El Tigre wont eat, bloody stool... will it pass?

Apologies in advance for a long post.

Poor little El Tigre (1.5 years old) is not a happy kitty right now.  I came home from work on Monday and found a large pile of vomit on my closet.  We have two cats, so I wasn't sure which one it was.  But cat puke happens at times, so I wasn't concerned.  We went to practice and when we came home El Tigre was curled up on the front step which is odd and I was immediately concerned.  I watched him use the litter box and saw a very runny stool and saw red blood.  The poop also smelled really bad, but not like poop, more like an infection(?) or something.  We immediately went to the ER vet.

Vet examined him, and looked at the poop under the microscope.  She said she saw 'large clumps' of E. Coli.  Also tested for Giardia and that came back negative.  He got a shot of pepcid, some sub-q fluids and we were sent home with some liquid Metronidazole.  He did NOT like the liquid when we gave it to him and started drooling all over the place and chomping his mouth.  He refused to eat anything and when I even touched his mouth area (to clean up the drool and stuff) he would freak out and run away and drool more. 

He seemed worse the next morning, barely able to recognize us and certainly not eating or drinking anything.  In fact, when I offered food he literally ran away from it.  I took him back to the ER and they ran bloodwork and gave him more sub q fluids and sent us home again (this time with Metronidazole in pill form).  The vet seem too very concerned and said he probably just feels really crummy and needs time to get over it.  Metronidazole can take a while to have an effect and he probably spit up his dose from last night. She did say that if he isn't improving in another 24 - 36 hours we will need to bring him back to be hospitalized ($$$).

Well, this morning he does seem to be slightly more alert.  He hadn't used the litter box all night (he had been using it constantly and just leaving a few drops of mucusy stool).  He did pee and then passed some of the smelly mucusy stool.  He was rubbing up against my and eventually curled up on my lap, which is far more like his normal self then he was yesterday.  He sniffed at food rather then ran away from it, but still refused to eat it and he also won't drink water.

So I'm trying to decide if I need to just give him more time? Or do I take him to the ER for hospitalization?  I was also thinking I might try taking him to his regular vet rather then the ER since they tend to be slightly more reasonably priced.  The vets all think it is just colitis and he will get over it in a few days.  I'm of course worried sick.  Thoughts?

The metro does taste horrible.  All cats react to it with the drooling.  My vet gives it to me with the pills cut up and put inside gel caps.  I know there are places where you can buy those empty gel caps but I am not sure where.  He does need to eat even if it means syringe feeding.  There are videos on youtube and one here that shows how to do it, basically you go slow and put it in the side of his mouth.

If you can start getting food into him and he keeps it down you could probably wait a day or two if he doesn't get worse.  If you don't begin to see a visible improvement then I would take him to your regular vet.  ER vets are good for what they do, just like for humans.  For diagnostics I think that your regular vet may be a better choice.  The ER vets are also ridiculously overpriced but sometimes you do what you have to do.

Agree with Denice on all counts. The metro does taste awful by all accounts and does cause drooling. I would get the metro in pills like Denice suggests as opposed to liquid. I don't think you can hide the taste of the liquid. You can get empty gelatin capsules here. http://www.thrivingpets.com/index.php/gelatin-capsules.html Get the smallest size that will fit the pills.

He must have food if he is to recover. Many vets don't seem to stress the importance of this enough. Cats can get fatty liver disease if they stop eating, in as little as 24 hours as reported by some members here. Here is a video explaining how to syringe feed. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating

Many vibes for El Tigre to recover quickly.

Thanks.  I already have the metro stuff in pills and we have been successfully using those since yesterday. 

I just managed to get a few bites of wet food into him by dropping it in like pills.  He also rolled over for belly rubs (his favorite) and purred for the first time since he has been sick, so that is further signs of improvement.  I'm gonna see if the food stays down or not.  He's only been on the metro stuff for like 24 hours, so he may just need more time.  Of course, I have no idea if antibiotics are really what he needs since I don't know what is causing this.

The metro also has an anti-inflammatory effect.  Even if the antibiotic part isn't needed it will still help.

Denice said:

 
The metro also has an anti-inflammatory effect.  Even if the antibiotic part isn't needed it will still help.

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I wasn't aware of that, so thank you for sharing.

This whole episode is really been bothering me, mainly because nobody can tell me what is going on or what caused it.  I've dealt with cat health problem before.... lost 1 cat to CRF (she decided she was not willing to take sub-q fluids and I decided not to force her to do something she hated) and another to some kind of obstruction, although that was just the straw that broke the camels back... he had tons of other issues before that and was on all sorts of pills and the docs said he wasn't likely to survive surgery.  All this in the past 3 years.  Now my new young kittie is sick, and nobody is sure why.

