Cat has diarrhea and lethargy?

fluttershy

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Hi everyone.

My 13 year old cat, Fiesta, is experiencing yellowy, liquid foul-smelling diarrhea, and is pretty lethargic. Fiesta is also slowly losing weight. She's eating and drinking just fine, but I have no idea what's going on with her.  She sits in a meatloaf position often, and takes a while to get comfortable. I just hope it's not kidney failure, but I fear that it is. I've seen this happen to three cats I've had in the past...

She isn't vomiting, and she's already been to the vet with no signs of parasites and she has been ruled out for hyperthyroidism and diabetes. She'll be going again next Tuesday.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Diarrhea is not usually a sign of kidney failure.  Losing weight is, though.  When you took her to the Vet, I'm guessing they did blood tests to rule out diabetes and hyperthyroidism.  Didn't they also rule out kidney disease?  How long ago was that? 

Until next Tuesday, to try to stop the diarrhea, you could try giving her just plain boiled chicken and white rice.  Boil the chicken first (don't use any salt or herbs or spices), then cook the rice in the chicken broth.  Shred some of the chicken and mix with the rice and broth and feed her that for a couple of days to give her digestive tract a break. Just don't give her any cooked bones (ok to just boil up a boneless breast).   While you're at it, you can try giving her some probiotics (human ones are fine, just open up a capsule and mix it into the rice) or some plain yogurt with live cultures. 

 
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fluttershy

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Thank you very much for your reply.

I tried feeding my cat bland foods, but she is incredibly picky, so we're just sticking with hard foods. We're staying away from wet food as our vet advised. She's had the diarrhea for more than a month now, and it's driving us crazy, because we can't figure out what's wrong with her. Quite frankly, I'm glad she's still eating. I'm afraid she might stop at some point.
 

We didn't do a kidney blood test, that's the one we're going to be doing this up coming Tuesday. But you're right, chronic diarrhea is something I've never seen in cats with CRF. They are usually constipated, from my experience.
 

vball91

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Why did your vet advise you to stay away from wet foods? Which dry food are you feeding currently? In addition to kidney tests, I would talk to your vet about pancreatitis and IBD. Pancreatitis needs a separate blood test (fPLI), and IBD a biopsy for a definitive diagnosis although most vets will treat for IBD without a biopsy if all other possible diagnoses are ruled out and the symptoms fit.
 
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fluttershy

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Thank you very much for replying.

She told me to stay away from that because she said wet foods can cause diarrhea. But this has been going on for far too long to be wet food. We're giving her Science Diet -- Sensitive Stomach. I will ask her about checking for those, too.
 
 

vball91

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I would seriously consider a diet change because what you are feeding now is clearly not helping. I would try the best quality limited ingredient novel protein food you can find. Mrsgreenjeens' suggestion of plain chicken and rice is good as well if you can do it, as is the suggestion of probiotics.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Yes, I think possibly it's the FOOD that may be causing the issue here.  How long have you been feeding her the Science Diet Sensitive Stomach?  She very well may have developed IBD, and kibble is the worst thing for that.  Now, believe me, I understand the importance of having a cat eat!  Eating kibble is better than not eating at all.  But at the same time, eating something that may be causing consistent diarrhea is not healthy either. 

BTW, from what you last said, I'm getting the impression that she used to eat canned food, and you stopped because the Vet suggest it...is that correct?  If so, what canned food was she on?  I know you said she was picky, but I would think about trying the chicken and rice again, and if she won't eat it, at least you have given it a try.  It really should  help stop the diarrhea and give her intestines a break.  Then if you can get those probiotics in there to put some good bacteria back in there, it would be a start.

And you are right, normally CRF kitties have constipation
.  This doesn't sound at all like CRF.  Sound very much like IBD.  Here is a link to a great website on IBD: 

http://www.ibdkitties.net/index.html
 
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fluttershy

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Update:

Went to the vet today, and she found a large mass near the stomach area of my cat. :( She lost almost a pound in just 2 weeks, so we suspect cancer. :( All we can do right now is to make her comfortable. We can't afford surgery...
 
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fluttershy

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Hi everyone, we had to put Fiesta to sleep today because the cancer absolutely ravaged her system. She eventually stopped eating and drinking, and was too weak to even move. R.I.P., Fiesta. :(
 
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