Suggestions for help with chronic diarrhea

I know this topic has been discussed in length extensively and believe me I have looked through about every discussion on it. However, I'm in a slightly different situation and wanted any suggestions you may have.

My 6 month old has had continuous diarrhea since last Wednesday (8 days). We are waiting on tests results to determine if she has Tritrichomonas Feotus and will hopefully have the results by tomorrow. The vet told me to keep an eye on the diarrhea when it first started and let them know if it continued for more than a few days. Well, on Sunday it was still so runny that I called the vet back for help. They prescribed her an antidiarrheal and had me switch her over to Science Diet i/d exclusively and continue the Fortiflora (probiotic). Well, none of them have done a thing. I called the vet back yesterday to let them know and they asked me to just keep an eye on her and make sure she is staying hydrated, which I am and she is, until the results come back since it was only 2 days away.

Even though we hope to have the results tomorrow, I wanted to get any advice this group might have on helping her with the diarrhea until then. She is in great health otherwise but I just feel so sorry for her because I know it can't feel good and I'm continuously having to wash her backside.

Also, if this turns out not to be TTF, would it most likely be a food allergy? She has been tested for everything else and has come back negative. Thanks as always!

When my Lexus was experiencing the exact same thing with no explaination and no confirmed diagnosis, I began to give her about a tablespoon of boiled, shredded white meat chicken with white rice 4 times a day ... that worked. I simply get a boneless, skinless chicken breast, boil it in plain water, no salt or seasonings, and shred it up in the food processor/blender. I hold back about a cup of the cooking water ... I use long-cooking rice and when finished and slightly cooled, I add it to the shredded chicken and process with the rice and reserved water until it is a thick paste.

It really helps to bind up a loose kitten. *grin*

I am sorry you are having to go through this with your baby. I well remember the feeling of helplessness and all of the cleaning that goes along with it. Best of luck and we'll keep our fingers crossed that this is something easy to fix and not at all serious. Let us know how it goes.

We ended up having to starve our rescue kitty Milly to sort her diarrhea out, it got so bad that she didnt even realise it was coming out of her! We tried chicken and rice but it didnt help so we starved her for nearly 16hrs making sure she had plenty of fluids to drink then started her on some small amounts of cooked cod 4 times day, that along with being rewormed and a course of anti biotics seems to have done the trick, we are at the stage now where the cod is less and we are weening her onto IAMS, good luck with sorting your kitty out

Thank you both for the suggestions! I actually fed her some plain cooked chicken this morning but will have to go to the store to buy the rice. I noticed when she was sleeping next to me last night that her tummy was growling/churning which made me think that the i/d wasn't agreeing with her. I started thinking and also realized that she's been burping more on the i/d which is why I decided to give her chicken this morning.

She still has the i/d dry food out since I'm at work all day, but I can remove that in the evenings. Is it possible to leave the chicken/rice mixture out during the day so she doesn't have to wait 9 hours between meals? I don't know how to do that without it drying up. She's still growing so I don't want to deprive her of eating when she's hungry.

Also, my concern with the chicken/rice is whether or not she needs to be supplemented with anything else, or is this diet considered balanced for nutrition? I know that may not matter in the short-term, but I thought I'd ask none the less. I have Missing Link for her but I don't know if that should be avoided until things resolve a bit. Thanks again!

I would not with hold food, a cat needs to eat every 12-24 hours or they are at risk for fatty liver disease, which can be fatal.

You might also try canned pumpkin. I found it with the pie fillings at the grocery store, however you do not want the pumpkin pie filling, what you want is 100% pure pumpkin!

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I would not with hold food, a cat needs to eat every 12-24 hours or they are at risk for fatty liver disease, which can be fatal.

Click to expand...

Sorry to disagree Nat, but witholding food for up to 24 hours, is common practice for cats with severe loose stools and is often recommended by Vets.

Fatty liver disease will not even come into question if a cat fasts for 24 hours. If that were true every feral cat on the planet would be dead by now.

The whole idea behind the fasting is to allow some of the beneficial instestinal flora to re-establish themselves. Chronic diarrhea flushes all these vital bacteria from the intestines and the loose stool problem becomes a vicious cycle.