:-(

Could he have gotten into anything toxic? It seems like he is allowed outdoors unsupervised? Any plants at home or in the yards that could be an issue? Any change in diet, new food or treats?

vball91 said:

 
Could he have gotten into anything toxic? It seems like he is allowed outdoors unsupervised? Any plants at home or in the yards that could be an issue? Any change in diet, new food or treats?

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These are all possibilities as he does go outside.  I can't say for sure about plants... I don't have much of anything in my yard, but I can't speak for the neighbors.

I should have added that no, there has been no change in his diet on my end.  He gets Science diet and an occasional pouch of wetfood and dental treats (Greenies).

Just got back from our regular vet (instead of the ER).  To my amazement and pleasure, he did manage to eat a (very) small bit of food on his own at the vets office when they offered it to him.  He also got another dose of fluids with some vitamins and an appetite stimulant.  They tried to give him some new medicine that is for colitis, but it was an oral liquid and he put on an impressive display of what cats can do when they don't like liquid meds (drool / slobber all over the exam area).  He has officially been declared to not accept oral liquids.

Vet seems to think he is on the mend and wants to me continue with the ABX (metro) and give him a bit of Pepcid AC.  If he doesn't start drinking I have to bring him back tomorrow for more fluids, but she is hopeful that he will turn the corner soon.  His behavior is starting to seem a bit more like normal as well.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the worst has passed.

Sorry to hear about El Tigre, our Mithu also had an e coli infection about 18 months ago, she had runny stools mixed with mucous and bright red blood..she also strained a lot in her litter box and would usually pass very small amounts of stool. Her appetite declined quite a bit and she was in a lot of stress. The metrodinazole did not work on her particular strain of the infection and she was put on a course of cefadroxil and daily Sub q fluids for about a week which resolved the infection. The vet did have to do a fecal culture to study which antibiotic the bacteria was susceptible to, which was how her figured out the need for cefadroxil. I do hope the Metrodinazole works on El Tigre, here's wishing him a speedy and full recovery...

If it's E coli, antibiotics are necessary. Mogli had horrible smelly diarrhea when we got him, and tested positive for enterohemorrhagic E coli, which had colonized his intestines. He was put on a 10-day course of Marbocyl (basically Baytril "2.0") to knock off the E coli. According to the vets, he would have gotten it from eating uncooked meat or (possibly) vegetables. Since El Tigre goes outdoors, it's possible he ate something raw, and his immune system wasn't up to fighting off the infection.

Just a quick update to say that El Tigre is definitely showing signs of improvement.  He isn't eating at his normal pace yet, but he I have seen him eat and drink on his own and he is getting in enough food over the course of the day to sustain himself.  He is also finally meowing to get out of the basement where he has been quarantined (we have another cat) so he can hang out with us and get some snuggles.  No more bloody poop either.  Still doesn't have his normal levels of energy or anything close to that, but he doesn't seem as out of it and wobbly as he was just 48 hours ago.  I'm not ready to say he is totally out of the woods yet, but I think we are getting close!

Hooray! Continued vibes for El Tigre! Glad he's starting to feel better.

Well, El Tigre seems to be acting more and more like himself, but he is still having some issues.  Yesterday and today he has puked up what looks like most of everything he has eaten.  Obviously its pretty hard to tell.  He did poop a little this morning, and while it was pretty 'runny', it wasn't bloody or stinky like the stuff he had when this first started.  He is eating and drinking on his own, and in fact seems pretty hungry. 

Could this be a food allergy thing or something?  I have a feeling the normal cat food he eats (and likes) might be part of the problem.  Or maybe his system is still just pretty messed up from whatever hit it.  He certainly seems to be a bit queasy at times (liking his lips, a bit of drool).  I'm gonna try giving him some different foods, and in small doses and see if he can keep everything down.  Is this all part of the normal recovery process?  Or a sign of something else?

It could just be part of recovering.  I would take it slow with trying different foods.  There is a prescription food called Hill's A/D, it's Royal Canin equivalent is called Recovery, that is very good for ill cats.  You can't find it at pet stores only at a vet's office. I think you can also order it but that would be a case.  It really is only for short term use.  I think most vets stock it even if they mostly deal with dogs.  I know with the Hills anyway it's the same formula for dogs and cats.  I would wait until he is well before trying to figure out the best food for him.