diarrhea over a week

Jack has had diarrhea for a few days longer than a week. He has seen the vet and I provided samples. The vet gave him a steriod shot... I am not very clear on why he did that... That evening he was sicker as a side effect of the shot.

He got better, and mostly he seems normal... I decided when calling the vet back got me nowhere to try switching his food. (I just began that slow process yesterday). I ended up awake most of the night with Jacks constant litter box runs. I thought that today was going better until I discovered that he has begun to use one of the rooms in the house as a big litter box.

I am seriously out of ideas that have a change to make things better for him, particularly faster. I have closed the doors to all the rooms that have doors and carpet. I feel bad for him and to be honest I am exhausted too, and my vet has been more or less useless. When I talked to him on Friday he said to give the shot another day to work (He was given the steriod Wednesday morning), and call on Tuesday if he is still having problems. I can't help but feel like he was putting me off for the weekend.

Ok, enough of the ranting part. What should I do next? Withold his food for a day? Would it be better to put another litter box in the room he was using as a big litter box and closing him in there with his water? Or is keeping him out of the other rooms more likely to work? I figue a dramatic food change is probably not a good idea... but is speeding up the change?

I should mention that there was a very small amount of blood in one of the stools on the floor.

Any clue what to do next would be helpful, Thanks!

Find another vet to start with. Did the current vet give you any indication what was found in the stool sample? If this continues, I'd at least call an emergency vet clinic and find out what to do as it could lead to dehydration.

Have you tried adding a bit of canned pumpkin (not the canned pumpkin pie mix, just plain pumpkin). You might also try plain unflavored yogurt.

What food has he been on and what are you changing him to?

Yeah trying to find another vet, which hasn't been easy not alot of options. I haven't tried pumpkin or unflavored yogurt. I would have thought that since yogurt is milk based that would probably have consequences of its own.

Jack has been eating California Natural Chicken & Brown Rice, I ran out and got osme of the herring and sweet potato to try yesterday.

I've read (a) withhold food for a day, but provide water at intervals so the cat doesn't dehydrate, but that his intestinal tract gets a little rest, and that (b) feeding boiled chicken breast (so there's no fat in it) with well-cooked white rice can help as a temporary diet. Have you tried bene-bac?

It would be nice if you could find another vet you're more comfortable with.

Best wishes,

Ditto to getting another vet. The stool sample should have been analyzed, and bloodwork may have been a good idea as well. I'm not sure what the vet's reasoning was for the steroid shot - he should have explained that to you.

As stephanietx has pointed out, diarrhea is dehydrating. Unfortunately, the dry food that Jack's eating may be making the problem worse, because dry food pulls so much moisture from the body to process.

Try giving Jack just plain roasted (skinless) whitemeat chicken. It's very bland and easy on the digestive system. Cut it into bite-sized chunks, add a little water and serve slightly warmed, not cold. Feed just the chicken, nothing else, for a day or two until you see improvement. Make sure Jack is drinking water, too.

It's possible that the trace amounts of blood you noticed may be due to irritation from the prolonged diarrhea. Look for improvement soon, and please do take Jack to a different vet if the diarrhea continues.

Hope Jack feels better soon (he's a very handsome boy, BTW!)- please let us know how he's doing.

Hi,

I'd also go with the boiled chicken & rice. Here in Germany some brands of baby food contain just this and nothing else and are frequently used when a cat has diarrhea (they also mustn't contain onions, obviously). Maybe this would be an option for you?

Though "California Natural Chicken & Brown Rice" sounds pretty similar (don't know this brand).

If you cook the chicken yourself try offering him some of the broth (cooked without salt)- maybe he'll drink it.


Any idea at all what started this diarrhea? What have you been feeding and when did this start? Could it be a severe food allergy- have you changed brands or flavours? Has he recently been on antibiotics?


If you can't find another vet put your foot down with this one and DEMAND that your cat is given an infusion to protect him from dehydration. Remember, you're the customer Though I agree it would be better to find another vet. Also- what did the vet do with the samples you provided him with?

Having the blood workes done would also be a good idea.

If this diarrhea persists (and the cat is older) have the pancreas function checked (this is called a TLI Test):

http://www.vetbase.co.uk/information...iency-cats.php



You could also try a digestive aid such as bene bac, ponsocol, prozyme:

http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/produc...D=0&pf_id=4157

http://www.findownersearch.com/ponsocol/4006582/

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?c=3261+11266




He may not have the time to make it to the litter box, so setting up some more would be a good idea.

regards,

Christine

I honestly have no idea what the vet did with the samples, other than charge me for a fecal exam. I provided it, but he didn't ask for it.

I have no idea what prompted this sudden bout of diarrhea nothing changed to the best of my knowledge. He has been eating the same food for a year and half.

I gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin (He thought that stuff was the best thing ever), I set up another litter box at the closed door to the room he was using. I actually saw him run from downstairs to upstairs, so I don't think it was an issue of time. I actually think he blames the litter box for his current problems.

Aside from an Emergency vet (the closest is about 30 - 45 min drive) I can't do anything vet wise until Monday. None seem concerned since he is still playing, and begging for food etc.

I plan to see how the pumpkin works out this evening, and go from there. Perhaps next up is me cooking him some chicken and if the pumpkin doesn't worsen things... some of that as well tomorrow.

I used to take a chicken tender and boil it in plain water. Then I'd shred it with a knife & fork and add a tablespoon or so of the broth until it was the consistency of tuna salad, not too runny, but wet enough to stick together. I'd use this as my kitty's wet food and mix in the pumpkin, and her meds. I'd also add about a teaspoon of the broth to the mixture to give her extra fluid and nutrition.

You can also give pumpkin for constipation, just in case you ever need to know that!

Since it's been a sudden onset, I'm wondering if he got into something like a plant or even ate some kind of bug that's triggered the problem. Somewhere in this forum is an older thread about kitty diarrhea and the poster eventually found out it was some kind of virus causing the problem.

HI, Bugsy had one of those episodes, and I took him to the ER vet. The vet said he had acute colitis - which simply means he has a strong diarrhea due to unknown causes. He was given SubQ fluid as he was dehydrated, and was also prescribed an antibiotic, called Metronidazole for 5 days. This antibiotic is specific for gastro-intestinal infections, and is also an anti-inflammatory. I would definitely recommend you going to the ER vet ASAP. Dehydration can be quite serious in cats.
You can also buy Bene-bac at Petsamart - it will take care of his diarrhea for a few days, and if you are lucky, for good.

Originally Posted by lunacy95

I honestly have no idea what the vet did with the samples, other than charge me for a fecal exam. I provided it, but he didn't ask for it. .

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Hmm,

maybe you should ask him what can be ruled out according to what was tested?

Originally Posted by lunacy95

I gave him a teaspoon of pumpkin (He thought that stuff was the best thing ever), I set up another litter box at the closed door to the room he was using. I actually saw him run from downstairs to upstairs, so I don't think it was an issue of time. I actually think he blames the litter box for his current problems..

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Yes, it must be a terrible feeling for a cat, who normally is a clean animal, not to be able to control this anymore. Poor Baby

Originally Posted by lunacy95

Aside from an Emergency vet (the closest is about 30 - 45 min drive) I can't do anything vet wise until Monday. None seem concerned since he is still playing, and begging for food etc.

I plan to see how the pumpkin works out this evening, and go from there. Perhaps next up is me cooking him some chicken and if the pumpkin doesn't worsen things... some of that as well tomorrow.

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Keep a close eye on dehydration, though. Better one visit to the vets too much then a badly dehydrated kitty.

Wishing your kitty alls the best and a speedy recovery


Christine

I had one of my cats go thru vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hrs ...I called the vet after hrs and she told me to with hold food and waters for at least 12 hrs and see if it settles him...it was easy cause he was feeling so badly but he ended up being fine and I did the chicken as well to start him back on food...good luck I hope he gets better soon....

Well, I gave him some of the pumpkin with just a tiny bit of fod last evening around 6:30pm. He had one loose stool after that a little less runny this morning at 5:30am. I am currently boiling the chicken and plan to give him some of that and more pumpkin. Cross your fingers for us! He is drinking as normal or a bit more, and he also seems to be passing that pinch test, for dehydration.

It could all be a reaction to his food......some cats have allergies to certain things in food.....I sure hope it gets resolved soon....poor thing ...

Well, something about that didn't work out. He ate the pumpkin and little bit of chicken then he vomitted. Either he ate it too fast even though there was very little of it or perhaps I shouldn't have warmed up the pumpkin... maybe it was too much.... who knows.

I called the "vet hospital" turns out they aren't really there either just a receptionist. I did get him an appointment there for tomorrow at noon.

Originally Posted by lunacy95

I called the "vet hospital" turns out they aren't really there either just a receptionist. I did get him an appointment there for tomorrow at noon.

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Fngers crossed for tomorrow

christine

Aww yeah sounds like one or the other didn't agree with him......If he were my kitty I'd prob just lay off the pumpkin and chicken til u speak to a vet....I got metronidazole to stop diarrhea with my cat...cause the vet was concerned with the bacteria spreading ....I'm suprised the first vet you saw didn't give your cat something to stop it ...

Originally Posted by Nance

....I'm suprised the first vet you saw didn't give your cat something to stop it ...

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It depends on how long Jack had diarrhea by the time he was seen by the vet. It's not always a good idea to medicate immediately. Diarrhea is the body's way of getting rid of something that's upset it. Sometimes the body can heal itself after a day or two of this. In Jack's case though, it's been going on too long now.

Jack update... Less chicken & pumpkin at a time over the whole day yesterday and no more diarrhea thus far.

I plan to keep with the chicken and pumpkin today and mix in his regular food a bit at a time starting tomorrow.

And once again, the forums help save the day... Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by KTLynn

It depends on how long Jack had diarrhea by the time he was seen by the vet. It's not always a good idea to medicate immediately. Diarrhea is the body's way of getting rid of something that's upset it. Sometimes the body can heal itself after a day or two of this. In Jack's case though, it's been going on too long now.

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My cat only had it for 12 hrs and the vet get him the meds....he said he wanted to stop it b4 it caused other problems...its frustrating because I took my cat in thinking it was the best...but walked out thinking I got ripped off...he didn't even need to meds to be honest....I paid 50 for meds that he never used...

It's been a few days since there's been an update on Jack. It seemed that he was doing better on the chicken and pumpkin. Hope that he's continued to improve.

Please let us know how it's going. Hugs to Jack!