Kitty has diarrhea, bad!!! Please help

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kiki23

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My 7 month old kitten has had diarrhea since I got her last December. I have had her at the vet more times than I can count. She's been tested for all types of worms and parasites and had numerous blood tests. She's been on three different prescription diets (ID, EN, and currently on Hill's Z/D). I've tried foods with no grains, and wet foods per my vets direction. At this point they are suggesting that an intestinal biopsy will be the next step. I really don't want to put her under the knife if it is possible that the vets are missing something. If anyone has any advice or has run into something similar I'd be grateful to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Feeling sooo... bad for my poor kitty
 
blast-off-girl

blast-off-girl

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Maybe you can ask your vet for probiotics? That helped my cat to harden his stools while experiencing a bout of diarrhea.
 
violet

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Did your vet take any X-rays? Did kitty have an ultrasound? If not, please ask for these tests before you do anything else.

Here are some things you might want to think about before agreeing to a surgical biopsy. With any luck something will work (Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen that happen many, many times) and surgery will not be necessary.

Quite often giardia does not show up when a stool sample is tested for giardia. Also quite often short courses of medication (more than just one course) will not eradicate giardia. However, people I know have had great results with one long course of treatment, so please talk to your vet about that.

If a long course of treatment doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t help, consider trying a dairy-free probiotic as the next step. Do not use a probiotic and an antibiotic at the same time because the antibiotic will make the probiotic ineffective. If you are desperate because the diarrhea is really bad, you can try giving them several hours apart. That would give the beneficial bacteria a chance to survive.

Other possible underlying causes youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll want to discuss with your vet:

FeLV/FIV - Even if your kitten was tested for these diseases at one time, she needs to be retested as soon as possible to make sure she is still FeLV/FIV negative.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (primary or secondary)

Food intolerance/allergy. Food trials can be done with single protein canned diets. There are several different versions, it might be a good idea to try grain-free formulas first. If none of those works, a veterinary nutritionist (your vet can refer you to one) can formulate balanced homemade diets with different fat contents and with and without grains for additional food trials.

Bacterial overgrowth

Motility disorder

Inflammatory bowel disease. Your vet can try anti-inflammatory medication to test for this possibility.

Cobalamin (B 12) deficiency

After all this a congenital structural disorder might be the only other possibility to consider and hopefully something like that would show up on X-rays or ultrasound.

I agree with you for not wanting to rush into surgery. I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t either. There is a lot to try before surgery. Definitely start with X-rays, ultrasound, and a new FeLV/FIV test. Then go on to all the other things step by step. Good luck, I really hope something will work for you.
 
violet

violet

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Please, also check your private messages. I sent you a PM with information from this specialist
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/faculty/Simpson/

Print it out and take it to your vet to make it easier for you to discuss all the possibilities. Hopefully your vet will be able to find a way to help you avoid surgery.
 
cc12

cc12

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Originally Posted by Violet

Did your vet take any X-rays? Did kitty have an ultrasound? If not, please ask for these tests before you do anything else.

Here are some things you might want to think about before agreeing to a surgical biopsy. With any luck something will work (Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen that happen many, many times) and surgery will not be necessary.

Quite often giardia does not show up when a stool sample is tested for giardia. Also quite often short courses of medication (more than just one course) will not eradicate giardia. However, people I know have had great results with one long course of treatment, so please talk to your vet about that.

If a long course of treatment doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t help, consider trying a dairy-free probiotic as the next step. Do not use a probiotic and an antibiotic at the same time because the antibiotic will make the probiotic ineffective. If you are desperate because the diarrhea is really bad, you can try giving them several hours apart. That would give the beneficial bacteria a chance to survive.

Other possible underlying causes youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll want to discuss with your vet:

FeLV/FIV - Even if your kitten was tested for these diseases at one time, she needs to be retested as soon as possible to make sure she is still FeLV/FIV negative.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (primary or secondary)

Food intolerance/allergy. Food trials can be done with single protein canned diets. There are several different versions, it might be a good idea to try grain-free formulas first. If none of those works, a veterinary nutritionist (your vet can refer you to one) can formulate balanced homemade diets with different fat contents and with and without grains for additional food trials.

Bacterial overgrowth

Motility disorder

Inflammatory bowel disease. Your vet can try anti-inflammatory medication to test for this possibility.

Cobalamin (B 12) deficiency

After all this a congenital structural disorder might be the only other possibility to consider and hopefully something like that would show up on X-rays or ultrasound.

I agree with you for not wanting to rush into surgery. I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t either. There is a lot to try before surgery. Definitely start with X-rays, ultrasound, and a new FeLV/FIV test. Then go on to all the other things step by step. Good luck, I really hope something will work for you.
Click to expand...
Wow. Thanks for that. I think it will help others in similar situations. I will print it out myself and put in a file. I could use it at the shelter and with my own crew.
 
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kiki23

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Thanks to everyone who responded. The advice was very helpful. I will look into the different ideas with my vet.

To Violet - I appreciate so much you taking time to provide me with so much information and advice regarding my kitty's diarrhea. All the info is very helpful and will make it easier for me to discuss with my vet. You are a life saver.

Sincerely,

Kiki23
 
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siamesedreams

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My Kitty had the same problem for months and months.....we tried everything Z/D included........it finally settled down this past January....we had him on the Z/D for about 3 months and then finally switched (very very gradually) to Cal Nat......and started to include a probiotic with his wet (which is merricks)......until this time he had every possible test under the sun...all negative. It seems that our little man has a sensitive system and needs all changes to be very slow. I think I may have tried too many things to quickly to try and help his situation but instead I'm afraid I made it worse. Hopefully you'll be able to resolve this asap. Good luck!!!
 
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