Hi, guys! 

TL/DR: 5-6 month old kitten isn't eating. Had an eye infection and was given drops from the vet. Then she stopped eating and her poop is grayish and watery. Still not eating, drinking more than usual, but eyes look fine now. No other symptoms.

Beware of poop pictures nestled in with cute kitty pictures! Just looking for some reassurance as I’m very anxious over my little kitto. I’m not asking for medical advice as she has already seen the vet multiple times. More so wanted some anecdotal reassurance if anyone else has experienced anything similar since the vet doesn’t really seem to know what is wrong with her. 

I found my girl, Pippin (Full name Peregrin Took <3) about a month ago. Since she was a stray, I took her to my vet to make sure she was healthy and all was good except that she did have worms. They gave her dewormer and I kept her quarantined for about 10 days until her fecal test came back negative. I was very meticulous about cleaning everything during that time and after cleaning my entire house (steam cleaning). 

Once she was all clear of worms (she still received a second round of dewormer later to be safe and they had already tested her for FIV, etc), I introduced her to my other cat (14 years old) and my dog (11 years old). She was settling in really well and I have grown attached to her extremely quickly. She follows me around the house and even sits on my feet when I stand at the sink doing dishes. 

My vet did a bloodwork panel (on 11/07) in preparation for her to be spayed in the coming months, and everything came back normal. (Spay hasn't been scheduled yet as she's been sick and I was waiting for that to clear up.)

Anyway, this past week we started noticing her “winking” her right eye. Then on Monday (11/10), I noticed her left eye looked red and swollen (3rd picture). I took her to the vet. They checked for ulcers in her eyes, but didn’t find any. They just said it was an eye infection, gave me some antibiotic/steroid drops, and said to check back in a week. On 11/12, she slept on me all day (I work from home 2 days a week) and seemed to generally not feel well. That night, she only ate a few bites of food before walking away, disinterested. Very unlike her. I was very worried at this point and my husband agreed that I should make a vet appointment the next day since she looked to be really feeling poorly. Later that night, she did start playing a little and seemed perkier. She was also playing the next morning (11/13) and ate her breakfast, though she left a bite or two. I took this as a good sign and held off calling the vet. I did notice her poop was quite soft, though not fully diarrhea. Unfortunately, later that day (11/13) she came into my office, looked at me and started making a terrible mewling noise. She then threw up everything she ate that morning. Her poop was also light colored and pretty much fully shapeless at this point (again, beware—I’ve included pictures. 4th picture). I noticed a few more spots of clear (basically looked like water) vomit throughout the day. I took her back to the vet. They said to stop the eye drop since her eyes looked better, thinking that perhaps the drainage from the eyedrops was causing her nausea since they couldn’t see anything else wrong with her (palpated her belly, checked her mouth/tongue, no fever). They gave her an anti-nausea shot and some probiotics. She still refused dinner (wet food), but did eat a few bites of some dry food that I have on hand as a snack for her and a Churru treat. She played a lot last night. I did notice her visiting the water bowl more often, but she had been vomiting and had diarrhea, so I chalked this up to her probably being dehydrated. This morning (11/14), she still isn’t interested in food, and I’ve noticed her still hanging out by the water bowl. Otherwise, she looks more alert than she was when her eyes were infected, but less energetic than normal. I’m extremely worried about her. My late cat (13 years old) passed away in 2023 of cancer, and my late dog (11 years old) passed away in June of cancer. The first signs something was not right with them was appetite change/not eating. I’m trying not to assume the worst, but I am beyond paranoid at this point—especially since we just lost my dog recently and it was traumatic for me since he progressed very quickly. The vet asked how she was doing this morning, and I let them know she is still not eating and still has discolored poop. They want me to bring her BACK for some more bloodwork—which I kind of wish they had done yesterday. Of course I’m going to do all I can, but it’s just a little frustrating. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar with a young kitten? She just had bloodwork done, but I’m worried it could be cancer or kidney disease (I would think the bloodwork would show this?). Perhaps I’m overreacting? I’m sorry this post is so incredibly long. Thank you to anyone who bothers to read it. If anyone has horror stories, please spare me the details and just offer advice on what can be done next as I’m truly very upset and anxious. It feels like by bringing Pippin in, I’ve made her life worse. ☹️

My kitten is sick and the vets don't seem to know what is wrong with her.