My cat has diarrhea all the time!!

Hi everyone,

     A friend gave us the cutest little kitty and 2 months later we found out he has feline leukemia. He was okay for about a year but we noticed he was never really growing much. Then he started having diarrhea and we have not been able to stop it no matter what we do. We have been to several vets who have given us an assortment of medications,  antibiotics, probiotics,, stomach powders, and even experimental shots. We even tried giving him strained pumpkin and it helped to firm his stools up a little but he is still have diarrhea a lot. It is getting to the point he is pooping all over the house and then climbs on the kitchen counters. We are constantly wiping up after him with disinfectant spray, but still can't really keep up with it. And now he has started pooping down the heating vents and it stinks when the heat comes on!!!  We have discussed putting him down, but my oldest daughter loves him so and I don't want to break her heart. However, I can't take too much more of this pooping. I want my clean house back!!!

How can I talk to her (she is a college student so she is old enough to understand) and explain to her that we are going to have to put him down. I think she knows it is coming but I just wonder what others would say and how to approach it. I have never been in this situation before and it is breaking my heart too.

Where do you live? Is there a holistic vet trained in Chinese Medicine you can get to? If you're in the U.S., you can search here: http://www.ahvma.org

What is your kitty eating?

It may be as simple as needing a different diet and appropriate probiotics.

http://www.catinfo.org

I would consider an all wet food diet, with novel proteins (lamb, venison, rabbit, for instance), digestive enzymes and probiotics. If diarrhea is the only current symptom, there's no reason to kill your kitty.

In the meantime, I would stop feeding everything you're feeding. Put your kitty on a diet of turkey baby food, preferably Beech Nut. Twice a day, give him 1/2 a teaspoon of slippery elm bark powder mixed into one teaspoon of George's Aloe Vera Juice (must be George's, as it is fractionally distilled without any of the latex, which is toxic to cats, and has no taste). Let it gel up. Mix it into the meat baby food.

For a probiotic, go to a health food store and ask for their best L. acidophilus supplement. I use Natural Factors double-strength acidophilus+bifidus. You want 5 billion CFU, and you want to give it twice a day. I buy the double-strength, because it is 10 billion CFU, and I give 1/2 a capsule 2x a day.

This is very soothing, very anti-inflammatory, and very healing. And the plain diet helps to provide a "system reset."

Has anyone ever prescribed prednisone for your kitty? What meds have been tried?

Please keep us posted, we can probably help. Many vibes

...and if you live some place where you can purchase frozen commercial raw food, like Nature's Variety, I would consider trying that after the baby food for a week or two.

Sometimes just a species-appropriate diet is all that's needed.

I assume a PCR has been done on the stool to rule out T. foetus? Clostridium? C. perfringens? C. difficile?

In fact, I would consider also using a probiotic called S. boulardii. You want 2.5 billion CFU 2x a day. Buy one without MOS, that makes it bitter and they won't eat it. It's OK if it's in combination with other acidophilus or bifidus strains, but do make sure that the S. boulardii content itself is at least 2.5 billion CFU.

Nexabiotic used to make one that was palatable to cats, but they changed the formula, and it doesn't have enough S. boulardii in it now. I buy Nutricology brand.

LDG gave some awesome advice. Another thing I should add:

I know you're using a disinfectant to clean messes - I would use a enzyme cleaner first, just in case, especially if your kitty is having the runs at multiple locations, but consistently in those same locations. 

I'd absolutely give LDG's suggestions a try. My cats don't have feline leukemia, but I fought some pretty bad diarrhea that meds weren't touching. I switched them to a raw diet and it made all the difference in the world. Home-cooked might be an option too, just don't feed cooked bones. If the plain diet helps, we can help you properly balance it in the raw/home-cooked feeding forum.

...and though I do not advise the use of this supplement without the supervision of a vet trained in Chinese Medicine, it will resolve the diarrha. It will not solve the cause of it though. But it will buy you time to find the proper diet and supplement solution for your kitty. :heart2:

The product is Consolidate Qi by Kan Herb company. http://www.vitaliving.com/Consolidate_Qi_1oz-by-Kan_Herb_Company

Start by adding one drop to a meal, twice a day. If that doesn't do it, then increase by one drop at a time at one meal at a time, up to a maximum of 3 drops at 3 meals a day.

