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It’s not very uncommon to find roundworms in cats, especially in kittens. When kittens have roundworm infestations, it is usually because the worms have been passed on to them by their mother prior to their birth or following their birth through their mother’s milk. Cats of any age can be infested with roundworms, as can dogs; but these parasites can be particularly hard on kittens.

Kittens are much more vulnerable to the problems roundworms can cause than adult cats are, although older cats that have become debilitated can sometimes be at a high risk of becoming seriously ill should they become infected with roundworms.

What are Roundworms

Roundworms are parasites that live in the intestines of dogs, cats, and other animals as well as of humans. Roundworm infestations are contagious in the sense that their eggs can be transported from one animal to the next, either by direct contact or through dirt or debris that can harbor them.

With dogs and cats, roundworms are usually spread by feces, in which their eggs will usually be present once an animal has become infected. These eggs usually enter the feline’s body through its mouth if the cat should lick its paws, which cats of course frequently do, and the paws have become contaminated. In some instances, roundworm larvae will burrow through the skin.

How Roundworms Look Like

Roundworms are long, thin worms. In fact, they are so thin that they bear some resemblance to spaghetti. While they can be quite small, they can at times grow to be anywhere from 3 to 5 or 6 inches in length, particularly if they reside in a cat’s intestines, where there is always an ample supply of food.

There are a number of different species of roundworms. The two species known to affect cats are Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina, with T. cati being the more common of the two.

Once inside an animal, the adult worms take up residence in its intestines. The larvae however can travel throughout the body through the bloodstream and take up residence in other organs, such as the liver and the lungs.

In most cases, they do not cause damage, although on some occasions they will. If roundworms should take up residence in an eye for example, vision problems or even blindness can result.

Most of the time, roundworms are ingested as eggs and find their way into the intestines. It is in the intestinal tract where these eggs hatch, after which the larvae begin their migration into the bloodstream and throughout the body. The larvae will enter another stage in their development while in the liver and will enter yet another stage after passing into the lungs through the bloodstream.

When they mature in the lungs, they tend to be coughed up by the cat (one of the symptoms of an infection) and are then swallowed, after which they will return to the intestines to become adult worms. The adults then lay their eggs in the intestines to start the cycle all over again.

It should be noted that the eggs of roundworms are not always infective.  It is only three weeks or so after they have first passed into a cat’s intestines that they will become infective. It is at this point that the infection can spread if the roundworm eggs are then passed into the intestines and into a cat’s feces.

Transmammary Infection

As noted previously, one source of roundworms in kittens is the mother’s milk. When this occurs, it is referred to as a transmammary infection. Often, the immature larvae are the source of the problem as they may be present in the mother cat’s mammary glands. Kittens are less apt to pick up eggs from feces unless one or more of the other kittens in a litter have become infected.

Adult cats will sometimes become infected by roundworms by eating what are called paratenic hosts. Rodents often play the role of paratenic hosts. These are hosts in which roundworm eggs are present. These eggs may hatch in the host’s intestines, but cannot mature as long as they are in that host.

Once eaten by cats, or another animal, the eggs can mature, undergo a transformation into larvae, and eventually become adult worms, at which point the life cycle will resume. In some cases, the larvae may exist for some time in a dormant state.

When a female cat becomes pregnant, these inactive larvae will sometimes come out of dormancy and will be passed to the kittens through the mother’s milk or passed through the placenta prior to the kitten’s birth.

Roundworms are not the only type of worms that can infest cats, but they are the most common. Other types of worms that can cause problems are hookworms, tapeworms, and lungworms. All three types can create problems for a cat, and it is the hookworm that is potentially the most dangerous parasite, especially when kittens are involved.

Symptoms of Roundworms in Cats

While roundworms can be especially hard on kittens, their presence isn’t always noticed in adult cats, many of which may not show any symptom of being infected. While roundworms can potentially be a serious health problem, their presence in an adult cat may not be detected until the cat suddenly becomes quite ill.

The symptoms that may be noticed can vary both in intensity and in type, depending on the overall health of your feline buddy, which of the two species is involved, and the location or locations of the infection.

Two of the more common symptoms are diarrhea and blood in the stool. In some cases, worms may be observed in the stool, or segments of worms may be noticed in the area immediately surrounding the cat’s anus. Your cat may suffer from bloating, weight loss, or both conditions, and vomiting is a fairly common symptom as well.

In instances of bloating, your pussy may suddenly begin to take on a potbellied appearance. In particularly severe cases, your cat may have coughing spells or have trouble breathing, indicating that the infestation may be limited to the digestive system but may be affecting the cat’s lungs as well.

Diagnosis – Look for Floating Eggs

The next step would be conducting a diagnosis, which needs to be done by a veterinarian unless the presence of the parasites is obvious. While adult worms or segments of worms can usually be located in a cat’s feces fairly easily if they are present, determining if eggs are present can be somewhat more of a challenge since they are so small.

One technique that is often used is to place a sample of feces on a glass slide for viewing in a microscope. A special solution is mixed in with the feces. This solution causes the eggs to float to the top, where they tend to collect and become more visible. When viewed under a microscope, roundworm eggs are quite distinctive in appearance.

Dangers Posed to Cats

There are three primary threats that roundworms can pose to cats. Understanding what these threats are will help one to make a decision to have a cat treated:

• Roundworms or roundworm larvae in the lungs can lead to pneumonia.
• Roundworms in the intestines in sufficient quantities can rob a cat of the nutrition it requires.
• Roundworms in the intestines in large enough numbers can cause intestinal blockage, a very serious condition.

Treating Roundworms in Cats

Treatment for roundworms is generally not difficult as there are a number of medications that are both safe and effective. Both oral and topical treatments are available, and both are relatively inexpensive.

Treatments can also be given by injection. Injections are a common method of treatment for kittens, since they can be given together with a kitten’s booster shots. Several injections, at two- or three-week intervals, are needed since the medication kills the adult worms and larvae only, but not the worms’ eggs.

Eggs that are already present in a kitten or cat will hatch in about three weeks, at which time they become vulnerable to the mediation. Treatment should routinely be given to kittens since it is the kittens that are at a high risk of becoming quite ill.

Outdoor cats should be treated periodically for roundworms as well. Veterinarians usually suggest that heartworm medications be given to pets on a periodic basis. Heartworm medications, usually taken as pills, can take care of roundworms and hookworms as well.

Prognosis for a Cat Diagnosed with Roundworms

The prognosis is usually good if the medication has been given in good time. The prognosis for kittens may not be so good if treatment is not given, or is not given in time, since a kitten can easily become debilitated to the point where it may die.

Avoidance and Prevention

There are at least five things that can be done to keep your cat free of roundworms, none of which are particularly difficult. Preventing or treating an infection early on is usually far less expensive than treating a cat that has become very ill from roundworms.

• Feces should not be allowed to accumulate in your cat’s litter box. If there should happen to be eggs in the feces, some of the eggs could end up on the cat’s paws and could be ingested the next time your cat licks its paws to wash itself.
• When scheduling an annual examination for your cat, ask the veterinarian to test a fecal sample for eggs unless that is already normal practice during such an exam. If roundworms appear to be a common problem where you live, especially if your cat is an outdoor cat, having a fecal exam done several times a year would not be a bad idea.
• If you are a breeder, female cats (called queens) should be dewormed before they are allowed to become pregnant to prevent the transmission of an infection from the mother to her kittens.
• To the extent possible, control insects and rodents that may be carriers around your property.
• See that your cat receives heartworm medication periodically as prescribed by your veterinarian. Many, if not most, heartworm medications will eliminate roundworms as well.

Dangers Posed to Humans

The species of roundworms that affect cats cannot mature in a human host. The human then would assume the role of a paratenic host. The fact that the eggs will not fully mature does not however mean that humans will never feel the effects of their presence.

The eggs can hatch and enter the larval stage but can go no further. These larvae, known as stage 2 larvae, can however travel throughout the body and cause diseases in various organs, including the lungs, the eyes, the brain, and the liver.

Toxocariasis Disease

A disease in humans caused by these larvae is called toxocariasis. Toxocariasis is especially harmful if it affects the eyes since it can lead to blindness. If the larvae migrate to other organs, they can cause inflammation, leading to an immune system response that can at times prove damaging to organs.

The good news in all of these is that roundworm infections, once they are known to exist, are usually easily treatable. In addition, healthy adult cats are much less likely to become ill from an infection.

They should of course be treated if an infection is known to exist and be given periodic medications to prevent infections from occurring in the first place. While roundworms cannot mature in the human body, the immature larvae are still capable of causing a number of serious problems.

Cats are generally considered to be very independent animals. They can often safely be left to their own devices. However, it is also the case that they can provide their owners with a lot of love and affection. In order to have a good relationship with a pet cat is important to be able to understand cat body language, and to interpret cat behavior.

Despite the fact that cats are independent they can also be very territorial about where they live. They will rub themselves in their area to leave scent behind. This behavior is known in the animal world as marking territory, and is done when a cat wants to alert others to its presence. This territorial behavior can often lead to aggression as local cats fight for dominance.

Fighting between cats can also occur when a neighborhood female cat is in season. Male cats will fight to be the first to mate with her. Sometimes a cat’s general aggression can be directed towards humans. This is one of the main cat problems which owners must be aware of. The aggression usually stems from a cat having insufficient social stimulation as a kitten, both from other cats and in interactions with humans.

Aggressive Cat Behavior Towards Humans

People who do not know many facts about cats, often under-estimate the damage a cat can do against a human. A small dog that is the same size as a cat can do little damage, but the different is that the dog only has one weapon the mouth, while the cat has five, the mouth and four paws with sharp claws. This is why all cat owners should take aggressive cat behavior towards humans very seriously.

There are many different reasons for aggressive cat behavior towards humans. The most commons reasons are learned aggression, violent play, defensive aggression, offensive aggression, aggression associated with handling and redirected aggression. Aggressive cat behavior towards humans are often related to illness and pain. Especially if your nice and kind cats turns aggressive.

Just like humans will the cats tolerance become low when it is in pain or ill. It will often become aggressive if you touch it or it think you will, were it is in pain. You should always have your cat checked if you suspect it to be this. When the cat is healthy again, will the aggression often disappear.

Learned aggressive cat behavior towards humans

Learned aggression is that the cat has learned in some situation can it pay of to be aggressive. The cat has learned it can get its way if it is aggressive.

A classic example of aggressive:

Your cat does not like to be brushed, a day were the cat is in an extra bad mood, will it hiss and try to hit you. You will pull your hand back. The cat will then think “HEY, my lovely owner stopped, I will just do the same next time”. It has now learned that by being aggressive towards you, it won’t have to be brushed.

Solution to this aggressive cat behavior towards human

If you react the way the cats want on its aggressive cat behavior, will it use the same tactic the next time. If your cat react aggressively when you touch it, the most correct way will be not to move the hand, but no one want to be close to an angry cat.

This is why you have to be clever, you could use like stick or something and keep touching it and just let it go all out on that stick. At some point the cat realize that it does not help and you should be able to touch it. You can increase the effect by giving the cat a snack if it does not react aggressive.

Violent play in cats

Aggression in the form of violent and uncontrolled play is very common, but also very easy to solve. The problem can be everything from the cat has its claws a little too far out when playing or the cat attacks the owner with biding and scratching.

Violent playing is mostly a problem for indoor cats, because they have to get of some energy. And they can’t run outside and hunt. It is a common problem when the cat is a kitten and a young cat, and it will often disappear when it grow up. But for some cats it does not disappear. There are two reasons for this behavior, under stimulating and learning and a lot of the times both.

Under stimulating:

Under stimulating is mostly indoor cats who are bored and because they can’t hunt birds and mice outside, they hunt humans to satisfy their hunting instinct.

Learning:

It is often the cat owner who “teaches” the cat to be violent, because it fun to let the small kitten attack the hand or foot. And owner does not stop it, because it does not really hurt that much. But when the cat gets older, it still think it is okay, but now it hurts, because its teeth and claws has grown out. It is also a matter of kitten development.

When the kitten is small it fight with its siblings, if the cat bites two hard the other cat will react. And none of the cats want that, that is why the kittens adjusts the power of their bite so the playing can continue without anyone getting angry. Single kittens or kittens that have been taken away from the mother to soon will often have a hard time playing “nice”.

The solution to this is to learn the cat to play nice or prevent it from beginning to play rough. It is easy to prevent the cat from becoming violent if you follow these rules:

• Your hands are for caressing and not for playing.
• Always use toys when playing. So the cat attacks the toys and not you.
• Stop the playing if the cat begins to play rough.
• If the cat attacks the foot when hunting a toy, stand still, it is not fun to attack a “dead” foot.
• Make sure to play with your cat on a daily basis, especially with indoor cats.
• Make sure to stimulate the cat in different ways

If the cat already is aggressive the problem is harder to deal with, but it can still be possible learn the cat to play nice with this six rules. But if it more seriously you could try to spray the cat with some water if it is too violent.

NEVER user any form of physical punishment, it will only make it worse and more personal for the cat. Another solution could be to find the kitten or young cat a playmate.

Defensive Aggressive Cat Behavior Towards Humans

This is probably the most common reason for aggressive cat behavior towards humans. The cat uses the aggression as a defense. The cat becomes aggressive when it feels threatened, if it can escape will it’s normally do that. Defensive aggression often happens when a cat it held or is forced up in a corner. Insecure cats will often use this form of aggression.

A bad socializing can develop this form of aggression. A cat that is use to being carried around and held will often be more likely to accept a lot more than a cat who has not been use to it. Its behavior will become worse and worse, because it is a combination of learned aggression and defensive aggression.

An example:

Your cat is scared of the neighbor’s 4 year old girl because she once pulled it by the tail. Next time she does your cat will turn around and scratch her, and she stops. The cat now knows that it helps (learned aggression).

Next time she does it, will it do the same, this become worse and worse, and next time the little girl come over to visit you, your cat will instantly attack the girl, because then it does not have to be pulled by the tail.

Solution to this cat behavior

Defensive aggression is easiest being avoided by socializing the cat from the beginning. If the cat is very anxious and react very aggressive on you touching should you use the techniques from learned aggression. It is important never to corner a cat. And if there are kids evolved, tell them how to handle the cat correctly.

