what are safe over-the-counter remedies for cats with diaherrea?

julieh · Feb 14, 2006

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

my VET RECOMMENDS VERY TINY PIECE OF A PEPTO BISMAL TABLET. BREAK IT INTO 6-8 PEICES. WORKS GREAT

NO ! NO ! NO !!!

Years back, the old tablets were made differently now they contain bismuth salicylates which is in the aspirin family and can KILL A CAT !!

Never give aspirin or anything in the salicylate family to a cat !

And as Hissy says 3 posts above your, please never suggest anyone give over the counter HUMAN medicine to a cat !! You never know when the formulations have changed or new evidence/studies show that these substances can be deadly... or how it will react with the specific health problems this cat is facing.

Julie

yosemite · Feb 15, 2006

The short answer to your question is that there ARE NO SAFE OVER-THE-COUNTER drugs for your cat.

No medication should ever be given to your animal without first consulting your vet.

janded · Mar 15, 2006

I wish i could say everything is purrfect for Agnes, but she still has loose poops. The good news is the stools(sp?) are slightly more solid than when her troubles first started. The vet is willing to give her another steroid shot,which has worked in the past, but i am reluctant to do this because in the long run steroids are no better for animals than they are for people. I haven't tried any "home remedies" as she seems fine. The doctor agrees that she seems healthy except for loose poops, so he is not pressing me to do anything further with her. She still has one more month to go with the id food in case it is irritable bowel syndrome. I no longer confine her to her room for 24 hours a day. On her own she decided to come back out among her siblings and spend time with us watching tv for a few hours a day. She still gets very nervous whenever one of the other critter kids gets to near. I hope i am not setting her back somehow by allowing her some freedom?. I will keep everyone posted and i appreciate all the advice and concern. Thank you.

lionessrampant · Mar 15, 2006

Originally Posted by janded

I wish i could say everything is purrfect for Agnes, but she still has loose poops. The good news is the stools(sp?) are slightly more solid than when her troubles first started. The vet is willing to give her another steroid shot,which has worked in the past, but i am reluctant to do this because in the long run steroids are no better for animals than they are for people. I haven't tried any "home remedies" as she seems fine. The doctor agrees that she seems healthy except for loose poops, so he is not pressing me to do anything further with her. She still has one more month to go with the id food in case it is irritable bowel syndrome. I no longer confine her to her room for 24 hours a day. On her own she decided to come back out among her siblings and spend time with us watching tv for a few hours a day. She still gets very nervous whenever one of the other critter kids gets to near. I hope i am not setting her back somehow by allowing her some freedom?. I will keep everyone posted and i appreciate all the advice and concern. Thank you.

Have you tried combining a hypoallergenic diet and the meds your vet suggests with a probiotic? I give my IBD Kitty Raph 500 million live cells of acidophilus along with his flagyl. It has done wonders, along with a high quality canned diet (not a prescription...I avoid Hill's and Royal Canin/IVD if I can) and 2 prednisone shots in the past 6 mos.

stephenq · Mar 15, 2006

Does she go outside? If yes, as other posters have noted she might have aquired Coccidia. The treatment for that is a liquid called Albon, it isn't expensive, and at some point it might be worth putting her on it to see if it helps.

Flagyl, besides being an anit-inflamatory is also used to treat Giardia.

Also, feeding her stage one chicken baby food, which is very mild and easy to digest could help give her intestines a rest, but only stage ONE, never any stages higher than that.

janded · Apr 4, 2006

Agnes has finished her perscription diet and is still the same. Just a few days ago i put her back on Iams lamb and rice which is what the rest of the kids eat. I see no difference in her loose stools at this time. If things back slide for her then i am going to a different vet. She does not go outside, but maybe by summer she will sleep in her chair on our porch again. She has become very active and wants to play 24/7. We'll keep you all posted. Thanks again, Janet & Agnes

yosemite · Apr 4, 2006

Poor Agnes. Please do keep us posted and hope she improves soon.

kat_krazy · Apr 4, 2006

My kitten has very bad diarrhea at the moment and my vet said to put 3 tablespoons of cooked rice and one cup of water in a blender to make rice water. I am supposed to feed it through a syringe to my sick kitten but my healthy kitten actually likes it and laps it up. Good luck figuring it out.

momof3rugratz · Apr 4, 2006

I know I was able to give my Bassethound crushed up pepto, but Skittles has never had a problem with Diahrea so I never asked, but can cats use it also.

charmed654321 · Apr 4, 2006

You said you adopted her only about a year ago. If you adopted her from a shelter or a rescue group, and it was an older cat, perhaps if you'd call them they'd be willing to help out a bit, even if it means a second opinion with their vet?

It is difficult to get people to adopt older cats, and if you haven't tried, it's possible they'd help because it would be good PR for them, and would encourage others to give homes to other older cats.

Might be worth a try since nothing else it working and you did do as much as you could till now.

laureen227 · Apr 5, 2006

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

I know I was able to give my Bassethound crushed up pepto, but Skittles has never had a problem with Diahrea so I never asked, but can cats use it also.

don't give them pepto - it's poisonous for cats, just like aspirin is.

momof3rugratz · Apr 5, 2006

Originally Posted by laureen227

don't give them pepto - it's poisonous for cats, just like aspirin is.

