Is a firm or bouncy tummy normal for a kitten after diarrhea?

Poor Ralph! If he is eating, drinking, and playing, then I would not consider this to be an emergency - it's never wrong to take him to an emergency vet if you're worried, but from what you are describing, I don't think it's necessary right now. If he had an intestinal blockage or other serious problem related to the paper he ingested, I would expect him to be vomiting, not eating, and acting lethargic. Since he's acting normal apart from his diarrhea, it sounds like he just has a mild upset stomach at this point - which is quite common in kittens who have eaten things they shouldn't :) As long as he's feeling fine, you can try feeding him a bland, easily digestible diet of plain boiled chicken or chicken-flavored baby food for the next 2-3 days to see if this helps to resolve the diarrhea now that he has pooped out the piece of paper. If this doesn't help, or if he develops any of the symptoms of an intestinal blockage that I listed above, then I would definitely recommend having him seen by a vet at that point as he may need x-rays or other testing to determine what's going on.

He does look very sore and any diarrhoea which lasts more than 2 days in young kittens should be treated as they can rapidly become dehydrated and malnourished if not absorbing food and water sufficiently. I would get a stool sample checked for parasites and also start him on a specialist, highly digestible intestinal diet for 3-5days followed by a good quality kitten food introduced gradually. Probiotics can also be helpful

It can take a few days for the stool to get back to normal after having diarrhea. If you haven't yet, I would have your kitten examined by a vet for intestinal parasites, such as worms, Giardia, or coccidia, that can cause a persistently bloated appearance. If a kitten eats a lot, they will appear bloated, but it goes down over time until the next meal. If she is on wet food, and especially if you are adding water, then you may not see her drinking any water by itself. Wet food has a high water content, and she may be getting everything she needs from her food. If she is eating normally, then I would not be concerned about her water intake. Just make sure she has easy access to fresh, clean water.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Kittens often seem to have bloated bellies. Sometimes it is just their immature anatomy, sometimes it is internal parasites, especially roundworms. If she is eating a wet kitten food, she is probably getting a fair amount of liquid every day. You usually will not see such a young kitten drinking water consistently. It would be a good idea to take the kitten to your veterinarian for a fecal analysis & proper health check. They will determine what, if any worms the kitten has, & administer the proper medication. Take care.

Any firm swelling in the belly should be looked at by your vet to confirm this is not an enlarged organ (kidney, liver, spleen, etc). I would have Buttercup examined in the next week or two to confirm and air on the side of caution. Often-times a cat will act completely normal if there is organ enlargement, until things progress, so we want to check this out for sure. I hope that things work out well for your pet Buttercup moving forward. Take care!

Hi there. Some pets may have some mild GI upset after vaccinations, so this certainly could be normal. If he's acting normal otherwise (eating and drinking fine, no vomiting, etc.),. then it should be okay to just monitor for now. If it doesn't resolve in the next 2-3 days, or if he develops any other symptoms such as vomiting or not wanting to eat, then I would recommend having him checked by your vet to make sure nothing else is wrong.

That could be caused by an accumulation of fluids in the abdominal cavity caused by FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). A check up and single radiograph (or sometimes only clinical examination) could confirm this clinical suspicion and give you treatment options. Unfortunately the prognosis for this disease is poor. Differential diagnosis could be represented by parasite infestation. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.