Offensive Aggressive Cat Behavior Towards Humans

This is the opposite of defensive aggression; this is where the cat uses aggression as a way of getting what it wants and to control certain situations. This cat behavior is normal with cats that are very confidence, and they know what they want and what they don’t, and they will not stand for anything.

The cat will often become aggressive in handling situation, like when it is getting brushed, it does not attack because it is scared like defensive aggression, but because it don’t want that right now. It only want to get petted when it is in the mood for it. It becomes worse if the owner accept this behavior, because it then becomes learned aggression.

Solution to this cat behavior

The keyword here is control. To take control you have to do following things. First you have to tell the cat that it gets nothing out of being aggressive, so if you are trying to get it down from the chair and it reacts aggressive, don’t stop, keep pushing it down.

To take control is it a good idea to use the approach “something for something”. The best things here is to take control over food.

First separate its daily portions in to small portions, ever time it’s time for food, you call after it. So it knows that it have to come to you to get food and not the other way around, you are not its waiter. When the cat comes try to touch it, start just by padding the back, if it reacts aggressive, you put the food away and wait for a bit and then try again.

Slowly increase the amount of handling and padding. The end result will be that the cat understands that it does not help to be aggressive.

Aggression Associated with Handling the Cat

Most cats love to get petted, and some even seek it. But it can suddenly change, and it bites and scratches and then run off. This is why many people who do not like cats say that they are unpredictable. It is hard to say what the reason for such behavior is, but it is most likely that the cat is in conflict with itself.

At one side it wants to get petted, but one the other hand it does not want the owner to get to close, or maybe there is some areas were the cat does not like to be petted. The cat has a line of how much and were it want to be petted, if the line is cross it becomes aggressive. The stomach is for some reason the place you don’t want to touch your cat.

Solution to this cat behavior

This problem can be prevented by socializing the kitten, if the kitten is use to being handled from it is a kitten, will most likely accept more handling when it grow up. But of course are all cats not the same, some cats love to be petted and someone does not.

It is also a great idea to learn the cats signals. Even though it looks like the cat just out of no where becomes aggressive does it actually show some signs, that indicate that you are soon crossing the line. First it will stop purring, and after that the tail will begin to swing from site to site, if that happens it is about time that you stop petting the cat.

You can also trough cat training make the cat love petting more. First you need to learn were the cats line is, when you do then stop before you cross it. For example if it likes to be petted in 1 min, then stop after 45 seconds. This should slowly increase the time of where the cats like to be petted.

There are 3 things you always should remember:

• Make sure never to hold the cat to hard
• Beware of the signs, that indicate that you should stop petting the cat.
• Do not touch the sensitive places on the cat, such as the stomach before you have trained it to accept it.

Redirected Aggressive Cat Behavior Towards Humans

Redirected aggression is when aggressive reactions are taken out on a target, which did not trigger the behavior. This happens when it is not possible to react on the “real” thing. This is common with most animals and humans. This redirected aggression often happens when another cat triggers the behavior.

For example if the cat is sitting in the window hissing at a cat outside, because it cannot get to it, but it is agitated it attacks you instead because you are the closet and easiest target.

Solution to this cat behavior

To solve this problem you have to find the reason for it, because this cannot be solved like other “aggressive cat behavior towards humans”, because it is not really the humans fault. If the cats attacks you when you stand between the cat and a new cat in the house should try to solve the problem between the two cats.

If your cat becomes aggressive because of cats outside the house, should try to remove the cats outside.

Aggressive Cat Behavior Toward Other Cats

It often happens that the peace in the house is ruined by two cats fighting or bulling each other. And it can be very frustrated for the other, who might have bought two cats so they can enjoy each other’s company, but instead they are fighting.

The reason for aggressive cat behavior toward other cats

There are many reasons that can create the problems between the cats. The most common problem to this aggressive cat behavior is territorial aggression. Even though a cat is very flexible when it comes to socializing, you must remember that it is by nature a loner and it only socialize with other cats when it is time for mating and for female cats when it takes care for the kittens.

If there is enough food in one place it sometimes happens that cats gather in communities, were they live and raise kittens together. It is not like herd, more a lot of cats who tolerate each other’s presence.

There is a lot of cats who live perfect together and love each other’s company. But just like humans are their some cats who can’t together. It is totally normal that there are small arguments, with some wheezing and a couple of paw strokes. You first have to be worried if it turns in to frequent arguments which turn in to real fights.

The kittens development has a great impact on the cats social behavior towards other cats. Cats who has grown up with other cats are more social than cats who have not. Also, cat who have been taken away from the mother to soon, is often more antisocial.

It also happens that indoor cats that can see cats moving around outside the house become aggressive towards each other. If two cats who normally is great friends becomes aggressive towards each other can be because one of the cats has been some were else, like the vet, and is carrying smells of other cats.

A house with a lot of cats can give the cats stress and stress can lead to aggression. It is not unusually to see that there is one cat out of many in the house who will be the victim to the others cats bullying. This is not a problem with outdoor cats because they can just hide or runaway for a while. But for indoor cats there is no hiding places and the cat won’t have a good life.

How to solve aggressive cat behavior towards other cats?

If you haven’t done it, than sterilize or castrate your cats. Cats who are sterilized or castrated tend to fight less. But it doesn’t help every time.

Prevent aggressive cat behavior

It is always a great idea to prevent a problem before it happens. It is always a good idea to introduce two cats to each other slowly. Start by keeping them separated with only a door between them, so they can smell each other. After a couple of days, open the door a bit so they can see each other, but not touch. After a couple of days more, you can put them together.

Stay in the background and be passive and calm, your anxiety can be felt by the cats. If the cats begin to fight, take a blanket or spray them with water to keep them apart. If the cats do not begin to fight you can begin to play with together. Or try to give them some cat herbs, this will make them more playful and it can break the ice between the two cats.

Treatment:

If your cats already are together, it can help if the cat has its own food, water and sleeping spot. Try to feed the cats together in the same room, but with great distance. If you are lucky will they accept each other over some time, because they relate the presence of the other cat to something nice, food.

You can also try pheromones. It is not all cats who can live together, and sometimes you just have to accept that you have to find a new home for one of the cats.

Cat behavior which is deemed to be aggressive or destructive can often been corrected by training cats. As with dogs, training a cat will involve rewarding desired behavior and punishing behavior which is deemed to be wrong. Cats cannot be trained to the same level of obedience as dogs. But their behavior can be altered with consistent and repetitive training.

A lot of cat behavior can be explained by the fact that domesticated cats are closely related to, and descended from, wild animals. When pet owners are looking for a cat behavior meaning it is often that any actions are instinctive as a result of evolution. Despite this, cat training is always a viable option to attempt to address any behavior which is deemed to be destructive or dangerous.

If you own kittens, then you must be worried about their health. Cats can have serious illnesses that can eventually lead to their death. You do not want that to happen. For you to be prepared, you need to know the most common cat ailment like digestive problems and how to prevent and treat them.

What to Do About Kitten Constipation

Kitten constipation is pretty common, especially among hand-reared kittens and premature kittens. The reason is because mother cats stimulate the anal region of their kittens frequently. If something happened to the mother cat soon after her kittens were born, then this is something you will have to start doing. If you allow feces to build up inside the kittens’ anuses, it can turn toxic and kill them.

Premature kittens often have constipation because their organs and bodies are not fully developed. They need to be fed every hour or two with diluted kitten formula. Premature kittens, like other kittens, should have a bowel movement at least once every two days. They especially need to have their anus stimulated often to avoid kitten constipation.

To stimulate your kitten’s anus, you can try a warm wet cotton ball first, although it may be too rough for some kittens’ bottoms, especially the premature ones. The best way to stimulate your kitten’s bottom is with your index finger. Trim your nails and then start running warm water at the sink. When it’s the right temperature, put the kitten’s bottom in the stream and gently stimulate her anus. You’ll know you’re not doing it right if the kitten doesn’t have a bowel movement after you do it.

So how do you know if kitten constipation is a problem?

Normal kitten feces is easily passed and looked similar to brown toothpaste. If the feces are small, hard lumps, then your kitten is starting to get constipated. You’ll also know your kitten is constipated if he strains to have a bowel movement. Constipated kittens also tend to have a hard abdomen that’s distended and may be tender to the touch.

If your kitten has not had a bowel movement for more than two days, then try a small dose of liquid paraffin or another feline laxative. Use only about a half milliliter of paraffin with each feeding for one to two days. Avoid paraffin if the kitten is especially young. Instead, rub some white petroleum jelly into the kitten’s anus. Be sure to warm it up in the microwave a tiny bit before you rub it in.

One important factor in keeping kitten constipation away is how much exercise your kittens get. Keeping them in a box or cage will prevent them from getting the exercise they need to help their digestive system function properly. Be sure you let them out plenty of times per day to play, romp, and work those digestive muscles.

Another thing to watch is how much water your kittens drink. We all think cats and kittens drink milk all the time, but it’s important not to forget the water. Water keeps the kitten’s bowels hydrated and helps them pass stool more easily.

If the kitten constipation keeps coming back or never seems to go away, then it could be a symptom of a more serious problem. You should seek the advice of a veterinarian if you can’t seem to get rid of your kitten’s constipation.

Is Kitten Diarrhea Dangerous?

It may be difficult to know how serious kitten diarrhea really is. While you don’t want to panic, you certainly don’t want to let a problem escalate out of control. Taking action though will prevent it from getting any worse than it already is. Important nutrients that the body does need are lost when diarrhea is present. Do what you can to keep that loss to a minimum.

Food for a kitten with diarrhea?

It makes sense not to give your kitten food to fuel the diarrhea so that it doesn’t continue. There are some items you can offer though what may help to reduce it. Yogurt is a great food product that can kill bacteria in the body. You need to use plain yogurt though, a type that has fruit or various flavors added to it.

Cottage cheese is a good option for kitten diarrhea too. This isn’t something you want to give very much of though. A tablespoon at a time to see how our kitten reacts to it is a good idea. You can mix it up with some cooked beef too if you want to encourage your kitten to consume it.

Cooked rice is filling so your kitten won’t be as hungry. It can help to absorb additional water that is in the body when those loose stools are being created. Rice is very good for kittens too as it contains large amounts of vitamins and nutrients that they need. It is never a good idea to deprive your kitten of all food while you wait for the diarrhea to pass.

What you do offer should be given in very small portions. You can offer it several times a day to give the body time to properly digest it. If your kitten doesn’t want to it you may need to fit it out of your hand and gently coax him or her to swallow it.

If kitten diarrhea doesn’t go away within 48 hours then it is time to kick it up a notch. Contact your vet so that they can examine your pet. Fecal testing can be done to find out if there are parasites or other factors present that can be causing it to continue. They can also do blood work to find out if there is any other type of health concern that needs to be explored in further detail.

Diarrhea in kittens can be a symptom of serious health problems

There are some serious health problems where kitten diarrhea is a common symptom. In addition to parasites it could be an indicator of leukemia, consuming poison, or a type of bacteria that has found its way into the body. This is part of the reason why it is so important for them to get vaccinations on schedule.

Most of the time kitten diarrhea isn’t anything serious to worry about. Yet there are times when a kitten can become dehydrated because of it. Make sure you continue to get your kitten to drink some water during the day when this is all going on. If they won’t drink on their own then they use of a dropper may be necessary.

Kittens tend to become dehydrated as a result of diarrhea faster than dogs do. They can end up dying if you don’t take swift action to offset it. Sometimes kitten diarrhea is chronic which means the cat is continually suffering from it. This is often an indication that you need to make dietary changes for your kitten.

They may have an allergy to various types of ingredients found in cheap cat food. Canned food tends to create a problem less often than dry cat food. Look for foods that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

Kitten Vomiting

Kittens may experience vomiting for a number of reasons, but some kitten vomiting may be the result of a more serious condition. Knowing the facts about the signs and symptoms of your kitten’s vomiting problem can help you make a more informed decision about treatment.

There are many reasons that may cause a kitten to vomit. Digestive upset is very often the cause of vomiting in cats and may be the result of hairballs, changes in diet, food sensitivity or allergies. Even something as simple as stress can result in occasional vomiting.

Serious causes of kitten vomiting

More serious causes of vomiting may include intestinal parasites, nervous system problems, peritonitis, poisons, kidney or liver disease, chronic renal failure, acute metritis or uterus problems, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, bowel or intestinal obstructions and skin diseases.

The key to determining if your kitten’s vomiting is caused by a simple problem or a more serious condition requiring treatment is know your kitten’s overall health habits and note any changes accordingly. This will allow you to notice extreme changes in your kitten.

Occasional vomiting may occur with healthy cats. Look for changes such as persistent vomiting or vomiting over long periods of time. Other warning signs include blood or feces in the vomit, projectile vomiting or parasites that can be seen in the vomit. The composition of the kitten’s vomit may provide clues to its cause.

Blood in vomit may indicate stomach problems or bleeding, mucus may mean a problem with the upper intestines; food may indicate poisons or digestive upset and vomit containing bile may mean a bowel problem. With persistent vomiting it is also wise to keep track of your kitten’s overall appearance.

Your kitten’s behavior can tell you a lot about their health

Look for other warning signs that can accompany serious problems such as diarrhea, lack of appetite, lethargy, and weight loss. If your kitten is vomiting repeatedly or has anything abnormal about their vomit and their general demeanor is different, then a trip to the vet’s office is probably warranted.

To determine the cause of your kitten’s vomiting, your vet will most likely run diagnostic tests and procedures. They may perform a blood chemistry test, blood cell counts, x-rays, urinalysis or ultrasounds to check for signs of injury or disease. Once a proper diagnosis is obtained, you and your vet can discuss treatment options.

Intravenous fluids, medications or even surgery may be needed to cure serious health problems. Treatment at home for simple kitten vomiting problems means keeping a close watch to prevent dehydration, which can be extremely serious for young cats.

How to avoid kitten vomiting

You can help avoid kitten vomiting by keeping your pet up to date on vaccinations to prevent serious diseases and keeping him free of worms and fleas. Worming for kittens should be done three times during the kitten’s early life, every two weeks.

