Canberra Cat Vet Blog

Many kittens develop diarrhoea especially in the first week or two in their new homes.

Often it is due to the big changes in their lives - a new family, leaving mum, new surroundings, but most often it is because of the new diet. Even good quality kitten food causes diarrhoea in a kitten that is not used to it. Find out what the breeder or foster carer fed your kitten and feed some of the new food mixed in with some of the old food. Gradually increase the proportion of the new food over a couple of weeks.  

Kittens lose the enzyme for digesting milk very quickly so avoid dairy products. Kitten foods contain all the calcium and protein that a kitten requires.

Check when the kitten was last wormed. Worm young kittens every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old to avoid diarrhoea from worms.

If your kitten develops diarrhoea switch to just cooked white chicken for a couple of meals and deworm with a reputable wormer like Milbemax. Do not use a wormer based on piperazine.

If the faeces does not firm up within 24 hours or your kitten is lethargic, vomiting or not eating consult a vet immediately. Kittens quickly dehydrate and become very ill because of fluid loss.

More serious causes of diarrhoea include enteritis (also known as panleukopenia), giardia, coccidia, cryptosporidium, trichomonas,clostridia, salmonella and campylobacter. Take a sample of the diarrhoea to your vet so that we can check for them if necessary.

Desexing, or speying, a female cat is major abdominal surgery. The ovaries and uterus are removed under a general anaesthetic.

At Canberra Cat Vet we take great care to ensure that your cat is as comfortable and safe as possible before, during and after the surgery.

Included in the fee for a spey is an admission examination and discussion of her general health. Pain prevention is given before, during and after surgery. We also send her home with pain relief for you to mix in her food over the following few days.

Before her anaesthetic we give her a sedative and handle her as quietly and gently as possible to reassure her. Intravenous fluids are essential to protect cats' fragile kidneys and to ensure a smooth and rapid recovery. She has a fully qualified nurse monitor her with special cat-sized monitors while under the anaesthetic.

The operation is performed in a special operating theatre under aseptic conditions using sterilised equipment and individually wrapped suture materials and scalpel blades.

A nurse stays with your cat until she is fully awake and sitting up. We then offer her a meal and lots of cuddles.

When you come to pick her up in the afternoon we give you postoperative instructions and answer any questions you might have. Please phone us if you are unsure about any aspect of the home care or instructions.

 We book a post-operative check with your vet about 3 days later.

Mika has been trying to find a way out into the wild world for the past 3 days. Her yowling, rolling and over-the-top affection are driving her family crazy.

Although she is only 4 months old she has come into season and could fall pregnant if she found a tomcat outside.

Cats will often start to cycle as the days get longer in August and September, even if they are barely out of kittenhood themselves.

Mika's carers have booked her in for a spey next week. Once cats start cycling they keep it up every 2-3 weeks until they fall pregnant - and Mika's owners don't want their beautiful Burmese to have motley kittens!