I would recommend the 24 hour fast, then use Bene-Bac or Kitty Bloom along with a bland food, like Gaye has suggested, or Science Diet W/D ( NOT I/D!) for a period of 1 to 2 weeks, then gradually introduce her regular food again. 2 to 3 weeks on a non-balanced diet will not hurt her in the long run.

Gradually is the key word here. Good luck!

Originally Posted by laureen227

that tummy gurgling - Java had that, along w/diarrhea, when i first acquired her [stray]. i think it was probably the poor diet, etc. that contributed... but the vet also diagnosed her w/a bacterial intestinal overgrowth [his words]. took 2 rounds of antibiotics plus a round of probiotics [BeneBac] to get rid of.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was actually going to discuss that as a possibility with the vet if the TTF test turns out negative. From what I've read on TTF, her symptoms are in synch with it so now it's just a waiting game.

Originally Posted by tamgirl99

... Is it possible to leave the chicken/rice mixture out during the day so she doesn't have to wait 9 hours between meals? I don't know how to do that without it drying up. She's still growing so I don't want to deprive her of eating when she's hungry.

Also, my concern with the chicken/rice is whether or not she needs to be supplemented with anything else, or is this diet considered balanced for nutrition? I know that may not matter in the short-term, but I thought I'd ask none the less. I have Missing Link for her but I don't know if that should be avoided until things resolve a bit. Thanks again!

Click to expand...

No, don't leave the chicken/rice down during the day. Since you are away at work, you might try offering it to her in the morning while you are getting ready and then taking it up before you leave. Offer it again in the evening when you get home and maybe a third time before you go to bed at night.

The chicken/rice is not a balanced diet, nor is it intended to be. When Lexus gets it for the odd bout of dietary indiscretion she suffers, I also give her the normal diet she gets every day in addition to the chicken/rice. The chicken/rice is intended only as a supplement to a normal diet. I share your concerns about depriving food. At 6 months old, your little girl needs those extra calories now. I am not a big fan of the SD foods, but that's just my opinion - your mileage may vary. I like the Purina Vet Formula foods a little better.

While I have heard good things about Missing Link, I have no experience with it at all personally and cannot comment. Maybe someone else will have something to add about it.

I wanted to go back and address your question about whether or not this could be caused by a food allergy and the answer to that is resoundingly yes, it could be. Since you are waiting for the results of the testing done by your vet, whether or not this is the case with your girl remains to be seen ... Sharky is our resident know-it-all *smile* on nutrition here at TCS - how about I send her a PM and ask her to look in on this thread for you. Maybe she will be able to add some input.

Hi gayef! Thanks for all of your input. You're welcome to pm Sharky but I don't plan to go down the food allergy route until we know for sure about TTF first. And I am not a fan of SD either but that is what the vet recommended I put her on (the i/d for digestive problems) when I called on Sunday because she was still having horrible problems. While the vet agrees sudden switches in food aren't the best, given the situation it could only potentially help the matter. Unfortunately it hasn't.

I fed the chicken/rice this evening in place of her wet meals and plan to keep her dry out for now. This way she is getting a balanced diet with the dry but also potential help with bulk by getting the chicken/rice 3x per day. I'm starting to wonder if the i/d canned was adding to her problems. I guess we'll see how she does overnight and in the morning.

Please cross your fingers for us that the results are back tomorrow. This is extremely stressful for me because I leave to go on vacation for a week next Friday and want to get this under control as best I can before then. Otherwise I will just be sick with worry the entire time. Luckily my parents are willing to watch them so that they can all continue any meds that are needed while I'm gone. Thank you all again!

Originally Posted by tamgirl99

Hi gayef! Thanks for all of your input. You're welcome to pm Sharky but I don't plan to go down the food allergy route until we know for sure about TTF first. And I am not a fan of SD either but that is what the vet recommended I put her on (the i/d for digestive problems) when I called on Sunday because she was still having horrible problems. While the vet agrees sudden switches in food aren't the best, given the situation it could only potentially help the matter. Unfortunately it hasn't.