Then your kitten should be wormed every two months for the first six months after that. Once this stage is reached a kitten or cat will only need to be wormed every three to six months on a regular schedule. Keeping your cats skin healthy will prevent hairball and skin conditions that cause licking and hair ingestion.

Provide your kitten with a healthy and nutritious diet, and avoid sudden changes in diet that may cause stomach upset. Change your kitten’s food over a period of time and in small doses. Always feed fresh food, don’t refrigerate older food to serve again as it may grow bacteria in it.

Don’t give your kitten cow’s milk as it often causes stomach upset. Groom your kitten regularly to prevent the ingestion of hair. If hairballs are a consistent problem, you may wish to discuss medications or over the counter treatments for hairballs with your vet.

Like humans, kittens may occasionally vomit to rid their bodies of unwanted or harmful substances. By knowing your kitten’s behavior and overall health, you will be able to determine if vomiting is occurring too much or if you kitten is showing signs of more serious problems.

Cats are carnivores and rely on the nutrients, vitamins and minerals contained in animal tissues to ensure that their specific nutritional requirements are met. Cats living in their natural habitat consume prey that is rich in protein and with a moderate amount of fat and low concentrations of carbohydrates. Their bodies are naturally adapted to need fewer carbohydrates and to metabolise protein faster than dogs and other omnivores.

Consequently, it’s important that kittens get the correct balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins, and water in their diet. During the first few months and years of your cats life their body is busily growing and developing, without good nutrition they risk severe health issues later in life. By ensuring that all the dietary components are well balanced, your kitten can develop and mature into a happy, healthy cat.

Commercial Kitten Food

The most convenient way to make sure that your kitten is getting a well balanced diet is through commercial kitten food. Pet food manufacturers produce food that will meet the nutritional needs of kittens without any additional supplements. When you’re selecting a commercial kitten food product, check the labelling to ensure that it states that it’s a ‘balanced and complete nutrition’. These declarations are regulated by state and federal agencies to guarantee their accuracy.

Balanced and complete kitten food is sold in three main forms: canned, dry and soft-moist. They will all contain the same essential nutrients; the main difference is in the amount of water they contain. Generally, dry foods are more economical, while canned foods are often more palatable.

Unless directed by your veterinarian, it’s important not to add any additional vitamins or mineral supplements into your kitten’s diet if you are feeding them commercial food that guarantees a balanced and complete diet. Excess minerals and vitamins can lead to skeletal problems, kidney stones and other serious ailments.

How Often do You Feed a Kitten?

As your kitten grows the amount of food required will also alter. Commercial pet food labels will typically provide guidelines on how much to feed your kitten as it matures. These labels will include estimates based on several different weight ranges. It’s a good idea to follow these guidelines when you first start using a certain brand of food and you can adjust it accordingly once you better understand your cat’s individual energy requirements.

Kittens have steep growing curves and their energy demands increase rapidly and its necessary adjust their daily food intake accordingly.

Free-choice Method of Feeding Kittens

If you have a kitten that is struggling to gain weight or is growing slowly you should use the free-choice method of feeding. This helps to reduce gastric distension that can occur when a kitten eats too rapidly. Free choice feeding is not recommended for kittens that are overweight or obese. Also, it’s important to bear in mind that neutered cats are at a higher risk of obesity and free choice feeding should be done cautiously.

The feeding frequency for meal-fed kittens six months old or younger should be three to four times a day. Once your kitten reaches six months old they are generally happy to be feed only twice a day. Most commonly, the transition towards an adult diet should start when your kitten is twelve months old. Kittens should always have access to fresh, clean drinking water. Often kittens prefer shallow water and food dishes, especially breeds that have ‘flat faces’, such as Persian cat.

If you do change your kitten’s diet, make sure that you do so using a slow transition over a period of approximately a week. Immediately replacing one diet with another can create gastrointestinal upsets or the refusal to eat. Start by replacing a small portion of the meal with the new food and gradually build this up until the new diet is introduced.

Always store unused can food in the refrigerator to maintain quality and try to bring it to room temperature before feeding it to your kitten as this will help to prevent stomach upsets. Dry food should be kept in a dry, cool location and any food that hasn’t been eaten within six months should be discarded.

Homemade Kitten Food

You can feed you kitten homemade diets if you prefer. However, ensure that the meals are prepared based on recipes that have been designed by a nutritionist to ensure that they are complete and well balanced. Be cautious of raw meat as it’s a potential source of pathogenic bacteria and parasites.

Also, while eggs are a great protein source, raw eggs can reduce the absorption of vitamin B and lead to coat and skin problems. Regular meals of raw fish should be avoided as can create a deficiency in thiamine (a B vitamin) and lead to a reduction in appetite and can cause seizures; in some extreme cases it can cause death.