Thank you. it is a good thing I ask before I do anything.. I would of called the vet before anyways but it does save me a call.

janded · Apr 20, 2006

Well folks, the last two weeks Agnes has had regular bowel movements. I really believe what gave her "a nervous intestional system" are her brothers. Now that the 4 of them go outside on a regular basis, she and her sister have the house to themselves. They can eat, sleep, play, and use the litter box without one of the boys just being a pain in the butt. I just hate to think that this could all start up again come next October when they are all inside together. This is when we will return to a vet for some kitty happy-camper pills. Or maybe we will get lucky and "the boys" will calm down. Agnes came from a shelter along with one of our boys. She spent her first winter with us living under our bed, but still coming out to visit. The boys didn't pay much attention to her as they were happy in having another brother to play with. Last spring, summer and early fall went well for Agnes. Then came cold wet weather which keeps my kitty kids in. The boys just kept harassing Agnes every chance they could. Soon thereafter, her diaherrea set in and you know the rest of the story. Thanks once again for everyones concern and input. Lets all just hope that the happy days are here to stay. Janet and Agnes

momof3rugratz · Apr 20, 2006

I will keep up the hope also...

362denise · Jun 11, 2006

Hissy, thanks for the "real-life" story about the dangers of recommending OTC meds for our kittens - it really brought the message home for me.

Here is my question, though - are the apple pectin or pumpkin options safe? I really need to give my little ones something for their symptoms. I ordered the bene bac and it should arrive in two days (that was a GREAT suggestion!), but a natural stool-hardener would be the most helpful.

(Here is the back-story, if it is helpful: I am fostering two kittens (picked them up 1 week ago); they are both suffering from coccidia and terrible, terrible diarrhea. The vet prescribed Albon, and they've had three doses so far, but the diarrhea is getting worse not better. This, in itself, doesn't surprise me necessarily because of how I understand the affliction progresses, but I am very afraid of dehydration. While I'm at work I won't be able to give them syringes of water, and I'm afraid they will go downhill quickly.)

Thanks so much for this thread - and if I could make a recommendation, I think this sort of information is so useful to so many cat owners and cat fosters, that it would be helpful to have an "official" page dedicated to causes of and treatments for diarrhea. I could not find anything like this in the health section.

Thanks again!

flakeytron · Jun 24, 2006

In my experience the Albon can take up to a week to make a difference in the the poops of infected kittens. Also, with coccidia, you have to be very aware of how clean their box is. If they step in the poop they can reinfect themselves and it can take a long time to get rid of.

Of course contact your vet before doing anything... but my vet recommends a little pedialyte (for dehydration) and the canned pumpkin as a natural way to bulk up stool.

I am dealing with this with one of my own cats who went in to the vet Tuesday and is currently on flagyl and seems to be doing better.

shadowbaby · Jun 24, 2006

Eagle pak also makes a holistic transition powder which contains digestive enzymes + pre/probiotics that I've used at work for dogs and found it effective. I haven't had reason to use it on my girls at home, but it's for cats as well as dogs. I think it's chicken flavor, so you just powder a little on their food.

janded · Jul 9, 2006

Since the warm summer weather has set in, Agnes started having runny stools again. She is fine/normal in every other way. She eats, drinks, and is quite active. Since i myself have had her same problem on and off for over 20 years, i am just letting the issue go until she exhibits any other strange symptoms. At this phase she either goes under major surgery to find out what's wrong or i wait and let her tell me in her way that we need the vet again.
I can relate to having to go to work and trying to be able to do "special care" for our pets. Recently one of my boys had a dual eye infection that could've left him blind in that eye unless i gave him eye drops and other medications every 2 hours for the first two days and then every four hours from there, which went on for a little over one month. Luckily i am a selfemployed house cleaner and i can work my schedule around my pet kids. But it did hurt us financially when i had to take the first two days off take take care of him. I wish there was a group that provided reasonably priced animal care for situtation like these. Hang in there everyone. Agnes and i will keep you updated and we are planning on enjoying the summer as much as possible.

janded · Sep 17, 2006

We have recently switched to a new vet, so we are trying a new treatment for Agnes. We shelled out some more money for tests and at least this time we found out that her problem is a diseased large intestine. For now her treatment is a high fiber diet consisting of food from the vet, Hill's Science Diet WD, and an over the counter medicine which is to be added to her food. I would mention it here, but i do not wish to offend the folks in charge of this site. All i can say is that a GOOD vet will work with you and your pet so keep trying new vets if you are ever disgruntled with the one you have now. Please keep up the positive thoughts for Agnes.

goldenkitty45 · Sep 17, 2006

For mild cases of diarraha, my vet said that Kaopectate was ok for cats - a small amount - like 1/2 teaspoon.

I alos found the cheese works well too. If the diarraha lasts more then 2 days, then I'll take them in, but cheese usually works well for me.

what are safe over-the-counter remedies for cats with diaherrea?

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