long term loose stool

mschauer

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I'm at my wits end. Coco has had a loose stool pretty much for as long as I have had her which is almost a year. It has gradually gotten worst. She has no other symptoms. She is very active and playful and her weight and coat are good. The vet has tested her stool and not found anything.

For the last few months I have been trying to figure out if the cause is food related. I had her on an elimination diet months ago and thought I found the problem to be eggs. Then I thought it was eggs and fruits and vegetables. Now I don't think it matters what I feed her.

I'm going to the vet again and if she can't come up with something I'm going to go to another one.

My question for the forum is: Does anyone have any first hand experience with long term loose stool with no other symptoms? Is so, was a cause ever found?

I'd really appreciate hearing from someone else who has experience with this problem.
 

kitytize

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What are you feeding this kitty? What foods have you tried and for how long?
 

michmt

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I'm going through this exact situation right now myself. I have two ragdoll kittens that we got on May 21st, and they both had diarrhea from the day we brought them home. They have no other symptons besides the diarrhea. We tried metronidazole and Albon, and neither of those worked. We finally put them on ronidazole (treatment for presumed Tritrichomonas - their stool tests were negative, but the vet decided to treat with this drug anyway), and it helped my male kitten temporarily, but he is right back to where he was before we started. The female (knock on wood) is fine now.

I started doing some research and found this website: http://www.vitalityscience.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y I called yesterday and actually talked with the owner, and he suggested two of his items based on the history. I haven't gotten the order yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works. I'm so frustrated with this whole situation.
I'm sick of cleaning up diarrhea all the time, and the vet can't seem to find the cause. And I feel so sorry for my male kitten too.

You may want to check out that website, but also run it by your vet first to get their okay. Good luck to you!
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by kitytize

What are you feeding this kitty? What foods have you tried and for how long?
The list of foods I have tried is way too long to post. I always kept her on a particular food for weeks before rejecting it. Remember this has been going on for many months.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by michmt

I'm going through this exact situation right now myself. I have two ragdoll kittens that we got on May 21st, and they both had diarrhea from the day we brought them home. They have no other symptons besides the diarrhea. We tried metronidazole and Albon, and neither of those worked. We finally put them on ronidazole (treatment for presumed Tritrichomonas - their stool tests were negative, but the vet decided to treat with this drug anyway), and it helped my male kitten temporarily, but he is right back to where he was before we started. The female (knock on wood) is fine now.

I started doing some research and found this website: http://www.vitalityscience.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y I called yesterday and actually talked with the owner, and he suggested two of his items based on the history. I haven't gotten the order yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works. I'm so frustrated with this whole situation.
I'm sick of cleaning up diarrhea all the time, and the vet can't seem to find the cause. And I feel so sorry for my male kitten too.

You may want to check out that website, but also run it by your vet first to get their okay. Good luck to you!
Thanks for the info but I'm not sure Coco's problem should be called 'diarrhea' per se. She never has accidents. She always makes it to the litter box although she does have BMs more frequently than she should.
 

kitytize

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My male Somali has loose stools and California Natural helps a lot. He doesn't get real firm stools on it but they are not loose any more. Also Cat Fanciers always seem to recommend Iams Hairball for loose stools. I know this is not the best food in the world but lots of them swear by that food. I have not tried it yet. Other wise raw may be the only way to go.
 

yosemite

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How awful for you - and the kitties.

I know this isn't a long-term fix, but have you tried adding some canned pumpkin to their food? It may at least help the good bacteria in their digestive system and might be the miracle that brings about the change. It has to be the pure canned pumpkin NOT the pie filling one. Usually it is found with the canned vegetables and fruit.

Maybe once their system is helped by the pumpkin things may turn-around. It certainly can't hurt and the pumpkin is a very safe thing to add to their food.

Plain yoghurt is also good - it does the same thing as the pumpkin but if your kitty was lactose intolerant it wouldn't be the best thing to give them.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

How awful for you - and the kitties.

I know this isn't a long-term fix, but have you tried adding some canned pumpkin to their food? It may at least help the good bacteria in their digestive system and might be the miracle that brings about the change. It has to be the pure canned pumpkin NOT the pie filling one. Usually it is found with the canned vegetables and fruit.