Investing in good nutrition from the start of your kitten’s life will reduce the likelihood of your beloved pet developing obesity problems and other debilitating ailments that can be easily avoided with the correct diet. Ensuring that your kitten has a complete and balanced diet will set them up for a long and healthy life.

Best Kitten Food

Kitten food is obviously an product that we would want to choose wisely for the benefit of our little friend’s health and happiness. The fact is that choosing the right food is not easy as there are several brands for different types of kittens as well as having different nutritional values. There are many important factors to consider when choosing the best kitten food.

When you purchase kitten food, you most DEFINITELY want to avoid buying adult cat food. You wouldn’t feed you 5 or 6 month old child some spicy spaghetti that you made; instead you’d feed her baby food, according to her age. Just like human, a kitten’s digestive system is not developed well enough to be able to handle harsher foods that older cats would be eating.

Also, avoid any foods that contain any types of byproducts, for the same reason — digestion.

Kittens Nutritional Needs

Kitten food has a lot more nutrients that a growing kitten needs to develop properly. You should always read the ingredients and look for the first ingredient that has to be some sort of meat product, such as chicken or veal. Kittens need a lot of protein to help them develop their organs and muscles. It’s important to choose the food that made from good protein sources and avoid cheap protein sources that may not be digested by your kitten.

In addition, the best kitten food should contain complete vitamin and mineral profile as they are essential part of helping a kitten to grow into a strong, healthy adult feline. Make sure there is no artificial ingredients, colors and preservatives in the food.

Dry or Canned Food for Kittens

There is a common misconception that dry food is better for ANY animal’s digestive system, but quite the contrary, canned food holds better nutritional value.

Allow me to explain: All foods for kittens contain a percentage of moisture (empty calories). Let’s imagine taking all of the moisture or water out of dry food. Say there is 10% moisture that we omit, leaving the “dry matter” at 90%. If the most important ingredient, protein, is 20%, then you can divide that 20% by the 90% to get 22%, protein per pound of dry matter.

Now with canned kitten food, there’s obviously more moisture or water than dry matter. If there is 80% moisture or water and 20% dry matter and 5% protein, calculate the canned food the same way; 5% protein divided by 20% would be 25% protein per dry matter.

Since the canned food provides more protein per pound of dry matter than does the dry food, the canned food although better in nutritional quality, is actually less expensive, per pound as well. So, “getting what you pay for” isn’t always bad!

Here are some recommended food brands for your kitten:

KMR Kitten Milk Replacer — For orphaned or rejected kittens. This is much similar to the human infant formulas that we give to the children when they’re not nursing from their mothers.

BLUE Healthy Growth — For extra pleasurable flavor. This product offers a very nutritional “Chicken and Brown Rice” flavored formula.

Royal Canin Babycat Instinctive — If you’d prefer to give your kitten canned (moist) food as opposed to dry food.

You should compare different products and choose kitten food only from trusted company. Do not forget to browse for more information and reviews from other kitten owners. So you will be able to find the food that least expensive and still the best in nutritional value for your kitten.

Dry Kitten Food

Dry kitten food should be high in protein and fat to help meet the needs of your growing pet. You will find that many of the value brands are high in grains and other fillers that may not be beneficial to your pet’s health. Some whole grains and vegetables are okay for your kitten to eat but cats are carnivorous making quality meats the ingredient of choice.

Ash content is another issue and too much of this in your kitten’s food may result in urinary tract infections. Ash is a byproduct of the cooking process but higher quality meats will not contain as much ash from cooking as the lower quality meats often found in value foods.

Organic Kitten Food

You can even find organic dry kitten food for those who want to give their cats the best possible dry foods. You may choose to supplement their dry food with a small serving of moist food once a day but the wet food should not be left out as it may go bad. Dry cat food is the most convenient choice for many families that are constantly on the go and it may be left out for your cat or kitten to eat whenever they are hungry.

Turkey, chicken, beef, and assorted fish ingredients are all popular choices and some brands use several of these in their dry food recipes.

You may also want to look for dry kitten food that does not contain high amounts of chemicals that may be used for preserving the cat food. Quality brands may not have any unnatural preservatives making them a great option for those who want to keep their cat food as natural as possible.

Most organic brands will fall into this category while keeping additives out of the meat and vegetable products that are being raised to make these foods as well. Antibiotics, hormones, growth supplements, and other chemicals may be used to raise livestock or grow crops and there is much speculation at the health risks associated with these additives.

Talk to Your Vet

Taking some time to talk to your vet about his or her recommendations regarding healthy or organic cat and kitten food is always a good idea. Your vet may also be able to tell you what ingredients you should avoid at all costs. This can be helpful when you are researching the different brands available.

High quality ingredients may cost more but you will also not be paying for fillers and chemicals that are used for many value brands. You should look for the dry kitten food that has the highest quality ingredients while still falling within your budget restrictions.