Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,
Well I help out a local cat rescue group by doing foster care and am going a little crazy with the current litter of kittens in my house. There are 3 of them, plus their mother...who all have diarrhea. One of our own cats seemed to have caught what they have as well so I took her to the vet to get a diagnosis. They told me it was hookworms and gave her a pill and told me to keep her isolated at home. So I have kept her in our office- which is now decorated with little drops of diarrhea as she doesn't seem to be able to control it all the time.
The vet said the diarrhea should have cleared up in a couple days but it didn't so I gave her some strongid to maybe help clear out the worms (the rescue group gave me some to give to all the kittens for the hookworms because they probably have it too).
So as of today, with a worming pill last week and a dose of strongid a few days ago, our cat still has "leaky" diarrhea and the kittens still have it as well. They received some strongid 3 days ago.
I know that dewormers cause more diarrhea at first but when should I expect it to start clearing up? Should I wait a few days and see what happens or should I call our vet and take our cat in again?
I am getting frustrated since the kittens are kept in one room, our cat in another, and two feluk positive cats in another room. So I am caring for all these sick cats which takes about 45mins a day and I want to get them all better so I can find them homes! Not to mention we will have to replace the carpet in all three rooms. *sigh*
Thanks for listening. Advice much appreciated....

Maybe it wasn't hook worms. Did you vet treat blindly, without a stool sample? Maybe it's time for that. Also, with diarrhea going on for so long, all of your cats but especially the kittens are in danger of being dehydrated. If you and your vet don't get a handle on this quickly you could face dire results - kittens can go downhill very fast!

My advice: stool sample for ALL of them, bring them all in if possible so your vet can check each of them and determine their hydration status, and medicine to stop the diarrhea, while tests are being run to determine what caused it. Diarrhea is a nuisance, yes, but it can be dangerous as well, especially in kittens!

Don't wait on this, have them seen and tested. And don't give them anymore wormers before you know what you're dealing with.

this sounds exactly what was wrong with my kitten, have them look for a viral or bactieral infection. i gave her wormer and it did nothing but get her dyhydrated. she ended up have inflamed instestines due to a bacterial/viral infection it got so bad after a week she wouldnt even drink or eat.
let us know

Obviously it's something more or even different than hookworms. If you are fostering through an organization, then there may be a vet who does work for free as a service to them. See if you can get mom and kittens tested for parasites.

Good luck!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks guys. I know how fast kittens can go downhill with diarrhea because I've had it happen before. One of them even vomited this morning and I caught another kitten eating it. (eww)I talked with the woman I work with from the rescue group and am calling their vet tomorrow to get them in to have fecal tests, etc. She agrees with what you said, that it might be viral or bacterial instead of worms.
But the vet we took our cat to DID do a fecal test and diagnosed worms. That's why we're confused as to why the dewormer seemingly had no effect. I'm calling them tomorrow as well.
*sigh*
Thanks for the advice...I'll try to post tomorrow or Friday what I find out.
-Laura and the kitties