My fur baby needs help :(!

I just created this name in hopes of someone being able to help or give advice or comfort.
This is my about 4 year old domestic short haired tortoiseshell cat. She is cleverly named…Tortie. She was rescued by my boyfriend from the SPCA after being in a cage for a whole year ! We call her hound (she acts like a dog) I have had the privilege to have this cat in my life for a while now and as of the past couple of months I'm in distress. For my poor girl is sick

It first happened a few months back when she suddenly started going outside the litter box. Just pooping though. At first, we thought there was something wrong with the litter. or the placement of the box. Or she was being bullied out of the boxes. (we also have a same age male cat) she would go right out side of the box (we caught her on camera) so we tried everything between changing the litter, buying another box and moving the box away from the others. Nothing seemed to work.

One day she was acting funny. My boyfriend made a noise and she ran and hid under the bed. Now, loud noises happen all the time in the house and the cats are never fazed. Also she had never his under the bed before the entire time we have had her. We tried to coax her out and after 20 minutes we eventually pulled her out. Also, she went from eating her food without a issue to us having to watch her and move the bowl to get her to eat (the other cat has a eating problem so we have to watch and feed them separately) also she has been more vocal. Crying for no reason and sometimes unable to even have a audible meow. And this is just varies from day to day. Some days she's our normal baby girl. Other days she is funky

After that incident of her hiding under the bed we decided to take her to the vet for we actually caught her eating a dryer sheet :/. At the vet he checked her for blockage and found none and put her on some broad antibiotics for a week and a bland food diet. The vet thought maybe her food has been making her sick. Boy did she love eating with her medicine! We didn't have to do anything for her to finish. She would even lick her bowl clean! Everything seemed to be great and we didn't find as much poop outside of the box. Other than 1-2 incidents but a week after the medicine she started going everywhere. Even one time in front of us. And the smell made everyone sick it was way worse than normal cat poop smell. And it wasn't fully solid it was moist but not liquid.

So we took her back to the vet. There they did a radiograph of her stomach and drew blood and gave us a tube for a stool sample. Which we turned in within a couple of days. All test came back negative. Which meant no parasite, bacteria, virus or blockage. All thought that sounds good news it also isn't. The doctor would like to do more blood work and surgery to test a piece of her intestine.

The surgery test alone is 1500 dollars. As much as I would love to do it to see what could be wrong. My boyfriend and I do not have that money to give. And for it to potentially come up with nothing is a hard to agree to. We just don't want her to be a pin cushion. And we are just at a crossroad. We can't nor do we want to give up on her. We rescued her! We aren't the kind of people to just dump her off anywhere either. We considering getting a second opinion maybe with a cheaper vet. And she just keeps getting worse with her stool which is almost pure liquid. And her behavior at times is almost saddening :'(

If anyone has an idea please let us know. I myself feel trapped alone and scared for my little girl

Hi :-)

Please list her current symptoms.

Did the vet mention any possible diagnoses that they are trying to rule in or rule out?

Is the surgery a biopsy of the intestines?

It's going to be hard to assist you unless you can answer at least the first question.

Thanks.

I just joined the other day looking for help and comfort also.    I hope somebody can help you.  Your kitty is very cute. 

Her current symptoms are:

• soft almost liquid stool and going outside of litter box and all over the house sometimes not near the box at all
• excessive skittishness and being scared and hiding
• unwilling to finish her food
• more vocal crying. Sometimes not audible

The doctor says he wants to do the biopsy or the intestine and says it could possible be inflammatory bowl disease. He also says she's too young but maybe cancer.

I have no advice to give, just good vibes coming your way for you and your little girl.
I imagine you must be very frustrated and upset with the situation. Please keep us updated!

Kiwikayrah said:

Her current symptoms are:

• soft almost liquid stool and going outside of litter box and all over the house sometimes not near the box at all
• excessive skittishness and being scared and hiding
• unwilling to finish her food
• more vocal crying. Sometimes not audible

The doctor says he wants to do the biopsy or the intestine and says it could possible be inflammatory bowl disease. He also says she's too young but maybe cancer.

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@Kiwikayrah

OK thanks. 

- Have tests been performed on the stool to rule out parasites? 

- Was she put on a course of Flagyl (Metronizidole)?  This is a very common step when dealing with diarrhea of unknown causes.

- Has she had weight loss, and if yes, how much and since when?

In my opinion it is premature to do a surgical biopsy unless there has already been an ulatrsound.  The next step in standard vet care in my opinion would be a much less invasive ultrasound (imaging) of the intestines and related organs to look primarily for inflammation of the intestines.  If there is inflammation then the most likely cause is IBD, which can be treated with various combinations of diet change, steroids and vitamin B-12.

The only reason to do a surgical biopsy in my opinion is to differentiate between IBD and small cell lymphoma (the cancer to which s/he is probably referring) because one cannot differentiate IBD from sm. cell lymphoma in an ultrasound. Having said that, if there is inflammation without weight loss then the chances are very low that its lymphoma and I don't know any vets who would put a cat through major surgery (and this biopsy is definitely major surgery - if you aren't sure look at the 6" scar on my cat's belly) unless there was weight loss.

So without knowing if there even is inflammation of the intestines it is way too soon to be talking about a biopsy. IBD without weight loss is usually treated in the manner described above and often very successfully.  Note that the treatment for IBD and sm. cell lymphoma is essentially the same so having a definitive diagnosis of one versus the other isn't totally required, although it may bring peace of mind, and slightly expand treatment options if its lymphoma (but not in a particularly useful way in my opinion).

If you cat hasn't had an ultrasound and your vet wants to do a biopsy, i'd look for another vet especially if your cat hasn't had significant weight loss or at least a second opinion.

The reason I keep stressing weight loss is because of its fundamental connection to these 2 diseases.  Cats with parasites or bacterially unbalanced intestines generally don't loose weight because even though they have diarrhea, they are still absorbing nutrients.  Cats with severe IBD or sm. cell lymphoma are having nutrient malabsorbtion issues and cannot take in enough nutrients and start losing weight as a result.

I would ask about trying a steroid.  Many vets use a steroid trial as a diagnostic tool for IBD.  One thing to keep in mind though is that giving a steroid will mean that a biopsy result will not be reliable unless she comes off the steroid for several weeks first.

@Denice's idea is well supported by the vet community. :-)

StephenQ said:

@Kiwikayrah



OK thanks. 
- Have tests been performed on the stool to rule out parasites? 
- Was she put on a course of Flagyl (Metronizidole)?  This is a very common step when dealing with diarrhea of unknown causes.
- Has she had weight loss, and if yes, how much and since when?

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Yes the test resulted in no parasites (which we swore we thought that's what it was because of the smell of her bowel movements)
No she was not put on those medicines I believe because her stool wasn't liquid it was soft and still had shape but it was not like normal stool
And no weight loss at all. If anything we took her to the vet once just being fed a few hours before hand and once where we took her there before we fed her. Lol

We are probably going to look up a different vet for a second opinion. Also we might ask for steroids see if that does anything.

This sounds like a behavioral issue.  I had a cat who had these exact same symptoms when we moved to a new home.  My vet told me she had stress-induced fecal incontinence.  Basically, she would go so stressed, she'd poop inappropriately.  We started using Feliway diffusers to help her de-stress.  That helped a lot!  Then, we added additional litter boxes.  At the time, she was the only cat, but we still added a new box.  In your case, be sure you have one more box than you have cats.  So if you have two cats, be sure to have 3 boxes.  There may be outside cats invading her "territory" and that's enough to stress her.  Also, if you have an active household, that might be stressful to her.  Or, if your schedule has changed that might be causing the stress.

@stephanietx's thoughts are also quite possible.  And a negative test (especially if done as in in house flotation test) doesn't actually mean its negative for parasites. A better test is available if the sample is sent out and for this and similar reasons Flagyl is often given even when there is no positive test result.  If it works, then you have a positive diagnosis for something and a treatment that works.

NOTHING about this sounds like lymphoma at this point and it even seems like jumping the gun on IBD without a trial of steroids or diet change. There is ZERO reason in my opinion based on what you have said as to why a surgical biopsy would be done at this point in time.

Have you had her thyroid tested? Did they do a urinalysis? Can you get her a box with lower sides or a step up to the box she has? Is the box covered? Do you have one box per cat plus one? I would think medical issue. I would not be diagnosing IBD or Lymphoma online. There are other things that can give a cat water stool. What are you feeding? You can always tell the vet you cannot/ will not do surgery and what other options are there. I would seek a specialist as your second opinion. No point just getting another DVM's opinion. For the cost of an office call better to get someone with vast experience in these sorts of things. Checking the thyroid is important. They have checked the glucose I would imagine.

