Maine Coon Kittens Have the Runs

By KLO (Guest Post)

I have a Maine Coon kitten who has experienced bouts of diarrhea for the past several months. He has been treated for worms and coccidia. The latest episode seems to have been caused by the dry kitten food he loves(Whiskas). The vet said that this breed seems to have a sensitive digestive system. I have switched him to Purina One Sensitive Systems dry cat food and so far no more diarrhea.

By

Happy Pets

Runny stools can be a sign of worms and/or protozoan such as coccidia or giardia.

Feed them food grade diatomaceous earth daily (we feed it as soon as little ones are eating on their own) http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html to eliminate all intestinal worms. If worms is the problem within 48 hours you will see firmer stools. Otherwise, I would consider coccidia or giardia with the quickest organic remedy being Kocci Free - http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/coccidia.html - which is more effective than Albon or Flagl.

Otherwise, it could be the food. Feeding species appropriate nutrition is best: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/animal_nutrition.html

By

Oriente22

My Maine Coon, Diesel, had the runs when he was a kitten, so I assumed he might be allergic to corn like my other kitty, Bailey. Since I've fed him Eukanuba dry food, which has very little corn, he's been fine.

By

GrammySheila

And do not give them MILK! Contrary to popular opinion, kittens should not drink milk as it can cause diarrhea. By all means, you should have them checked out by the vet as soon as possible as I would definitely worry about the cause of the diarrhea and the chance of the diarrhea causing dehydration.

God Bless, Sheila in Decatur, IL

By

Beth

If you recently got them, it could be due to the change in their diet. Definitely check with the vet just in case it's NOT!

By

Maryeileen

Take them to a vet for a proper diagnosis. Untreated diarrhea can be fatal depending on the cause.

By

obiwan

When we adopted our kitten she had horrible diarrhea with an unbelieveably foul odor. After repeated trips to the vet, she was taken off kitten food and placed on adult food. This worked and she's been fine ever since.

By Barbara (Guest Post)

I do a lot of fostering for the Humane Society and we use pumpkin to help with loose stools. I generally mix it with cream or half and half. Mixing it with Pedialyte is helpful as well to prevent dehydration. It is also a good idea to take a stool sample to the vet to make sure it's nothing more than a digestive system upset. Good Luck!

By

WildIrish

To be safe, I'd just take them to the vet right away. :-)

By

Cyinda

This is common with kittens, but they can also have Worms or Giardia (& Giardia can be contagious to humans & other pets) so have her checked out by a vet. Also, be aware that Giardia can also have a false negative. If you want to try something simple first, I'd suggest giving her 1 teaspoon of plain (unflavored) yogurt (with live cultures) 2 or 3 times per day for at least a week. The live cultures can sometimes stop diarrhea in humans & animals... I've even seen a bottle of Liquid Acidophilus stop diarrhea in a horse that had diarrhea for over a year & the vets couldn't figure out what was wrong... But the live cultures worked for him! Yogurt also works for a pet or human who gets diarrhea from antibiotics.

By

schubunny

Make sure the kitten gets lots of fluid, diarrhea severly dehydrates. If the issue does not go away in a couple of days bring it to the vet. It could be something a lot more serious than just a little tummy upset.