two cats with sudden diarrhea

Ok, here is a little background info for the two cats.
one male 3 y/o cat (Kiisu) - allergic to grains (throws up a lot when fed it)
one male 6 month old cat (Simba)- rescued as a stray 1 month old near my house

Both had their vaccines, tested neg. for FELV and are indoor cats.

Kiisu is fed Wellness wet food w/o grains
Simba is fed Wellness wet food w/o grains as well as some occasional Purina One dry.


Thanksgiving afternoon Simba woke from a dead sleep and made painful crying sounds. He threw up a lot of undigested food (unusual for him) and was lethargic for the rest of the evening. Later on that night/into the next morning he became more responsive. In the morning he was taken to the vet. She examined his teeth, ears, stomach and said he was fine. After being fed he would sometimes throw up later on. His throw up was sometimes little patches of froth. He has had diarrhea ever since and today it looked like there was a bit of blood in his stool. He is very playful and has an appetite (although today 11/29, he and Kiisu are on a one day fast).
Kiisu is on a one day fast as well because last night he suddenly developed diarrhea and threw up.

They're alert, have clear eyes, no fever, want to play and eat.
Could the little bit of red I saw in Simbas stool been from straining and dealing with the diarrhea or is this immediate cause for concern?

I think I will wait to see if the one day fast with a little broth/rice/baby food tomorrow will help.

Also, the eldest one, Kiisu, has never had diarrhea before, which leads me to believe its some sort of contagious disease as opposed to a raid on the garbage or something.

If anyone has had a similar experience I would really appreciate your input.

I don't know why they would be throwing up and have the runs but I can tell you I have a 1 year old siamese, Paw who has had soft stools since we have had him among other issues.

Vet has not figured out what the cause is yet. Still working on it.

Things that help his stool not run out of him before he makes it to the litter box:

I cook chicken and rice for him. This stopped the runs from pouring out of him.
Probios Mixed in with Evo Innova wet food.

I gave him cooked turkey as well. The fast should help yours. If they don't get better fast I would take them to the vets asap. I wish your babies well.

Unless you've introduced something into the house to make them sick, I doubt that would be it.

There's two likely causes:
1) food they ate.
2) they found something in the house and ingested it.


Is there absolutely anything, anything at all that they could have gotten into? Any sort of plant, fresh or dried? Did they get into the trash or cruise the counter top for dirty dishes?
Could they have gotten into a cabinet somewhere or at some soap?


Last week my male kitten found a dried flower that I had put up on a box on top of an 8' bookcase. Like your cats he vomited a lot - though no diarrhea due to the charcoal and meds he got. I thought that one dried flower was well stashed, he proved me wrong.


If it's the food did they both eat from the same can? Or did Kiisu sneak some of the Purina dry? (was it a new bag?)

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Unless you've introduced something into the house to make them sick, I doubt that would be it.

There's two likely causes:
1) food they ate.
2) they found something in the house and ingested it.

If it's the food did they both eat from the same can? Or did Kiisu sneak some of the Purina dry? (was it a new bag?)

Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to say.

Did you recently buy a new case of canned and/or open a new bag of kibble? If so, stop feeding from them. Go to the store and replace the cans or bag with the same food brand BUT a different lot number.

Sometimes there are issues with single runs, single lots, etc. You'll never hear about it (via recall, anyway) because it's such a small percentage that the numbers of sick animals don't catch anyone's eye (except on Itchmo - sometimes they catch stuff no one else sees, or start commenting on it only to have it later recalled).

Thanks for the quick responses and well wishes everyone!
I keep the dry food in a lockable cabinet so Kiisu can't get into it, but it is very possible they both ate something else. Simba eats ANYTHING! I try to cat proof the house, but I think placing him in a bubble is the only surefire method of protection. It's just the fact that Simba's on his fourth day of having diarrhea that got me worried. They usually do eat from the same can, so I'll have to keep an eye on that lot number. Never thought of that. I'll also have to research that charcoal treatment. When I went to Agway today, the woman recommended something that she uses for her dog who has a sensitive stomach. Unfortunately, I didn't write it down and now I forget what it is.

As for now, I'll keep them on their 1-day fast, although Kiisu is making it very hard. He gets ooohh so loveable when he wants something. =)

Originally Posted by marsupi

Simba eats ANYTHING! I try to cat proof the house, but I think placing him in a bubble is the only surefire method of protection.

Click to expand...

That's a kitten for you. They're always finding trouble.

My bet is they likely found something.

Charcoal is for poisoning. It only works if there's something still in the stomach that needs neutralizing. I knew exactly what my kitten ate and took him to the vet right away.

I did have an incident years ago with Tomas and Sho. Tomas was around 4 months old (Sho an adult). Both got bad diarrhea at the same time with no sign of any parasites. I didn't get the answer to that until I smelled something a week later - Tomas had apparently found the pork bone + fat (what was left from a pot of beans) and snagged it out of the trash. Both of them must have munched on it before Tomas dragged it under the china hutch.

Just thought I'd post a little update, in case anyone else experiences this problem. They both seem to be better/improving. They had a one day fast on Monday. Tuesday, they were fed boiled chicken with a little boiled rice. Today (Wed) they got boiled chicken/boiled rice/boiled egg and tuna/boiled egg. Their bowel movements appear to be better and minimal. I'm slowly incorporating Wellness wet food back into Kiisu's diet whereas I bought Nutro Kitten lamb and rice for Simba (to slowly incorporate as well). Hope this helps. If Kiisu has a reaction to Wellness again it appears that the only option is home-made meals (which I'll have to thoroughly research). But, I'll give this a couple of weeks first. Oh, I also bought a holistic supplement for dogs and cats (digestive enzymes). I just mixed maybe 1/8th of a tsp into their food today. But, I'll have this on hand if it happens again.

Wishing all your kitties well.