This sounds somewhat similar to what's been going on with my male cat, except he is completely backed up/ constipated. $2400 later, they still don't know what's wrong with him after running all the tests. I'm off to vet in a short while to pick him back up. If I had any answers then I would gladly tell you because I know exactly what you're going through. I'll see what she says and let you know. If you want you can check out my thread on this site and check for similarities. Best of luck!

I agree with what a lot of other people are saying--it seems a little hasty to me to automatically be jumping to a surgical procedure--that wouldn't even FIX anything initially, just diagnose it further....but in this case, it may not even be necessary. Pleeeease get a second opinion! You are not dedicated to returning to this doctor forever. Humans doctor shop to find the one they like/trust/communicate the best with, so why wouldn't we for our fur babies? 

Similar to what @stephanietx  said, I had a problem with inappropriate urination. So, a little different since it was urine and not feces, but similar in a sense. We now also use a Feliway diffuser and I also have her on Prozac, of all things. When communicating with the vet of possible solutions and/or medications, perhaps that would be worth a mention. I'm not entirely knowledgeable on the success with inappropriate pooping, but there's a high success rate with inappropriate peeing. Maybe it's the same!
 

Best of luck and good vibes to you and yours. Tell the kitty I said meow.     

What was she eating before she got sick, and what food changes have been made since?  This sounds like IBS/IBD.

peaches08 said:

What was she eating before she got sick, and what food changes have been made since?  This sounds like IBS/IBD.

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Dry indoor cat chow same as she has always had since she was adopted. Now she's on a bland diet dry chow that the has prescribed to her.

stephanietx said:

This sounds like a behavioral issue.  I had a cat who had these exact same symptoms when we moved to a new home.  My vet told me she had stress-induced fecal incontinence.  Basically, she would go so stressed, she'd poop inappropriately.  We started using Feliway diffusers to help her de-stress.  That helped a lot!  Then, we added additional litter boxes.  At the time, she was the only cat, but we still added a new box.  In your case, be sure you have one more box than you have cats.  So if you have two cats, be sure to have 3 boxes.  There may be outside cats invading her "territory" and that's enough to stress her.  Also, if you have an active household, that might be stressful to her.  Or, if your schedule has changed that might be causing the stress.

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We had two boxes before the issue started. When we looked up what could be wrong and everything pointed to behavioral. Be bought another cat box (making three between two cats) she still would continue to go outside of the box and her condition has gotten worse . Not much has changed around the house as far as change could get. (Going to work and coming home) we may check out that de-stress spray you were speaking about . Anything we can do to get us one step closer to reliefs and healthiness. They are both also indoor cats and till get flea and tick medicine just in case.

I had cat behavior problems, as I seem to have the (ENORMOUS quantity!) abandonned cats in the tiny village where I live come to seek food and shelter. However some, fat and cared for, were very agressive towards spayed females...Here people tend to move, but leave the cat behind like unwanted furniture...horrible thought, and my capacities are limited! Not to mention the money for food, but we do what we can.

Any how, due to stressed cats, and the odd fight, I was getting as stressed as the cats. I'd tried a "Comfort Zone" coller for one of my dogs when she was very stressed after an older dog died, and it worked. So, me thinks, if it works for dogs, should do the same for cats.

I found Feliway, in an electric diffuser, which I used for a few months (you need to change it every month, but the refills are cheaper than the diffuser and refill initial.

Calm relative was restored quite fast, and after 4 or 5 months of permanent use the cats seemed much more tolerant with each other, the litter trays were used as needed, although we have a garden, and there are fields round us, but to cut a long story short, it really did help a hostile atmosphere to become a much calmer one...shame it's not used on some people, IMO, when I think

I don't know where you are, but I shop on internet, as it's nearly 30kms to a small, restricted town, and otherwise 100kms! Anything I need out of the ordinary I need to go through Internet. My first diffuser arrived in 2 or 3 days, and I bought the screw on refill bottles in advance, at the cheapest place I found.

I was TBH very surprised that it actually worked, as I'm pretty skeptic about these so called miracle cures, but it's actually pheromones that are produced by a mother cat to comfort her babies when they are small. It is synthisised, I'm told, so not taken from actual cats. I've stopped using it now, since calm was instated, but if your cat is behaving in this manner from a stress or insecurity or what ever problem (we never really understand the causes of a cats reactions to an unknown source!) this product really helped my possey of pussies, thank the cat god, and it's initially about 20€, diffuser and product, instructions included.and in a month you'll see if it's working for your cat. If not it's less than the vets' bills are, and it might well be the answer.

Good luck, any way, and cuddles for your cat, hoping something's sorted out