My Cat has Diarrhea and I don’t know how to stop it.

Hi, First off I want to thank everyone for the information that is posted in all the forums because it has helped me with some alternatives to help my baby peanut with his continuous stomach problems.  Just to give a little history, he has had continuous diarrhea for over a year and a half now.  My Vet and I have treated it in stages, at first we thought maybe it was the food he was eating so we changed to a prescription wet cat food and we ran every test there is to make sure there was no parasites or if he had irritable bowel syndrome.   Everything came back normal, we did an ultrasound and it showed nothing abnormal, so the agreement was because the next step would be a biopsy which I didn’t want to do because I didn’t want to cut him open when all results showed no reason for it.  So our agreement was as long as he was not in pain and was continuing to act his normal self and keep eating we would keep him on the prescription ID cat food and keep giving him metronidazole which seemed to help when he would try to eat my other cats food which resulted in the diarrhea getting worse where he would lose control of his bowels.  Everything was going okay in regards to him eating and acting himself but I started to notice that every time he would eat he would go straight to the litter box and he was continually licking himself. 

Then things changed when a few months ago I saw blood in his stool and I took a sample to my vet but everything was normal.  It was okay though because I continued to see blood every day for a week, so I made an appointment to see my vet because something was wrong and then the Saturday before my appointment with her he was breathing weird and didn’t get out of the bed all day, basically I ending up taking him to the vet at 4:30am on Sunday because I was scared.  He was drooling, not eating and when he tried to go to the litter box he would strain and nothing would come out but he would be pushing so hard.  The vet gave him some fluids and anti-nausea mediation to hold him till I could take him to my vet that Monday morning.  It was funny because my vet told me she was planning on calling to check on him until she found out he was coming in, I told her about what happened over the past two weeks and what happened over the weekend. When she checked him he had dropped from 13lbs to 8 1/2lbs. I didn’t think it was abnormal because he was still eating and I figured because he was on the prescription food that was why. Anyway I told her the vet told me that they could do a biopsy that would not cause them to have to cut him open they would go through the rectum, which is what they do for a colonoscopy. She agreed because there is a specialist at this vet hospital that is well known and specializes in cat digestive issues. 

Well to sum this up we did the biopsy and it was determined that peanut has an abnormally shaped colon, a cats colon is shaped like a question mark and peanut is missing the loop at the top, he was born that way but other than that everything showed okay he doesn’t have irritable bowel syndrome but the lining of is large and small intestine are inflammed. I was relieved to hear it but in the mean time I had to come up with something because he still has diarrhea.  I found this site and a lot of the people on the forum said to try a probiotic and psyllum in his food, which I ran out and got I let him eat my other cats food which is fancy feast and I mixed in one probiotic capsule and one pysllum capsule, for the first few days I saw a change I was so excited I saw a solid stool from him for the first time in I don’t even know how long.  Then it stopped he went back to having diarrhea again, I have noticed that he is not licking himself as often and he is eating and not going straight to the litter box right after and he is starting to put on weight which is great but, he still has diarrhea though, I started giving him grain free food because a lot of the forums say it’s good for them. I’m using wellness which is okay but still diarrhea and I just picked up instinct grain free because one of the forums I read said its good but I noticed now, not only does he have the diarrhea he is not always making it to the litter box. 

I know this is long but I wanted everyone to know the history and what has happened and what is happening because I don’t know what to do now.  I’m still using the probiotic in every meal and the psyllum but it seems like its gotten worse since I switched from giving him the fancy feast to the grain free instinct.  Now that I have written a novel does anyone know what else I can do or give him to stop the diarrhea?  My doctor has tried twice to give him prednisone but he has a very, very bad reaction to it so I don’t want to give him that or any meds.  I can tell the probiotic is helping cause like I said he is putting on weight and not going as frequent as in the past but ever since that first few days I have not seen a solid stool, I would see some form but not complete, but this grain free wet food I'm seeing no form at all.  So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated I’m grateful for what has worked but since I have seen signs of improvement I feel like I can fix this or at least make it even better but just haven’t found it yet.

Has your vet tried Flagyl? That's an antibiotic for chronic diarrhea. Also you might try canned pumpkin instead of the psyllium. Not pie filling but just pumpkin, organic if you can get it. it's full of fiber and can sometimes work better than psyllium. The psyllium may be too much for him at this point. Did you say he gets nauseous? Does he still? 

My vet has not tried Flagyl, I will ask about it when I go for his follow up. I dont think he gets nauseoused I told the the vet when he is kneeding on me he starts drooling to the point where it makes pools but only when he is kneeding which he never use to drool like that before.  The vet said he was nauseaed but I find that hard to believe when it only happens when he is kneeding to get comfortable. I forgot to add I did also try the aloe vera juice with slippery elm but it didnt seem to work either.  I gave him the wellness grain free food today to see if he makes it to the litter box instead of the floor in front of it, the instinct maybe too much.

