Health Concerns, Worms?

[Bailey_]

Hi all,

We just brought home a new kitten from a rescue on Monday evening. The rescue had already given the kittens some dewormer, and their first shots. Tuesday morning we went into the spare room where we are keeping her and my husband found a little spot of vomit on the blankets.
When I cleaned out her litter, I inspected her poo (not like, ripping it apart with my bare hands or anything, just glancing to make sure I didn't see worms as I had a scare with my first cat when we got her too) and didn't notice anything unusual.

I don't know why but I still suspected something wasn't quite right - I didn't notice her eating very much, but we had chalked that up to the stress of a new home. I bought her a bit of soft food (100% chicken) and mixed a very tiny bit in with her kibble at which she promptly ate it all up. So I called the rescue again and talked to the girl and she said she'd drop off some more dewormer to us on Friday (tomorrow).

Of course last night she suddenly started meowing VERY loud. Concerned, I took her to her litter box and she promptly jumped in, had a bit of diahrea and then proceeded to vomit - a fairly large amount for such an underweight and tiny kitten. After the first vomit she dry-heaved some more, but nothing came out.

I'm thinking this is a sign of worms, but again - I've only ever had one cat in my life and I'm certainly not an expert. They've already been health-checked by a vet in our city, and apparently given a clean bill of health, so I would assume that worms would be the only thing possible?

Also, are worms something that could pass to my other animals and possibly us? My 14 month old daughter handles this new kitten a lot, so I'm concerned and paranoid now.

Comments?

[Love4himies]

I would not jump to the conclusion of worms and would not be giving any meds without checking with the vet.

It is quite common for small kittens to pick up a "bug" from resident cats who may have total immunity to it. The added stress of leaving her littermates and momma doesn't help either. Also, their digestive systems are very young yet so possilbly the change in food can cause upset.

Kittens can become dehydrated VERY quickly so if the vomiting continues I would be taking it into the vet.

[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

I would not jump to the conclusion of worms and would not be giving any meds without checking with the vet.

It is quite common for small kittens to pick up a "bug" from resident cats who may have total immunity to it. The added stress of leaving her littermates and momma doesn't help either. Also, their digestive systems are very young yet so possilbly the change in food can cause upset.

Kittens can become dehydrated VERY quickly so if the vomiting continues I would be taking it into the vet.

Thanks for the info. I haven't had a kitten for a loooong time, so this is all new to me.

She has been drinking a lot, which is good because I don't think she's dehydrated. That's one thing we've noticed.

I will make a vet checkup for her as soon as possible.

[sugarcatmom]

Is her food different from what she was eating at the rescue? Along with the stress of a new home, sometimes a diet change done too quickly can cause the same symptoms.

[Bailey_]

Oopsadazy Rescue was showing the cats at a petstore in our city for the day, and unfortunatley by the time my husband and I returned, the rescue volunteers had left for the night and no one in the store actually knew what food the kittens were on. We went to our specialty petstore to grab some Orijen Kitten (our older cat is also on Orijen and does well on it) and I found out on Tuesday from the rescue that they had put the kittens on a Science Diet formula.

Do you think I should put her back on Science Diet or just keep her on the Orijen?

[Love4himies]

I think you should change her food to canned, it is much better for her and easier for her to digest. It is very, very, very possible this is the food change from a really food to a better one.

http://www.catinfo.org/

And to get some really good facts on cat nutrition:

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

[Love4himies]

To check on dehydration, gently pinch the skin on the back of the neck and if it doesn't bounce right back into shape the kitten will need sub qs.

[sugarcatmom]

I agree with Love4himies about switching both cats to wet food. Doesn't have to be today or anything, but just something to keep in mind. In the meantime, I wouldn't go back on the SD, but you might want to pick up some probiotic capsules from a health food store to help balance your new kitty's intestinal flora. Natural Factor's Ultimate Multi is a good one - you would only need a tiny pinch mixed in with her food a couple times a day, until symptoms subside.

[Love4himies]

I have seen my fosters go from Wellness and raw (what I was feeding them) to Orijen (what the adoption store feeds them) and saw their fur and muscle mass actually decline. Even if your older kitty is doing well on Orijen, I bet he would do much better on canned/raw (if possible) . It is amazing what a change in food will do to a cat.

