vulvar discharge in 7 week old female kitten

Question
we adopted a kitten from the shelter. She weighs 1 lb 3 oz and is suffering
from diarrhea, flea anemia and tapeworm. She has been to the vet three times
this week. Is currently on pediazole for diarrhea and acidophilus. We took her
to the vet today because of a small amount ofdischarge on her vuvla area.
They looked at her, cleaned it up and sent us home with some wipes. Told us
to watch it, now it is really have a lot of discharge and it is getting crusty. It
seems very tender when we clean it off. Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Lisa.  Sounds like she may have a vaginal or uterine infection.  Most common in cats who are of reproducing age, but it's possible in younger kittens.  I see she is on antibiotics.  I'm not sure, but maybe there is a different antibiotic that would be better to treat this.  The problem is that many antibiotics used to treat these infections can worsen diarrhea.  There is one, azythromycin (Zithromax), which is not likely to cause diarrhea, is generally safe for use in kittens and may help uterine infections.

In general, if a uterine infection is suspected, an emergency spay is usually a good idea.  But surgeries are safest in kittens over 2 pounds.  Nevertheless, uterine infections can easily be life-threatening, so the risk of a surgery MAY be lower than not addressing the infection if antibiotics don't work.  I would call the vet and tell them the discharge has gotten much worse and see what the next step is.