Persistant on\off diarrhea ; stool test came out negative

So my 1yo cat vomited several times and had watery stools a week ago. She wouldn't eat at all. Called the vet, they said it was the cooked chicken i gave her that did not agree with her, and to put her on I\d cans for 5 days, and probiotics for 2 weeks. Next day she still had the runs, but ate the canned food. Day 3 produced a smelly formed stool, and a big appetite and play. For some reason, she refused to eat on day 4, and had watery stools again. Brought a sample to the vet, which came out negative. She has not been examined, but she doesn't look bloated. It' weird how her coat is spikey along her back, like it's almost oily. Day 5 was fine, though stools still very smelly. I mean, my whole place stinks within a minutes. And now, day 6, she just had a formed stool followed by a watery one. She has seemed a bit ill two hours before the bowel movement, and is still sleepy now. 
How come this is still happening with the expensive I\d cans for sensitive stomach.

A little history; her stools started to smell real bad about 2 months ago, around the time Nutrience changed their SubZero formula. It took her a few days to appreciate the new formula and she seemed healthy this whole time, but i had noticed the smell. It's part of the reason i had started feeding her roasted chicken as treats morning and evening, with free fed kibble all day.
 I  remember her stealing a bit of raw pork off the counter two month ago. Also, 2 days before she got real sick, she licked raw chicken. Pretty sure the vet thinks i did this on purpose since i'm so pro-raw diet for dogs, but haven't offered it to my cat ever.

So yeah..something is up and i dont know what. Might be the 'new' formula kibble, might be the raw stuff she stole\licked. Might be worms and the test was a false negative. She has not been in contact with any cats or been further from my balcony outside, but she was heavily infested with roundworms when she was a baby. Back then, the test came back negative even though there was a live worm in the stool sample....Those tests cost 60$ and they are good for nothing, from my experience with my current cat.

I think it would be best if i brought her to the vet on monday, but the problem is, i am so poor right now i'd have to borrow money from my mother in order to get her an exam. Imagine if she wants blood tests and more stool samples!

Not sure what to do. Anyone ever experience this before? The poop is soooo smelly and almost orangy in color. 


Ps: i will not give her the SubZero kibble again. I got a Pro-Nature holistic sample, but i can't feed her that till she has been diarrhea free for 5 days, the vet said earlier in the week over the phone.

PPS: She had been eating the cooked chicken 3 weeks prior to getting the runs, initially.

PPPS: I will not buy the I\d 'sensitive stomach' kibble like my vet suggested. If i'm going to pay 40$ for a 3lbs bag of food, their better not be meat-by products and grains in it.
This is causing friction with the vet and her team and i, i think. For now, i give her the I\d cans cause i reckoned it was very short-term.

Hills I/D is full of corn, fillers and by products, but I have used it and it's worked well for my cats in the past (I hate it too though so you have my empathy).

Royal Canin do a sensitive stomach one that isn't prescription. It has fillers and such too but I think it's better than Hills (just my non scientific opinion). You could maybe try that instead of the Hills one (in the US Royal Canin may have different ingredients I'm not aware of or a prescription one that is more suitable, I'm in Australia, the only script one is all soy and I refuse to feed it).

Some kitties do not do well on grain free dry. I've had 2 of them. As soon as I give them grain free, diarrhea. They seem to do better on it as they get older.

You have my empathy. I have a 1 year old who has had diarrhea like this on and off.

Has she eaten anything raw prior to getting this diarrhea? My 2 year old Maine Coon gets diarrhea like this every time he gets raw chicken. I've tested it 5 times, even if it's been frozen beforehand, it just doesn't agree (nor does kangaroo, beef and lamb are fine).

I would ask for a course of antibiotics. I don't like those either but for both my cats they're generally sent home with 7-10 days of antibiotics to kill of anything and it's always fixed the issue.

Is she eating? Another thing to try is to fast for 12 hours, then feed nothing but boiled chicken (make it yourself or I have used applaws in a pinch) for 2 days, maybe 3. Things should at least slow down but given her symptoms I would be asking for the antibiotics. Worm her as well if she's due for that any time soon or hasn't been wormed for a month. If they don't help she might need further testing.

 

She licked raw chicken 2 days prior to her first episode of vomiting and diarrhea. I have thought about salmonella too.
I'll get her vetted tomorrow, but i'll have a 200$ budget if my sister accepts to lend me money. That will only cover the exam and blood tests.

She hasn't had diarrhea all night, but i found a little bit of vomit that looked like mucus water mixed with a couple hairs. That might be cause she hadn't eaten in 12 hours. I served her 1\4 of a can of I\d, and an hour later she is almost done eating it. I think they have Royal Canin options at the vet's.

She received her last dose of Strongid when she was 7 months old. She is now exactly 1 yo. I have some leftover at home, but dont want to give her meds she dont need, so i'll wait to talk to the vet. And yes, i agree about antibiotics.

