HELP for my old sick cat!

Hi Everyone!

My cat Shirley is about 13 or 14 years old now and has been having digestion problems over the past year or so. Currently she is very thin, has constant diarrhea and vomits her food frequently. I can't even remember the last time she had a solid poop, it's always very watery and light-yellow. To make matters worse she now seems to be losing bowel control. The other day she was sleeping when I suddenly noticed she had pooped herself in her sleep, making a horrible mess all over herself, she even pooped herself on me as I was carrying her outside one day! She has a diet of dried food (Whiskas) and water, but occasionally will eat our food.
The thing that is really strange about her is that she has an incredible appetite. Even the slightest smell of food (and any food, even fruit or things cats don't usually like) is enough to trigger her on a constant meow session, almost like she's for begging anything that's not cat food. She is fed frequently and always has food at her disposal, so there is no reason for her to act as if she is starved. Sometimes I give in because I feel sorry for her and want to treat her, but knowing that changes in her diet are bad for her and lead to vomiting, I try to not do this anymore.
I have taken her to the vet and have not been very successful. I have just been told that the older she gets the less able she is to digest food properly. I tried giving her diarrhea medicine that the vet prescribed but it's very difficult to give this to her as she is extremely fussy. She doesn't seem to be sad or miserable or near death, she's quite content and seems to still have an appetite and desire to live. I would like to know if anyone knows of any natural remedies for her digestion problems, or a new diet I can put her on? I live in South America so we only have a few brands of cat food available, no organic or all natural type stuff unfortunately. I am willing to make her own meals but don't know which foods would work best. I would just like to see her put on some weight and stop the diarrhea as this is probably dehydrating her.
If anyone's had a similar problem I would much appreciate the advice! Thanks!

It sounds like she may have developed IBD especially with her appetite and being very thin. The inflammation in the intestines interferes with the absorption of food. One of my cats has it and is on prednisolone to control it. Do you have a feline vet in your area? The only sure way to diagnose it is with a biopsy. Usually all the blood work and ultrasound is done to rule out everything else that it could be and then treat for IBD. I don't believe that digestion problems like this are caused by age. Your cat is a senior cat but I wouldn't consider her to be incredibly elderly either.

Has she been tested for hyperthyroidism? Short-term, you can give boiled chicken or hamburger and rice to see if that helps relieve the diarrhea.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...=1&SourceID=20

Have you tried switching her to wet food? Kibble often causes IBD and a change to a more palatable diet of canned food (especially grain-free canned) can totally address the issue.

You might take a look at feline-nutrition.org, the website for the Feline Nutrition Education Society's site. There a lot of info about kibble and IBD that you might find helpful.

<<<Hugs>>> for both you and you kitty! I hope you find a way to address this soon!

AC

Since you live in South America, I would suggest switching her instead to raw meats and organs. I'm sure they are much more readily available and won't put a huge dent in your wallet. If you go into the Nutrition section of this forum, there is another section about raw feeding there.