink the water. If your kitten is only a pound he is not going to urinate a lot out. He should be urinating at least 3-4 times a day though. If he is not you need to try to get some more water in his system. With my cats I add extra water to their canned food when I place it in their bowls. You can try to do that. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen