My kitten has diarrhea :\

[Sujaki]

My 18 week old kitten, Chloe, has had diarrhea for a couple of days.. Its a bit of a long story.

Chloe got her last set of vaccines a week ago- we'll call this Day 1.
Two days later (Day 3), she vomited, and started going slightly off her food (canned Wellness and dry Orijen).
A day or two after this (day 4-5?), we suspect she accidentally ingested small plastic beads (diameter ---). At this point, she stopped eating almost entirely, was off in play and slept more.
She had slight diarrhea on Day 5-ish, still off food.
Soupy diarrhea on Day 6- she also started eating again, and played more.
Day 7 (this morning) she had more diarrhea. She ate more today.

She's also a known sink licker. And she doesn't drink much either.

We had planned to take her to the vet yesterday, but my mom, in an honest way said we should wait a day and maybe it would clear up...Chloe had diarrhea right after that of course, poor thing only got half of it in the litter box.
We called the vet today, explained the symptoms to the receptionist (she's a very nice lady- all the vets are, but they perscribe Hill's *sigh*).

She said that the illness was likely not from the vaccine, as symptoms would have shown up with 4 hours, apparently. She also says that the bead should have passed through if she did ingest one, and that it is most likely something of a feline gastro.
She told us not to feed Chloe for 24 hours, and then give her plain rice with a bit of boiled chicken for a day. The next day, feed half rice and half boiled chicken, and if she still has diarrhea again, to bring her in.

What do you think is happening? Should I go with the receptionists advice? Do you also have any suggestions?

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Sujaki

She told us not to feed Chloe for 24 hours, and then give her plain rice with a bit of boiled chicken for a day.

That would be appropriate for dogs, but not for cats, who really should not be fasted. Plus, your kitten is going to need the water provided by the wet food to counter the dehydrating effects of diarrhea. I'd be more inclined to get some slippery elm bark powder from a health food store and mix 1/8 to 1/4 of a tsp in with some plain chicken baby food a couple times a day. Perhaps some probiotic capsules would also be helpful - a non-dairy one with a few different types of organisms and a fairly high potency. You just need a pinch, which can also be mixed in with baby food.

[Love4himies]

I can't add anything more than what sugarcatmom has advised except to cut out all dry food. A kitten with diarrhea needs all the moisture he can possibly get in his body.

[Sujaki]

Thanks for all your input, guys.

Due to my mother being stubborn, we ended up doing what the receptionist said anyway- my mom actually cooked Chloe some rice and chicken. However, I secretly fed her canned food during the 'fasting' time. And I still fed her canned while we fed the rice..

In the end, my mom saw that the rice wasn't working, so we just put her on canned food again, and she's been back to normal.