Cannot solve cats diarrhea issues no matter what i try.

[dannotwo363]

Hello! i was hoping someone on here has had the same issue or would be able to point me in the right direction, so i have 3 cats all rescue cats, two were adopted later then the first one, and they all have diarrhea that i cannot seem to get rid of, we have de-wormed them, flea medication, had their stool tested by the university for, said things posted below, tried sensative stomach diets from royal canin gastrinal intestinal fiber response, hydrolyzed dry cat food, and none of those seems to work. i have brought in multiple samples of their poo to be tested at the vet and have yet to find anything. Pancreatic enzymes, treating for cocidia, histopath test, and probiotics, a few types even the stronger ones that need to keep refrigerated. So far nothing has seemed to help or solve it. If anyone has found things that work to a similar solution im 100% open to listening and appreciate it.
Cryptosporidium Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA)
Interpretation: Negative for Cryptosporidium antigen by Immunofluorescence assay (IFA)
Giardia Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA)
Interpretation: Negative for Giardia antigen by Immunofluorescence assay (IFA)
PCR C. difficile
Interpretation: PCR negative for Clostridium difficile
PCR C. perfringens enterotoxin gene
Interpretation: PCR negative for enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens
PCR Campylobacter jejuni
Interpretation: PCR negative for Campylobacter jejuni
PCR FPV
Interpretation: PCR negative for Feline Panleukopenia virus.
PCR netF toxin C.perfringens gene
Interpretation: PCR negative for Clostridium perfringens netF toxin gene.
PCR on Enrichment Broth Salmonella
Interpretation: PCR negative for Salmonella spp
PCR Tritrichomonas foetus
Interpretation: PCR negative for Tritrichomonas foetus
Originally

 

[dannotwo363]

Also to note, they are not lethargic, they are eating and drinking, and not acting outwardly sick at all.

 

[daftcat75]

Since they all have it, it could be their food (it could be a gum or non-meat ingredient that they are all sensitive to?), a bug they are passing around (which it seems you've already ruled out with PCR), their water (tap water or filtered?), or possibly something in their environment. Are they strictly indoor cats or do they go outside as well? If they are going outside, that's going to make this so much harder to figure out. Do you have house plants they may be eating? Do you burn incense or run an oil diffuser? Think about the cleaners and detergents you use as well. If you have "free and clear" options (free of fragrances and dyes), you may want to switch over to those. These supplements I'm about to recommend can help you with the symptom. But you still want to find the cause if you can.

Saccharomyces boulardii is a yeast based probiotic that works wonders with diarrhea. Because it is yeast and not bacteria, it is still effective when taken along side antibiotics. More on s. boulardii here:
My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

Some supplements from Vitality Science can also help:
Diarrhea - Vitality Science

If I had to choose, I'd probably go with the Finnicky Cat Trial Pack:
Finicky Cat Trial Pack - Vitality Science

I would include Pet Flora (soil-based probiotic which is preferred to the usual dairy-based probiotics), Lithothamnium (a calclium supplement which will quite effective dry up their stools), Luxolite (a clay that will help strengthen and balance the gut), and one of the Feline Comfort Plus (either Tuna or Liver depending on your cats' tastes, or both since you'd still have one sample left to pick.)

The Lithothamnium will quite effectively dry up their stools. It's possible to overdo it and cause constipation. There will be some trial and error here. I would save the lithothamnium for emergency use because it doesn't really address the cause of the diarrhea. Instead I would look to the combination of Pet Flora, Luxolite, and Feline Comfort Plus. You'll want to introduce them one at a time at less than the recommended dose and slowly increase it as you see what it does for them. My Betty White absolutely loves the Hills A/D urgent care recovery food. I use this to our advantage by mixing the supplements into a tiny portion of pure A/D. I normally mix the A/D with Hills I/D for her typical food to make the A/D last longer but also to keep the appeal of pure A/D high. If she always got pure A/D, she would refuse to eat it with meds or supplements mixed in. So in the same vein, if your cats have a favorite food or even a junky food they can't resist like Friskies or Hills A/D if you can get that from your vet, reserve that for mixing supplements and feed them something else for their regular meals.

