Question about diarrhea

Does canned pumpkin or plain white rice really help a cat if he has diarrhea?

Canned pumpkin (not pie filling) has been used very successfully for diarrhea, especially for stomach upset, food issues, etc. It does depend on the cause though. It will not help for things like parasites so if pumpkin does not help, then there's something else going on that probably needs a vet visit.

I have heard of feeding a bland diet of plain boiled chicken and white rice for a few days to settle the stomach and eliminate food intolerances, but I am not sure about using just rice for diarrhea.

The best thing to do is to work with your vet to determine the cause of the diarrhea.  Have you discussed this with the vet? 

Well, I did take Frankie to his doctor yesterday and his stool sample came back positive for roundworms. My vet explained that the medication he is giving me for Frankie is topical. Now here are my next set of questions.  1.) Frankie is strictly an indoor kitty so how did he get them? 2.) What can I expect from Frankie one I medicate him?

Did he give you Revolution?  You can expect the diarrhea to clear up within a few days and if his tummy was bloated, the bloating should go away.  Is your kitty a kitten and how long have you had him?  Most kittens are born with roundworms; it's very common in kittens and strays.  A lot of times, cats pick these up by consuming bugs that are infected.  http://www.thedrakecenter.com/resources/client-handouts/feline-roundworm-infection   It's very common for more than one treatment to be applied to completely get rid of the parasites, too.

No, the vet prescribed " Profender "  I have to apply in directly on his skin between the shoulder blades. And Frankie is 3 years old and I have had him almost a year. I adopted him from a family friend that couldn't care for him any longer.

Ah, okay!  Be sure you get it down on the skin and out of the reach of his tongue.  You might want to move it up a bit to the back of the head.

I applied it directly on his skin but he squirmed a little bit so a small amount is on his hair but at the base of it. He is going to go through this process again in 3 weeks so I am not concerned. I forgot to ask the vet if I should keep him on a bland diet. What do you think Stephanie?

I would until you see firm poops.  Then you could work to gradually reintroduce his old food.

I have given pumpkin to several cats. It helps to a point. It  gets them to the cosistency of pumpkin. Still soft. Curing the underlying cause is the key.

Thanks all for the responses. Ended up taking him to vet yesterday and his stool sample test positive for round worms. Treated him with Profender today, so hopefully he will be back to his old self soon.