kitten :(

Question
Dear Ali,
I recently bought twin kittens (half bengal), a female and a male of 7 weeks old. They are now about 9 weeks old. The male seems to be adjusting well to food and the new environment. Unfortunatly, the female cat is more shy and reserved and started off with some diarrhea, but with changing food she seemed to improve. But, her faeces is still more runny than the male kitten and she drips over the carpet after she has been to the toilet. Also, her backside appears to be reddish and sore. I am quite concerned about her, and would be very grateful if you could help.
Sapphire

Answer
Sapphire,

I would suggest that you take both kittens to the vet so that they can be assessed for health and receive vaccines. For the female kitten to still have fairly loose stool after two weeks there might be something going on that needs to be dealt with from a medical standpoint, and having a reddish and sore bottom is not "normal" for kittens with diarrea. Usually the diarrea doesn't tend to last that long. For now, until you can get to the vet I would suggest that you try giving the female kitten a teaspoon of plain yogurt daily. This will replenish any lost good bacteria in her gut. Young kittens can dehydrate quickly so given that she has had diarrea for 2 weeks and counting she may even need to have IV fluids to replace the fluid and electrolytes that she has lost through her stool. Hopefully all goes well at this vet visit for both kittens. Theoretically as soon as you get a new cat or kitten it is a good idea to have them thoroughly vetted to take care of routine things like vaccines and deworming. Just so that you know, all kittens are generally born with worms, they get passed on through the womb before the kittens are even born. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.