I fed the chicken/rice this evening in place of her wet meals and plan to keep her dry out for now. This way she is getting a balanced diet with the dry but also potential help with bulk by getting the chicken/rice 3x per day. I'm starting to wonder if the i/d canned was adding to her problems. I guess we'll see how she does overnight and in the morning.

Please cross your fingers for us that the results are back tomorrow. This is extremely stressful for me because I leave to go on vacation for a week next Friday and want to get this under control as best I can before then. Otherwise I will just be sick with worry the entire time. Luckily my parents are willing to watch them so that they can all continue any meds that are needed while I'm gone. Thank you all again!

Click to expand...

I'm going to repeat this one more time, then I'll butt out. Do not use SD I/D for chronic loose stools!
My Vet prescribes the SD W/D for the symptoms your cat has.......and it works. As a temporary solution. It is not a long term food.

As a whole SD foods are one of the worst on the market, but a few of the prescription diets have benefits when you're in a bad spot.

If the Tri-trich test comes back negative, (hope your Vet is doing the pouch test, it's the only reliable test), and the food situation doesn't resolve, try going raw. It fixes gastric problems nearly 100% of the time.

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

I'm going to repeat this one more time, then I'll butt out. Do not use SD I/D for chronic loose stools!
My Vet prescribes the SD W/D for the symptoms your cat has.......and it works. As a temporary solution. It is not a long term food.

Click to expand...

Yup, I can second that. The vet prescribed I/D for my cat and it did absolutely nothing to improve my cat's bowels while he had loose stools. He is now on W/D, and has been for quite some time (almost 2 months) with good results.

Sorry to highjack this post, but what is an alternative to W/D since it's not a good long-term food... and why is it not a good long-term food? I have heard wonderful things about Cal Nat, so I decided to have it shipped in from the US, unfortunately my little guy didn't respond well to it.

Thanks for the info on the w/d. My vet prescribed the i/d so I'm going to check with her first today. I looked at the SD/Hills website and they are both for digestive issues, so what are the specific concern's with the i/d? Just that it didn't work or are their other reasons?

From what I have seen over the last two months, I really don't feel the food is the issue. I could be completely wrong on that, but I think the possibility of it being TTF is much greater than it being a severe food allergy/colitis. For a while I had even tried raw and while she firmed up for a couple of days, she eventually started having diarrhea again. TTF was found in the cattery she came from, although the other kittens haven't shown these same signs. Still, from all of the stories I've now read on cats with TTF, she fits the bill perfectly.

The reason I came here looking for advice on food/supplements is because I wanted to see if there was anything I could give her that is likely to help firm her stool, at least a little bit, until the results are back. I apologize if there was any confusion. If the results come back negative, I'll take a new route of identifying what she might be allergic to, along with discussing with the vet the possibility of bacterial infection in her digestive tract.

By the way, the chicken and rice apparently did nothing as it was all runs this morning. The only improvement I noticed is that her tummy wasn't churning like before last night, so at least I know she is able to digest that better than the canned i/d.

Give it another little while before dismissing the chicken/rice as not working. It may take a little longer than only one day to firm up the stool.

I use slippery elm , apple pectin for diarreal issues... chicken and rice is bland like I/D .. yes W/D and even G/D can be used ... TALK with the vet ... I actually use chicken and rice that I blend to the consitancy of canned food and add a probiotic with apple pectin

Sorry I am touch late to this thread ..

She just vomited the chicken and rice I gave her at lunch. Any ideas now? I'm waiting for the vet to call me back about the test so I'll ask them then as well. Perhaps she just over ate this last meal and/or it had too much rice. That was her fourth meal and she hadn't had problems until now so maybe that's all it was.

What is the breed of your cat?

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

What is the breed of your cat?

Click to expand...

She's an abyssinian. Does that help narrow something down?

I've been out of town for a while but wanted to update and to let you all know that her test was positive for Tritrichomonas Foetus. She is now on meds for it so we're finally on the road to recovery. Thank you all again for your input while I was waiting on this test!