First; Hello. I've been reading these forums on and off for a while but only registered today to ask a couple of questions.

I took two kittens to see the vet, one had diarrhea and couldn't keep any food down, the other I think has the same bug, but isn't vomiting so much.

The vet gave me small tins of hills prescription food for sensitive stomachs, 10ml of panacur for worms, and a 15ml tube of pro kolin+ which I think helps solidify the stools. All in all that came to £70.

Let me just say I've got no problems at all paying vet bills, but in this case I just feel like, for what I got, I could have saved myself a good few quid buying something just as effective online. If this isn't the case and what I got is only available on prescription, and it's also the best stuff, I'm happy with that.

The reason I ask is because when my adult cats were kittens, they had the same problems, but some water for a day, then small amounts of boiled chicken breast and a tiny bit of boiled rice, and a couple of days later they were fine.

And as for the panacur & pro Kolin as well, what do you think?

Thanks.

Hey Chuppy, welcome to the forum!

If you are more comfortable feeding some boiled chicken (with or without rice) and little of the cooking juice then why don't you. It will have the same soothing function as the Hill's sensitive stuff.

I think prokolin is an excellent product to have in the cupboard for just that eventuality; a nice and natural way to help poops firm up and to reestablish the gut flora that will have taken a beating from the bug and the runs.

Now the panacur. Other people might have a different opinion but unless you know that the runs are down to worms I personally wouldn't use a wormer if they are having diarrhoea because of an infection (or food change or whatever may have been the likely cause). Wormers are quite hard on the gut (well, let's talk bluntly, they are chemobombs to kill worms), which could upset the gut even further thus becoming counter-productive.

Do you know when they were last wormed and in the runny poop, did you see some presence of worms (though you cannot always see them)?

Hiya hobbs. Thanks for the reply.

Right, about the Prokolin: what I did today was give them a mil each of the stuff, then let it settle, then give them a teaspoon of the hills food they gave me.

First question: Is that the best thing to do, or should I just give the prokolin and leave them off food? How is it meant to be used. The kittens were sick again about an hour to 2 hours after they ate, same as before, but just froth came up. So, what to do?

In answer about the panacur, well, the mother cat was spayed today, and she was also checked for fleas and worms. She has neither. I've never seen any of the cats itching and although I haven't checked their stool, I have never seen any eggs.

They've never been wormed. They're between 8 and 12 weeks old.

Is it better to give it as a precautionary, as the vet advised? Or shouldn't I give it unless I know they've definitely got worms?

Thanks again

Gosh, sorry, I hadn't realised just how young they are (out of interest, did you take in a pregnant cat with her kittens? Just wondering because you aren't sure on their age). They need to be wormed monthly from now on until they are about 6 months old. However, as I said, I am not sure whether now is the right time to worm them. Well, it is if they have got worms and it isn't if they have an infection. Perhaps someone else will chip in with their view

You shouldn't really starve such young kittens and if they still have the runs you need to make sure that they take in enough moisture to make up for the loss of moisture with the runny bum.

Since you now have tried them on the sensitive food I would be inclined to just persevere with it and the prokolin for another couple of feeds to see whether they will be able to contain the next few meals. Perhaps only feed them tiny amounts but often so as not to tax the system too much. Alternatively, try some boiled chicken and a little rice as well as some cooking water to see whether that will calm their stomachs (if it is indeed a bug). If you have a blender, you could pop it in there and pulp it.

Sorry not to be of more help but I hope that they will be loads better soon so that you can stop worrying about them.

i had my little Freddy very ill before Christmas and he needed to stay in for 24 hours on a drip as he was so poorly. they had said to try the chicken and rice for 2 days, which i did. he seemed to improve with the sickness and the runs, but i could see he himself was worse.

when he came home they gave him EXACTLY the same as your vets have given you - and including the overnight stay and blood tests, it came to £200. so i would say it sounds about right what they charged you.

and within 48 hours Freddy was so much better, i couldn't thank the vets enough

__________________

Thanks for both the replies. Appreciate that.. Hobbs, the mother cat got pregnant and we kept the kittens. I know exactly how old they are I just can't recall the exact date. They're both good water drinkers and always have a big bowl of fresh water upstairs and down.

I'll let you know how they get on.

P.S - Freddy was only 9 and a half weeks old when he was ill just FYI

__________________