Try the pumpkin also, it really works well for a lot of kitties. it's pure fiber and regulates very well. Yes, I don't see how drooling only when he's kneading would be nausea. 

Im going out to run some errands in a few so I will pick some up, how much should I put in his food when I feed him?  I feed them twice a day I have been giving a probotic with each feeding so I just be giving one a day maybe Im giving too much in a day?

oh gosh yes! One probiotic daily is definitely enough and one small teaspoon of pumpkin twice daily. 

Okay!  Good because dont get me wrong I love my cats but the probotics are not cheap...lol  Thank You for your help! Im going to try the pumpkin in the grain free food and see how things improve.  Like I said this site has helped me so much because I was feeling hopeless and I thought I was going to have to say goodbye to my little man, but like his mother he is a fighter and I know we can make it through this. :-)

Ohhhhh, I'm so glad we could all help. so sorry he's had to go through all of this but it does sound like he's improving! It's a matter of playing around with things to see what the right amount is and what to use. And even that will change eventually, so be prepared for that later on. Have you considered a raw food diet?

I agree with finnlacey, I wonder if a raw diet might help. One of my cats had nonstop diarrhea, and the other two cats had it but less frequently. Raw diet cleared it up almost immediately.

FWIW, I was diagnosed with IBS after being cleared as "healthy" according to random biopsies after a colonoscopy, it's sort of a catch all diagnosis when others can't be found

I'm not a vet, and obviously there are some physical issues with his colon....   My Himmie boy had continuous diarrhea.  Vet couldn't find anything wrong.  I switched him to a raw diet in December.....and it cleared up in 3 days.  The only time I see a soft stool now is if he gets into something he shouldn't eat, like bread.  Before the raw, he was on premium grain free canned foods.

Carolina's Bugsy had diarrhea for (I think) 18 straight months before she put him in a raw diet, and, voila, no more diarrhea!  Raw does seem to be the panacea for diarrhea cats

Also, just wanted to add that drooling while kneading is NOT a sign of nausea.  Many cats do that.  Two of mine do it...I'm always covered in pools of drool after they finish "making bread" out of me

Three years ago I adopted 2 cats, now 10 and 11 years.  The 11 year old has had recurrent bouts of diarrhea.  He has been to the vet and all kinds of tests were done and we found nothing specific.  I have him on DD prescription wet food and he just nibbles on it.  I have tried sprinkling probiotic powder on the food and he walks away.  I have tried adding plain pumpkin to the food and he walks away.  He has always been a small cat, between 5 and 6 pounds.  I don't want him to lose any weight.  I tried the prescription DD dried food, but he ignored it totally.  When it is time to eat, he comes running, but then is not interested in what I am giving him.  Many times, he comes and nibbles a little, leaves and goes to the litter box, then somes back and nibbles some more.  Some times he makes it to his litter box (I have a small one for him in a private place, but he also uses the main litter box that the two of them share.)  There times when he does not make it to the box and leaves his gift for me on the floor.  Some times he acts like he has a tummy ache and just goes on the spot.  I do clean the litter boxes twice and day and use natural litter.  I do have a liquid medicine from the vet that I can give him, but I should only give it for 5 days at a time.  Then for a few days he is fine and then we start over again.  I don't know what else to do for him.  Someone mentioned a raw diet.  Exactly what is that and what foods (and how much) do you give them?  I am grateful for any ideas you can give me.  Thanks.

ms1catlover said:

Three years ago I adopted 2 cats, now 10 and 11 years.  The 11 year old has had recurrent bouts of diarrhea.  He has been to the vet and all kinds of tests were done and we found nothing specific.  I have him on DD prescription wet food and he just nibbles on it.  I have tried sprinkling probiotic powder on the food and he walks away.  I have tried adding plain pumpkin to the food and he walks away.  He has always been a small cat, between 5 and 6 pounds.  I don't want him to lose any weight.  I tried the prescription DD dried food, but he ignored it totally.  When it is time to eat, he comes running, but then is not interested in what I am giving him.  Many times, he comes and nibbles a little, leaves and goes to the litter box, then somes back and nibbles some more.  Some times he makes it to his litter box (I have a small one for him in a private place, but he also uses the main litter box that the two of them share.)  There times when he does not make it to the box and leaves his gift for me on the floor.  Some times he acts like he has a tummy ache and just goes on the spot.  I do clean the litter boxes twice and day and use natural litter.  I do have a liquid medicine from the vet that I can give him, but I should only give it for 5 days at a time.  Then for a few days he is fine and then we start over again.  I don't know what else to do for him.  Someone mentioned a raw diet.  Exactly what is that and what foods (and how much) do you give them?  I am grateful for any ideas you can give me.  Thanks.

