854. A difference of veterinary opinions but a good outcome counts

A young lady consulted the vet. Her kitten had diarrhoea for a few days. It was adopted from the SPCA and had been fed chicken and rice. The kitten was given to the SPCA the day before, according to the young lady. It was therefore not vaccinated.

COMPLAINT
The main concern was diarrhoea. Watery. What should the vet do?

VET 1's OPINION
"No treatment is necessary," Vet 1 said to her. "It is due to the change of environment and diet. Just give boiled chicken and rice and wait a few days.

MY OPINION
Though the kitten is active and eating, it does not mean that it is not incubating a viral infection picked up at the SPCA. It takes 7-14 days to show the symptoms of diarrhoea and the young lady had the kitten for around 7 days.

In this case, to save on costs, no blood was done. A stool test should be done. If I treat this case, I would have given a drug to stop the diarrhoea, SC fluid and ask the owner not to feed the kitten for 24-48 hours and to give oral electrolytes. "But the kitten is not dehydrated," Vet 1 said.

Oral electrolytes should be given because the kitten has been having diarrhoea for several days. It is not severely dehydrated. Does the university professor teaches that electrolytes should be given when there is severe dehydration? I don't know. Each vet will treat a case differently but in the end a good clinical outcome is what counts.

This kitten has loose stools but no watery stools. No deworming had been done nor had the faecal sample been checked for worms. Sometimes it may be a case of endo parasites since this is a stray kitten. Time will tell.