help ! adopted kitty has both diarrhea and constipation prob

[Giovanni]

Hello! I need help!
We recently adopted a ~6week old kitty from the kitten rescue, and she has been eating voraciously and frequently.
however, when we feed her the physician's formula soft food she had really runny bowel movement. Then we added some dry food in the mix (she wont eat dry alone) and then she had constipation so badly that she tries and tries but does not succeed BM.

so then we consulted the ladies at the rescue who had already dewormed her before given to us and they recommended soft food by PetGold. We tried that, but then she is back to having diarrhea again.

I looked up info everywhere and it's usually on either diarrhea or constipation alone, the combination has me befuddled and very worried about the kitty.

Can anyone help? if it doesn't get better by morning we will take her to the vet.

another note is that when we first got the kitty she was unresponsive, quiet, and really frightened. Now it's been 1.5 wks and she is playing, alert, and looking happy while having grown a bit as well, so we know she is doing well. But just the food bit ....

Also, she has trouble knowing to go to the litter box sometimes. sometimes she hits, sometimes she misses. the other kitten we got from the shelter was fine with the litterbox bit. any hints?

thanks a mil!

Giovanni

[Traci]

You need to get her to your vet anyway, she needs a thorough health exam, your vet can check a stool sample for worms, coccidia, giardia, etc. Please tell your vet the name of the dewormer the resuce people used, so that he knows what it was, and when it was given. Chances are, it wasn't appropriate.

The diet also isn't appropriate, try using Iams canned kitten food or Science Diet kitten growth, most kittens will do fine on these kitten food brands. Switching foods is not recommended and will of course cause one or both of these problems. Starting her on Iams or Science Diet now will probably be in her best interests.

Regardless, your vet needs to examine her thoroughly for a possible obstruction problem, bacterial overgrowth, or a miriad of other problems that could be contributing to the diarrhea and constipation. Don't wait on this, get her seen first thing in the morning.

[Andyck]

First, your kitty needs to be seen by a vet for a complete and thorough examination. There are multiple health issues that could be creating and/or affecting her bowel problems, and need to be assessed.

Second, Kittens need to be fed "kitten food" until they are about a year old. Their digestive systems are extremely delicate and at the same time their bodies are demanding so much during this intensive growing time that they really need kitten formulated foods. Adult or non-descript foods can be too harsh for their system and can intensify a present or existing health problem.

A word of caution about changing foods... When changing from dry to canned, canned to dry, or to or from prescription diet, it needs to be done gradually. Abrupt changes can result in diarrhea, constipation, or both. It's much the same as if your diet was changed from high fiber to liquids, soft foods to high fiber, or high carbohydrates to high protein. Changing diets needs to be done gradually.

Please keep us posted on how your little girl is doing!!