Maybe once their system is helped by the pumpkin things may turn-around. It certainly can't hurt and the pumpkin is a very safe thing to add to their food.

Plain yoghurt is also good - it does the same thing as the pumpkin but if your kitty was lactose intolerant it wouldn't be the best thing to give them.
She won't eat yougurt. I've also tried one of those powders that has the enzymes and cultures found in yougurt (Eagle Pack Holistic Transition). She wouldn't eat the food it was mixed into. I haven't tried pumpkin cuz I doubt she would eat anything it is mixed into but might be worth a try at this point.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by kitytize

My male Somali has loose stools and California Natural helps a lot. He doesn't get real firm stools on it but they are not loose any more. Also Cat Fanciers always seem to recommend Iams Hairball for loose stools. I know this is not the best food in the world but lots of them swear by that food. I have not tried it yet. Other wise raw may be the only way to go.
California Natural and Iams both have egg which I'm pretty sure makes the problem worst but at this point I'm questioning all my previous conclusions.
 

michmt

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Originally Posted by mschauer

Thanks for the info but I'm not sure Coco's problem should be called 'diarrhea' per se. She never has accidents. She always makes it to the litter box although she does have BMs more frequently than she should.
They are not having accidents. They are making it to the litter box, but their stool is very loose, almost pudding like, and it smells AWFUL! I'm cleaning the litter box at least 5 to 6 times a day, if not more. My vet told me not to use pumpkin because it's more of a laxative and would defeat the purpose.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by michmt

They are not having accidents. They are making it to the litter box, but their stool is very loose, almost pudding like, and it smells AWFUL! I'm cleaning the litter box at least 5 to 6 times a day, if not more. My vet told me not to use pumpkin because it's more of a laxative and would defeat the purpose.
I'd be very interested in whether the stuff you get from Vitality Sceince helps. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
 

michmt

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Originally Posted by mschauer

I'd be very interested in whether the stuff you get from Vitality Sceince helps. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I will definitely post here and let you know.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by beandip

mschauer, have you tried eliminating grains from her diet?
Yup. She used to eat Innova EVO.
 

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This may be a stupid question, but she's not drinking milk is she?
When Elliott was stray the neighbor always gave him milk and he always had runny stool.
When we brought him in, I stopped giving him the milk and he's fine now.

Like I said it's probably a stupid question since you more than likely already know that some cats don't tolorate milk well, but I thought it might be worth a shot.

I hope you can figure out what's wrong and get everything straightened out.
Good Luck.
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by kitytize

The dry California Natural does not have egg in it. That is what I use. Here is a link for ya http://www.californianaturalpet.com/...ault.asp?id=72
Oh, I was only looking at the wet. Supposedly an all wet diet is better for this kind of problem but I'm certainly considering taking a giant step backwards and trying things I previously rejected. The California Natural does look like a good food to try.

Thanks!
 
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mschauer

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Originally Posted by Graciecat

This may be a stupid question, but she's not drinking milk is she?
When Elliott was stray the neighbor always gave him milk and he always had runny stool.
When we brought him in, I stopped giving him the milk and he's fine now.

Like I said it's probably a stupid question since you more than likely already know that some cats don't tolorate milk well, but I thought it might be worth a shot.

I hope you can figure out what's wrong and get everything straightened out.
Good Luck.
Not a stupid question at all. Apparently there are a lot of people who don't realize that most cats are lactose intolerant. I do know though.
 

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You may want to try using Bene Bac, which you can buy from Drs Foster & Smith. It may not fix the loose stool issue, but it will help to ensure that more of the food nutrients are actually being absorbed into the gut instead of loosely passing through.

I used it when Ferris was having a several month problem with really loose stools and it made a good difference for him. It simply replenishes the good bacteria normally active in the gut that helps digestion.
 
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mschauer

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I just went out and got some California Natural Chk & Rice (dry).

Given the few ingredients it has I'm hopeful but I've been disappointed sooo many times!

They all certainly like it. It's a good thing Toby and Zara don't know it's because of Coco that I keep trying to make them eat food they don't like. They'd probably beat her up.
 
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