Can kitten have worms even though fecal test was negative?

I would worm her anyway...if she is old enough.

Any mammal infected by parasites might have high levels of IgE indicative of a parasitic infection.

Would over the counter dewormer work? I don’t know if the vet would reworm her with negative test. And she was dewormed after 6 weeks. She’s 8 weeks old now.

Is that from a blood test?

Of course. Treat her yourself. Use your brain and give her a dose suited for a kitten. No matter if the box doesn't reccomend it. Sounds like you have no choice.

Do not spend another dime at the vet. Use your instincts for Christ's sake.

Yes. A fecal test is a gross examination of the stool looking for signs of parasites, but it's not the only kind of parasites as your ktten might have been curious and drank bad water.

Immunglobins have different kinds and E is high when a parasitic infection is present.

A distended bowel could be other things like a twisted intestine or a volvulus. In one case, the bowel twists. In the katter case, the intestine collapses like a balloon stuck in a cylinder. Those are surgically corrected.

A distended bowel could be trapped gas; it could be an impaction of the feces.

Did you rescue this kitten as it was feral?

A tumor can cause a bowel obstruction of something as mundane as a hairball causing trichobeozoar.

Yes, and an impaction could also be worms.

The issue could be fluid in the belly, something called ascites and it presses on the intestine and makes the patient's belly distended.

Generally you listen for sounds of active digestion and so if those sounds are not present, that gives the doctor indications of what's going on.

You look for what is typcal first then what might happen.

YES!

My daughter's kitten's stool sample tested negative. She was skinny...big belly and ate like crazy. My daughter visited the vet at least three times. I'm pretty sure the kitten had diarrhea.

One day, my daughter noticed a tiny worm....a little bigger than a grain of rice near where the kitten was standing and eating. My daughter took the kitten and the worm to the vet.

The kitten was given a shot or shots. The vet said that it was indeed a worm and that stool samples don't always show evidence.

The kitten got well, and she is so beautiful now. Sweet cat.

Last Edited by nutmeg on 07/02/2020 12:53 AM

YES!

Vet charged us big bucks for a "more accurate test" for worms on a 5 week old kitten which came back negative. One week later she puked up a roundworm, did my own fecal test and found tons of roundworm eggs.

Poo, epsom salt, water, slide cover and slide/microscope... hell, you could probably see worm eggs with a jewelers loupe.

Someone else did yes, and I adopted her. She was born outside and stayed outside with mama cat for 6 weeks covered in fleas. She’s indoor with me now, no fleas, but big belly and you can feel something twitching in there. Could bd gas I guess.

[link to www.vet.cornell.edu (secure)]
It can be amebic or a protozoa as well as be worms. If it's the former, then of course there is no sign. See isospora vs Giardia.

BTW, you can buy wormer without a prescription... Helps to know the type of worm, but all types can be eliminated with

Diatomacious Earth

Add some to every meal for a few weeks or more and repeat if necessary.

Or that twitching could be a pulsation due to a dialated artery.

Let's start with a simple IgE test as maybe it's Giardia. So not expensive as she drank some dank water out of desperation that was contaminated.

It shows up 4-6 weeks later as the amoebas multiply.

Take her to a different vet. A second opinion might be what your furbaby needs.

It will be a 3rd vet. The last one charged me $167!

Backpackers commonly drink iffy water and then return home and all is well, then have gasterointestinal distress as parasitic infection builds up.

It'spossible you could be able to go to a pet store, get an "azole" class drug to treat a wide spectrum of parasites, and then this solves the issue as the vet sure didn't find anything.

Azole drugs can treat fungal infections or can be used for some water borne protozoa or amebic dyssentery. Read the label.

You pet store probably has inexpensive ones.

Metonidazole is taken once a day times seven days and is 34 cents a tablet. Pretty cheap...and likely in every decent pet store.

Don't feed your kitten carbs

It probably has gas. Cats aren't designed to eat grains.

commercial cat food is deadly

Don't feed your cat cow's milk either

Heavy cream is okay but no cow's milk

It can be difficult to find a truly good vet, but worth the extra dollars when you do. Are there any holistic vets in your area? You have to make sure she isn't over medicated at her age, and a bloated belly like that could be life threatening. A different more natural approach might be the better option.