Did you ever get a diagnosis for your 1yo cat?

Smelly, runny poop is generally a sign of food intolerance.  Did you change her food? Is she eating mainly dry or wet or a combination?  What were you feeding prior to this starting?  The only other thing I would suggest is the PCR Diarrhea panel.  That tests for parasites and things not picked up on the local fecal float test.

poor little thing. Does she eat canned food, you might want to try a high quality wet food with limited ingredients I like Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient, if she only eats kibble try Orijen. 

I could indeed be food intolerance, but it could be some kind of third generation roudworm outbreak. She was heavily infested as a kitten.
I did not change her food when her stools started to smell 2 months ago, but her kibble was new on the market and the third and fourth bag did not look like the kibble from the first two bags. When she got the runs last week, i had not changed a thing other than feeding her roast chicken as a treat for three weeks prior. She now eats only I\d cans, but today i added 5 little pieces of kibble from a new brand bag (Pro Nature Holistic)
If she is now intolerent, it is to chicken. I guess i'll see by tomorrow if the kibble agrees with her. But i'll call the vet and most likely get an appointment tomorrow.
I dont know what a PCR panel is, and if its available here in Canada, but i'll check into it.

Not sure if Nature's variety is available here, but i tried Orijen when she was a kitten and she did not fancy it much. I guess i could still try again if they have samples.

Pixies Ma said:

 
I could indeed be food intolerance, but it could be some kind of third generation roudworm outbreak. She was heavily infested as a kitten.
I did not change her food when her stools started to smell 2 months ago, but her kibble was new on the market and the third and fourth bag did not look like the kibble from the first two bags. When she got the runs last week, i had not changed a thing other than feeding her roast chicken as a treat for three weeks prior. She now eats only I\d cans, but today i added 5 little pieces of kibble from a new brand bag (Pro Nature Holistic)
If she is now intolerent, it is to chicken. I guess i'll see by tomorrow if the kibble agrees with her. But i'll call the vet and most likely get an appointment tomorrow.
I dont know what a PCR panel is, and if its available here in Canada, but i'll check into it.

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http://www.zoologix.com/dogcat/Datasheets/FelineDiarrheaPanel.htm 

Yes it is available in Canada I just notice you are from Montreal. Hope you can find out what is upsetting her 

Pixies Ma said:

 
Not sure if Nature's variety is available here, but i tried Orijen when she was a kitten and she did not fancy it much. I guess i could still try again if they have samples.

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I live in Toronto an can get Nature's Variety at Petsmart 

The beautiful city of Montreal, Quebec.

I was just reading about that! Wonder how much it is...

Oh then we probably have it at Global.

Oh wow...cats can get C-Difficile???? The texture, color and smell really remind me of it. I was actually wondering if she might have gotten it from my shoes. I work in a hospital and she likes rubbing her face on my shoes when i get home.

This is a very interesting article   http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/12/03/giardia-infection-cats.aspx 

some more info 

an ELISA or PCR test for giardia for any pet with a history of GI issues. A fecal ELISA or PCR test is preferable to a fecal flotation test because it checks for the presence of giardia antigens. A fecal float only detects giardia cysts, which may or may not be in the particular stool sample being tested.

Unfortunately, many vets don't routinely run the ELISA or PCR test and instead, use only stool sample results that may or may not pick up evidence of infection. So make sure to ask your vet for a fecal antigen test in addition to a fecal float.

my love Bobcat had diarrhea with blood.after many vet visits,tests and trying different foods.only food that worked was Royal Canin gastrointestinal vet prescription.Relief!

Zed Xyzed said:

 
some more info 

an ELISA or PCR test for giardia for any pet with a history of GI issues. A fecal ELISA or PCR test is preferable to a fecal flotation test because it checks for the presence of giardia antigens. A fecal float only detects giardia cysts, which may or may not be in the particular stool sample being tested.

Unfortunately, many vets don't routinely run the ELISA or PCR test and instead, use only stool sample results that may or may not pick up evidence of infection. So make sure to ask your vet for a fecal antigen test in addition to a fecal float.

Click to expand...

Why don't they do this instead of the regular tests? Or at least offer it? I'm guessing it's more expensive, but if im gonna fork 60$ on tests that keep giving me false negatives, i' rather cut to the real thing and pay more.
How much are these tests? Do you know?

Kay7cats said:

my love Bobcat had diarrhea with blood.after many vet visits,tests and trying different foods.only food that worked was Royal Canin gastrointestinal vet prescription.Relief!

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It can be so tricky finding the right food...

Pixies Ma said:

 
Why don't they do this instead of the regular tests? Or at least offer it? I'm guessing it's more expensive, but if im gonna fork 60$ on tests that keep giving me false negatives, i' rather cut to the real thing and pay more.
How much are these tests? Do you know?

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Sorry I don't know, I would give your vet a call to discuss what the issue could be and ask about the cost of those other tests. Is she any better?