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There is a whole forum here, part of the Nutrition forum, devoted to feeding raw food, with a number of experts regularly posting htere who will be able to guide you through it. I may well help if you have tried everything else.

Did the vet rule out IBD? That's what it sounds like to me. Some members here have seen amazing improvements in their IBD cats when switched to a raw diet. Carolina's Bugsy had solid poop within 3 or 4 days of switching to raw after months and months of diarrhea. If interested in trying raw, check out the sticky thread at the top of the Raw Feeding forum and start a thread with your questions. The members here are very knowledgeable and helpful.

Yes, my vet ruled out IBD which I was so happy when I found out, but things have not changed.  The only thing that has changed is he is not going as frequently and he is putting on some weight, I have tried the pumpkin and unfortunately its not working either.  I have considered switching to raw food and I have read a lot of the forums here that talk about it but I have a few concerns. The first is more on the financial end because I have three cats and from what I have read there are a lot of supplements that need to be purchased to balance out the raw food diet. I have looked on the website of consumer raw food distributors but they are on the high side and with three cats I don't know if that would be enough.  Granted I'm spending a good penny on grain free food but at least I know they will eat it.  I will look on the forums and ask questions about switching to a raw food diet, at this point it cant hurt to try I have done everything else.  Thank you very one for your replies and suggestions as to how to help my cat peanut. I will continue to update and ask questions on the forums because I know there is a lot of good information that can be gathered from everyone.

Just my opinion here.....I think the grain free high protein foods can make the problem worse. I have a cat that regularly gets diarrhea if she eats just a few days worth of a high protein grain free food - it's a shame because she loves them. Royal Canin's Fiber Response food really worked miracles for my other kitty who was having some persistent diarrhea issues - my vet suspects IBD based on his issues over the years. I've given him many courses of metronidazole (btw that is the generic name for Flagyl) but it was the Fiber Response that helped even him out after getting off the metronidazole last time. Currently he's on Royal Canin's SO diet for preventing urinary issues and seems to be working out for him and my other sensitive stomach kitty. I know Royal Canin's foods don't fit the gospel of what high quality cat food is these days, but I will say this their quality is consistent and prescription diets seem to work really well. (and I promise I'm not getting paid for writing this....)

On the expense issue.....I also have 3 cats (and 3 dogs), who are all on a raw diet.  The cats were originally on a premium grain free canned food diet.  I am now feeding raw ground supplemented with Alnutrin and Salmon Oil to all 6,  I am spending  slightly more than half what I was spending to feed the cats.....and feeding all 6 critters.  That includes food, supplements, and some occasional freeze dried. Using the Alnutrin is probably a bit more expensive than buying the supplements separately.....but easy and convenient.

I agree that looking only at the commercially available products would be more expensive.  Not sure where you are located, but there are suppliers and raw food co-ops in most parts of the country where you can purchase chunks, parts, or ground products.  Many do monthly deliveries in widespread areas.  There are also local distributors for the big suppliers in many cases.  If you are comfortable telling us where you are located, someone might be able to help you find something. I'm in the Midwest, so I use My Pet Carnivore, and Raw Paws coop.....both of whom do monthly deliveries to my area.  

Since I bought a grinder and deep freezer, feeding raw is the same or cheaper than cheap canned for me. I have 3 cats and all are on catinfo.org's recipe with some new meats added (I make sure the meat/bone/ supps are still balanced). I buy meats on sale, and my grinder and deep freezer paid themselves off in about 8 months. And no more diarrhea AND their poop has almost no odor!

I live in Buffalo NY, I have read where people are giving their cats raw chunks of cut up chicken to get them to try to transition onto a raw diet is that okay to do without supplements? Im sure no ones cats transitioned overnight to raw but is that okay to start them in that direction?  I think Im going to go back to the fancy feast, granted me changing up his food so often Im sure is not helping but the grain free has him losing control everywhere. At least with the fancy feast he was not losing control like this, I call myself researching and getting him something better and healthier and I feel like its having the opposite effect.  A lady I work with said her daughter is feeding her cat dry chicken soup for cats, not a lot just a little about 3/4 cup or so once to twice a day and its helping her cat.  I didnt want to go back to dry again because every forum I read says to keep your cat off dry food, the never ending battle. 

As long as the raw meat portion is less than 15% of their total diet (rest being commercial complete foods), you don't need to worry about supplements. So go ahead and add some raw pieces of chicken to the canned. You might want to keep the pieces really small at first then gradually increase the size.

Also switching up canned foods is not a big deal (nothing like dry food switches), so switching back to FF that was not causing an issue is fine. You might want to start a new thread in the Raw Feeding forum when you start adding raw.