Loose stools in rescued kittens

I rescued 2 feral kittens(approx 3 months & 2 months)two weeks ago.I am feeding them Purina Kitten Chow. Their stools are soft but not watery. They've been de-wormed, and fecal tests are negative. One suggestion has been to feed them chicken and rice and another has been to give them Metamucil, which seems unusual as it helps with constipation. Is either of these ideas sound? What else do you suggest? Please help as I'm really tired of such frequent cleaning of a very smelly litter box! Thanks

  • Vetinfo

    By: Kara McCarty El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 04/19/2011

    Although they have been dewormed and had negative fecal checks parasites are always the first thing to suspect in a kitten with loose stools, especially feral kittens. Some protozoans are difficult to pick up on a fecal check because they are shed intermittently. Coccidia and giardia are the most common. Treatment, with amprolium and metronidazole respectively, is sometimes done, even if the parasite isn't found, if a strong suspicion of the parasite being present is there. Viral infections, such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus or feline infectious peritonitis, can also cause chronic diarrhea. Have your kittens been tested? Boiled chicken and rice, mixed in a 50:50 proportion, is a good bland diet for cats but can only be used short term as it is not nutritionally balanced. Metamucil does help with diarrhea as it allows colonic reabsorption of water and can absorb some toxins produced by bad bacteria in the colon but is more helpful in dogs than cats for diarrhea. Kara, DVM

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