Wow, great advice from everyone! I thought we had tried everything but now I'm feeling some hope that there are other things to try and we might be able to stop this diarrhea. I hate to put him down because he really does not have other symptoms, except the poor thing is bone thin. Our vet is really not very supportive and I get the feeling that they feel the best thing is to put him down, but if there are other things to try, I can't do it yet. First I'm going to try the strained turkey and the other probiotics that were mentioned above. I didn't know there were that many different ones. Oh and by the way, we have tried steroids but the only time it worked was on the first round. Recently, we tried them again at a higher dose, but it didn't help at all.

Thanks everyone, and I will keep you all posted!

Vonny

Another resource you may find helpful: http://www.ibdkitties.net

Though I suspect this is actually related to a bacterial imbalance or parasite.

FYI, our Chumley has FIV. He had the same problem with diarrhea. Our traditional vets and all their prescription foods and medicines and probiotics did nothing. In fact, Fortiflora made it worse, as if that was possible. He was also licking himself bald, and his stomach was bare.

The Chinese-trained vet had him on the right track after our first visit, and his diarrhea resolved within a few days.

The problem is not the leukemia. The problem is his immune system, and the leukemia isn't helping. Western vets just do not know how to manage immune systems gone haywire, which is what is happening to your kitty. :heart2:

FYI, our Chumley eats a homemade raw diet now, and is so freaking healthy, it's ridiculous. He can eat any protein without a problem.

For him, the slippery elm bark powder / aloe vera / probiotic helped, but did NOT completely resolve his diarrhea or manage his ... immune system imbalance. The Consolidate Qi resolved his diarrhea completely, but it only provided time for the other herbs the Chinese-trained vet prescribed to work. We then transitioned him to a raw diet, and he now needs no supplements (other than dietary). Though I do give all my cats a probiotic daily (and my husband and I take them as well). The balance of gut bacteria is SO important to immune system function, as our GI tract accounts for about 70% of our immune system. :heart2:

Please keep us posted, as we may be able to make suggestions as things progress.

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as the other folks who have replied to you, but I wanted to second their suggestions. Also, it sounds like it may be time to find another vet, especially if yours was going straight to medications and shots without ever changing the diet.

When my kitty first developed IBD, she had the runs and was in and out of her litterbox every 15-20 minutes from about an hour after eating until she was clear. With her long, fluffy fur, it was a nightmare — multiple baths a day, poop streaks everywhere, etc. And she STUNK. No pooping on the counters or down the vents, but I can only imagine how awful that would be! My vet worked with me on changing her diet — we swapped her to a limit duck-based diet for a while until things were under control, then introduced foods back in to see what she could handle when she got bored with the duck and started refusing it. She ended up on a prescription food that put weight back on her — she is a big kitty, but was down to 10 pounds (she should be 12, and was overweight at 14, when she began having problems). It took several months, but by working closely with a vet who was invested in getting her healthy, everything has been under control extremely well for a few years now, and we're actually having the opposite problem with her being overweight again.

I know this kind of success is not the norm, and feline leukemia is a different kettle of fish than IBD, but with such a young kitty, I would definitely not give up hope yet, especially if weight loss and diarrhea are his only symptoms. If you can get the diarrhea under control, he will put weight back on again.

I definitely agree with trying different foods, especially a novel protein limited diet like LDG said. Another thing might be to run a full blood panel. If he's had diarrhea long-term, it's my understanding (although don't take my word for it, I'm not a sciency person and may have misunderstood the vet!) that it can give them vitamin deficiencies and until those get back in balance, it can just keep feeding the problem. So if his B12 is low or something, he may need shots or supplements to bring it back up and that may help his digestion, because it being low can make the diarrhea worse and the diarrhea keeps it low. (Like I said, though, I'm not sure I have this right.)

Otherwise, I don't have anything new to add, I just wanted to offer more encouragement as someone who has been in a similar situation. Please don't give up on him yet! And the best of luck with getting him back on track.

Yes - B12 shots are also something to consider. :nod: With the constant diarrhea, there is definitely a problem with absorbing needed nutrients. While L. acidophilus increases B12 absorption, B12 shots may also really help through this process. :heart2: