Chronic Diarrhea

Hello,

I was hoping for some advice, and to see if anyone else has had a similar experience.

I have two cats, one is 11 months (Sammy) and the other 8 months (Willow). When we got Sammy he was very healthy and happy with no problems at all. We got Willow a while later and she had Diarrhea. She had be de-wormed by her breeder. Our vet said it was probably just nerves from being in a new place etc but that if it didn't improve in 2 weeks to bring her back. It didn't go away so we went back to the vet who gave her a super a dose of Milbemax anti-parasite medication.
This didn't help so after a fever analysis he put both cats, on a medication called Flagyl Suspension for a week. This didn't work so we tried a Hypoallergenic diet which didn't work and also gave Sammy Diarrhea so we changed back to normal food. Sammy went onto the Flagyl Suspension again and Willow was given an anti-inflammatory injection.
These things works for a couple of weeks but then both cats returned to having on and off Diarrhea again.
At this point out vet recommended a cat specialist. We have been once and the specialist analysed the cat poo again but said that he needed poo that was less than 3 hours old. He suspected it might be a virus that is nicknamed 'the cow poo virus'. But he couldn't be sure without further analysis.
Because of the hours we work and the times which the cats normally go to the toilet, so far it's been impossible to deliver poo to the cat specialist.
It's been 6 months now since the whole Diarrhea saga started and I'm starting to lose the will to live. The cats seem happy, eat well, play, drink etc and are growing but I can't help worry about it.

Anyway, if anyone has had a similar experience or has any recommendations about what to do, I would LOVE to hear from you.

Thanks!

I think your vet is talking about this http://www.entirelypets.com/feline-trichomaniasis.html   I had never heard of it referred to as a virus but as a bacterial parasite.  It is very common in cattle which is probably where the nickname comes from..  It's appearance in kitties is fairly recent.  I do know there is some criteria about getting the sample and it has to be sent out to be checked.  The medication for it can have some neurological side effects which is why vets want to make sure that a kitty has it rather than just treating because the symptoms are right and no other parasites are present.

Hi Denice.

Thanks so much for responding. We're going to make another vets appointment and maybe get the vet to keep the cats in overnight so hopefully after that they'll know what's happening!

We'll see!

xmcglinn said:

Hi Denice.

Thanks so much for responding. We're going to make another vets appointment and maybe get the vet to keep the cats in overnight so hopefully after that they'll know what's happening!

We'll see!

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Are you and your vet able to do a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test?  It amplifies DNA and will give you a definitive answer if its a parasite or bacteria, but it has to be sent out to a lab like Idexx.

I'm not sure....possibly. I'll ask when we see him.

xmcglinn said:

I'm not sure....possibly. I'll ask when we see him.

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May i ask where you're located, roughly?

Kittens get parasites all the time, and their immune systems aren't as strong as adult cats, so the diarrhea happens. The diarrhea can flare up or subside depending on stress and diet, but the parasites can remain in their system for years if untreated. The Milbemax treats for roundworm, hookworm, and tapeworm, and Flagyl treats giardia and also has an anti-inflammatory effect, but there are other common parasites and some more resistant strains of giardia out there, so sometimes more than one treatment or a different medication is needed. The most likely culprits are giardia and coccidia (sometimes both!). Giardia tends to cause brown, occasionally sweet-smelling diarrhea, and coccidia is more yellowy and foul smelling, but that can vary a lot. Or it could be something else entirely, like this cow poo virus? But in shelters we have diarrhea in kittens all the time and most of them have giardia, coccidia, and occasionally cryptosporidiosis. You can have your vet order a PCR test that is sent out to a lab and find out for sure what the parasite is, or you can treat for the most likely suspect and see if that works. In house fecal tests at veterinarians are often false negatives, so that cannot be relied upon.

StephenQ said:

May i ask where you're located, roughly?

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I'm in Barcelona. I don't know if that makes any difference on the availability of labs etc!

I'd start giving them probiotics 

http://www.ibdkitties.net/probiotics/

xmcglinn said:

I'm in Barcelona. I don't know if that makes any difference on the availability of labs etc!

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It might, i have no idea if Spain has labs for PCR testing but i would ask.