Frustrated!

sweetthang07

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Many of you may remember that my cat plushy has been through a lot of testing and is currently being treated for ibd. Side effects are weight loss and diarrhea. The steroids seemed to be helping but due to a suppressed immune system from it plushy began sneezing. The vet decided to put him on clavamox again for these symptoms and now plushy has runny stool again. I'm not sure if this is from the antibiotic or something else. His stool still hasn't been totally firm but it seemed to be getting better before the clavamox. The antibiotics are helping the sneezing. I'm starting to wonder if this isn't ibd after all... Does anyone have an idea as to what could be causing this? Maybe I am being paranoid but how can I know if the steroids are helping if the antibiotics are causing the diarrhea?
 

kas

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I've been using a Purina product called FortiFlora to help Abby recover from all the antibiotics she was on for her URI and coccidia. Her stools are harder, now, but still have streaks of blood in them. I have to take her in for another recheck. Her last two floats showed no coccidia or other parisites. So the vet is scratching her head. Her food has no corn in it. Barley is the only grain. I might have to try a grainless food.
 

carolina

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ai, ai ai.... IBD and Clavamox do not mix well.... My Bugsy is going on a 4-month diarrhea after a course of clavamox... Hopefully this is not going to be the case for you... As soon as he is off Clavamox put him on a good Probiotic. Bugsy's vet put him on Proviable-DC, it is excellent, very very strong.... Also, something that is finally working for him, after months of medication, is a gel Called DiaGel - I strongly recommend you putting him on as soon as he finishes Clavamox. I am not sure it will be the final step for Bugsy, but it is now day 4, and it has been the only thing that helped so far... and I tried a LOT of things...
 

ziggy'smom

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Putting kitty on a probiotic is a good idea but you don't have to wait until he's done with the clavamox. You can, and probably should, start it right away. Imo it's always a good idea to start your cat on probiotics whenever he's put on any antibiotic. Antibiotics rids the body of bacteria, both good and bad, and the probiotic helps put some good bacteria back in the stomach.
There are several different kinds of probiotic. I too use Fortiflora for my cats. It works well and it takes pretty good so it's easy to get them to eat it. It is made by Purina and I know that some people consider all purina products to be crap but I don't think that's the case at all. Fortiflora has worked well for both my cats and my dogs. You can get it from your vet or buy it online (cheaper). You can also give your cat Activia yogurt or any other yogurt that contains bacteria. Vanilla or plain works well.

I have the same problem as you with one of my cats. He also has IBD and will have diarrhea off and on. It can be extremely frustrating to treat. Proper diet and probiotcs helps. Wellness canned worked well for my guy. Antibiotics of any kind, clavamox or not, can cause diarrhea even in healthy cats so that could be what's causing your cat's diarrhea. Hopefully it will go away on its own once the clavamox is stopped. You pretty much just have to wait and see along with giving him probiotics.

Are you giving him Lysine too to prevent or treat the URI symptoms? Lysine can help the immune system and since your guy is on steroids giving him lysine on a maintenance basis may be a good idea. It can't do any harm at least. I use the Viralys gel for my guys, either mixed with canned food or squirted into their mouths with an oral syringe. They usually don't mind the taste. An adult cat should get 250mg twice a day.

Good luck. I hope your kitty feels better soon.
 
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sweetthang07

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Thank you all for your responses and good vibes! Plushy seems to be feeling better but it's so hard to tell! The reason I say he looks better is because he seems more lively. Before, he was lazy and usually came out and slept on the couch for a couple hours a day. The rest of the time he was hiding under the bed and sleeping there. Now, he is always out by us sitting on our laps and he even walks around head butting. He never has been really active so it can be hard to tell.

Anyway, is the fortiflora rx only or can I get it at the store? I will definitely ask my vet about this too. My vet has me giving him I/D Hills canned food but I'm concerned he may be allergic to something in that since it seems to have a lot of pretty common allergenic foods in it. I asked the vet tech if I could try Z/D but she brushed it off and said "well it's rx so the vet would have to approve that..." so I will have to ask about that when I talk to them soon. I am tempted to try Natural Balance LID foods to see if it works. Anybody else have luck with this??
 
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sweetthang07

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Oops, sorry I just noticed that you said it can be purchased online. I just bought some and hope this helps
How much do you feed to the cats and how often?
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by sweetthang07

My vet has me giving him I/D Hills canned food but I'm concerned he may be allergic to something in that since it seems to have a lot of pretty common allergenic foods in it. I asked the vet tech if I could try Z/D but she brushed it off and said "well it's rx so the vet would have to approve that..."
Hills I/D is as much as prescription as Z/D.... your vet tech should known better....
 

luvzmykatz

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My Ricky has had IBD issues for the last 7 years. His stool have pretty much always been slushy. I've just kept him on science diet wet food and that seemed to work well. I used to be on feline IBD forum and many suggested a diet of raw food mostly in extreme cases. It's a lot of work and time though to prepare a raw diet and as science diet seemed to do the trick I never really explored it but I heard lots of good results from the raw diet.
 

ziggy'smom

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Originally Posted by sweetthang07

Oops, sorry I just noticed that you said it can be purchased online. I just bought some and hope this helps
How much do you feed to the cats and how often?
It's usually one package a day (it comes in little individual packages). You can divide it up in several feedings or just feed it all in one. It doesn't matter. I usually divide it up in two feedings.
Some cats love the stuff so you can put it on top of the food while others will only eat it if you mix it in well.

Good luck!
 
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