[Bailey_]

Wow, thanks so much to both of you for the information on their diets. I honestly haven't done much research into how to better a cats diet, I just assumed that my first cat has been on a good diet because she was eating Orijen.

The girl at the specialty store actually reccomended that I feed my cats raw when I was there to pick up the soft food for the kitten, she said I should just give them a little bit of raw chicken if I'm ever making it for dinner. I haven't ever put any of my animals on a RAW diet, but does that sound normal? Can't they get salmonella from that?

How often should they have the soft food in a day, and how much?

What kind of soft food should they be on if we were to switch them soon? I think I'm too used to dogs, I have lots to learn about cats!!! Thanks for the help!

[NoahGrey]

Yes, if you have a multi cat household, and one cat has worms, all of your cats could also get worms. Also humans can get worms as well. I would wear gloves (like the latex ones) when cleaning litter that has parasites.

ACO22

[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by ACO22

Yes, if you have a multi cat household, and one cat has worms, all of your cats could also get worms. Also humans can get worms as well. I would wear gloves (like the latex ones) when cleaning litter that has parasites.

ACO22

Oh dear. And this is why everyone needs to seperate new animals when they bring them home!!

Thanks ACO22, I will definitely be using gloves.

[allfurlove]

maybe you can call the vet and see if you could drop off a fecal sample to test? It's cheap, doesn't take long, then you will know for sure.

[NoahGrey]

Did you notice if the worms were alive in your cats vomit? They might be dead and coming up?

ACO22

[Love4himies]

Raw is their natural food. Their tummy has a higher acidity level and a much shorter digestive tract than humans so a raw diet only stays in them for about 12 hours, not enough time for bacteria to multiply.

I feed my cats a homemade raw (recipe from the catinfo website) along with Nature's Variety Instinct. You wouldn't believe the muscle mass a cat will develop on raw, especially a kitten.

[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

Raw is their natural food. Their tummy has a higher acidity level and a much shorter digestive tract than humans so a raw diet only stays in them for about 12 hours, not enough time for bacteria to multiply.

I feed my cats a homemade raw (recipe from the catinfo website) along with Nature's Variety Instinct. You wouldn't believe the muscle mass a cat will develop on raw, especially a kitten.

AWESOME! I just talked to hubby and we're going to start both cats soon. I'm taking before and after photos. Can't wait to start this process!

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Bailey_

I just talked to hubby and we're going to start both cats soon.

That's fantastic! You'll be amazed how much of an effect the proper nutrition can have on a cat's overall health and appearance. If you want to start slowly, you could offer some small pieces of lightly cooked chicken as a treat, and gradually cook it less and less. Some cats take to raw right away, but some need a little convincing. You'll likely have no problem getting Teeka eating raw given her young age, but if you need any tips for converting either of your cats, let me know.

There are also some really good frozen raw foods available from stores like Tail Blazers, if you want to try a few different varieties of meat. My cat really loves the Red Dog Blue Kat one.

[Bailey_]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

That's fantastic! You'll be amazed how much of an effect the proper nutrition can have on a cat's overall health and appearance. If you want to start slowly, you could offer some small pieces of lightly cooked chicken as a treat, and gradually cook it less and less. Some cats take to raw right away, but some need a little convincing. You'll likely have no problem getting Teeka eating raw given her young age, but if you need any tips for converting either of your cats, let me know.

There are also some really good frozen raw foods available from stores like Tail Blazers, if you want to try a few different varieties of meat. My cat really loves the Red Dog Blue Kat one.

Thanks SCM! I'm going out tomorrow to get our first RAW menu, and I've been scouring websites all night trying to figure out what I want to feed them. I need to be organized, because it seems like there are a lot of options and it's a tad overwhelming.

Does the Red Dog Blue Kat come in prepackaged forms, so you know how much to feed every day? I think that's my biggest concern...how much to feed my adult cat, Moo and how much to feed Teeka?

[Love4himies]

So glad to hear you are trying raw. You will not believe the difference it will make. After your kitten develops muscle and you visit with other kittens who are on cheap kibble, you will just be shocked at the difference.