HELP! Kitty pooping issues since spay

Hi all-

I'm in desperate need of help...My beautiful calico was spayed at about 7 month old around 3 weeks ago.  10 days after she was spayed she had EXPLOSIVE diarrhea.  It calmed down and then a few days later it happened again but not as bad.  I immediately took her to the vet (not the vet who spayed her because I had that done through the clinic at the SPCA) and the doctor said she looked great but might be having some residual stomach upset from the spay.  She gave me a prescription for Metronidazole (to take for a week - that was last Friday.  She just finished her last one yesterday morning).  My kitty did not have anymore diarrhea but she HAS had 3 other episodes of strange pooping.  Last Tuesday she all of a sudden leaped up as if in pain and pooped!  Then she did it again after running to another room.  Yesterday while we were out there was poop on the stairs and in another room and the same thing upon our return today after an afternoon away from home.  It looks to us like it is the same situation - she must be in pain and then runs away, leaving a trail of nuggets.  

I called the vet again and talked to her on Friday and told her about last Tuesday's episode but she didn't seem overly concerned.  I have not told her about yesterday or today but I plan on calling again tomorrow.

I am really concerned for 2 reasons.  The first is I am so worried that something is seriously wrong with my cat or that the spay has done something to her.  She is literally the most wonderful cat I have ever owned.  She has NEVER had 1 issue since we got her at 8 weeks.  My other, more immediate concern is that we are leaving to go away for 5 days next Sunday (in one week from today).  What happens if this situation is not fixed before we leave!!!??

Please, please - any advice is appreciated.  Has anyone ever had any experience with this kind of thing after a spay??? 

It's very possible it's still some residual effects from the anesthesia or pain meds from the spay. Have you been giving her pain meds?  I would call the vet in the morning, explain she's still having issues with diarrhea/loose stools, and ask for some sensitive tummy food and some metronidazole to help firm up her stools. What are you feeding her currently? Did you change any food since the spay?

HI!  Thank you for the reply.  She is no longer having diarrhea.  She is now having those random poop and run issues but they are normal poop.  She was on Metronidazole but she finished it yesterday.  I am wondering if she is now having constipation issues even though she is still going normally for the most part but then having these strange episodes where she is running in pain and pooping.

Any advice is appreciated!!! 

What are you feeding her?

We are feeding her what the vet told us to...purina sensitive stomach (2x a day). Before the diarrhea, she was eating purina indoor with no issues. Once she got sick we had to do just baby food (meat only) for 3 days, then mix the purina in for a couple then straight purina sensitive.

And just an FYI that I forgot to add. She was tested for parasites abd was negative.

Is it canned or dry?

Dry.

Cats OFTEN have this problem after anesthesia or an antibiotic, make sure she is getting lots of water, offer it in bowls around the house. Plain yogurt is good, they usually eat that, dry food needs more moisture offered. Give her some broth or tuna juice, she'll probably like that. You could call your vet and see if they would allow you to give her a SMALL amount of Miralax, for constipation, don't go overboard though. She may be having a little pain from her spay too, and it scares her. I think things will resolve themselves, hang in there!

Are the stools very dry and hard?

Totally normal poop besides the fact that it's happening randomly and she jumps up in pain when she goes but not every time. It's so strange!

I am bumping this back up to the top. Please help!!

After my kitty was having the random poop and run episodes she slowly started to develop pudding poop. Made it to the litter box every time but I knew something was obviously continuing to be wrong with her. I contacted the vet who did ANOTHER test for Giardia which came back negative. Vet started her on fortiflora once a day. I was in panic mode because we were traveling for 5 days. Sure enough a day into our vacation my neighbor (who is taking care of her and my other cat) called to say that my kitten had diarrhea all over the house!! Water type. Ugh!!! I knew it! Called the vet from vacation and they prescribed her another round of flagyl. Since then, poops have been solid once again. I return home tomorrow night and have a vet appointment on Saturday.

What is going on??? Please tell me if this will ever get better! It's been a month at this point. I'm so nervous this will be what it is. Reading online just makes me more nervous this will be a life long condition. I'm trying to not put the cart before the horse but it's hard.

Has anyone had a cat with chronic diarrhea that cleared? What could it be??!! Please, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Well you have your answer. If the flagyl worked even for allitle while then it's some type of protezoa/parasite. She probably picked it up at the vets when she was getting spayed. Happens all the time. It may have not be present in the stool samples you took in sufficient quantities to show up on a fecal smear when you tested. You can get your vet to send out a diarrhea panel to idexx labs for a full pcr. Make sure to ask your vet what time they do their shipments and collect a fresh sample without litter in it an hour or so before.

Thank you so much for the reply!! My only question is this, though...if she does have some kind of "catchable" Protozoa etc. than why has my other cat not become sick???

I will be sure to ask about the full fecal panel.

Theirs several possibilities, a few things that come to mind are that the other cat did have diarrhea for a short amount of time and then went to a carrier status where they don't show signs but can infect other cats, another possibility is that whatever type of parasite it is doesn't survive in the environment long and wasn't able to spread, or even a natural immunity. Who knows, but you've used two anti parisitics which have worked for a time which wouldn't have worked on anything other then the parasites that might be partially susceptible to it.

My baby is having pooing issues to. She was spayed 2 days ago. Poor thing will go from box to box and try to poop. She cry's goes to another box and tries again. Eventually she will get a very small amount of very soft poop. (Not diarrhea, but very close). She should be pooping much more for the amount she is eating. Otherwise she seems fine. Plays, eats well, drinks water. Does she just need more time to get back to normal tummy wise?

HI. I happened to come across this, but don't really have any suggestions - other than perhaps you might want to start a new thread of your own? It might help with getting some input. It does sound like you might be worrying a little early in her recovery, but I would like to see what others have to offer.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am very new to the site and am still trying to figure out how to work everything.