Finally, you may need to try them on a homemade diet for a week or two to see if their diarrhea resolves. If it does, then you know it's something in their food that isn't working out for them. Wet food will be more digestible than dry food. Gums and carbs and non-meat ingredients can be to blame. Also added oils and recipes with a lot of organ meats like liver and "by-products." (another name for organ meats on ingredient labels.) In otherwise healthy cats, they can eat an unbalanced diet (such as meat-only homemade without proper supplementation) for a week or two before you need to switch them back to a complete food or add a supplement premix to complete the meat (like EZ Complete or Alnutrin.)

 

[GemsGem]

Sorry to hear about your kitties

I did have a similar problem once when I took on a rescue sphynx cat. Same as you had every test done at the vets multiple times and all came back negative. Tried every type/brand of food, nothing seemed to help.

Then someone suggested to me to try feeding little and often, like every couple of hours. The idea being to not let the stomach get overloaded by having a big meal.



This did work for my cat, I managed to cut the amount of meals down after his poops improved. He eventually did just fine on 4-5 meals a day. This obviously depends on how much time you have to be able to do this, especially if you work. I was lucky that I could get my mom to come around and feed him for me while I was at work.

 

[Astragal14]

A little more information could help pinpoint a likely culprit...

1. Did the vet give your cats any prescriptions, such as antibiotics? Or just prescription food and probiotics?
2. How many stool samples were analyzed?
3. Were all three cats on the same diet or different diets prior to the diarrhea starting?
4. Did any of your cats have a change in diet prior to the diarrhea starting?
5. Do your cats ever go outside?

The fact that all three cats have diarrhea leads me to think it's either an infectious bug (like giardia) or something in their environment (like daftcat75 mentioned... something in the water supply, a cleaning product or chemical, an air freshener or essential oils, etc).

It's also possible that more than one stool sample will need to be analyzed. The diseases tested for in your list can be present in the stool but that doesn't mean they will be detected throughout every speck of stool. Only a very small portion of whole stool sample is tested. Think of it like a chocolate chip cookie - you know the cookie has chocolate chips in it, but taking small bites means it's very possible you can have a bite without any chips in it. But it's still a chocolate chip cookie! My cats had giardia but it wasn't detected until their third stool sample - meaning, they had giardia all along (I knew their diarrhea meant they had something) but it wasn't until the third try that we found it.

 

[dannotwo363]

Hey! thank you all, they are strictly indoor cats, the vet has not yet given them antibiotics, ive sent off a total of 2 stool samples from each cat at varying times to be tested at the vet, and 1 set of stool samples was sent from all 3 cats to the university to be tested for al those things i mentioned above. All three cats have been on the same diet from when i got them, which diet they were on before hand im not sure since they were rescue cats, but i do know that they had diarrhea issues before they came to me also. I use no cleaning products on the floor which is tile except water and soap that i be sure to clean up and let dry before i let them back into the general house, I tried spring water from the store for awhile to see if it made a difference and i did not see one, I use no air fresheners or oils or any scented things like that. They were tested for giardia, and it came back negative, but maybe i will have to try multiple tests. I will also look into the things gemsgem, and daftcat75 mentioned too. I really appreciate all the responses.

 

[stephanietx]

What are you currently feeding them? Is it canned, dry, or both? What probiotics have you tried? Did the vet give you any meds such as metronidazole to help firm up stools?

Have you added plain canned pumpkin to wet food and also added saccharomyces boullardi?

 

[Astragal14]

Hey! thank you all, they are strictly indoor cats, the vet has not yet given them antibiotics, ive sent off a total of 2 stool samples from each cat at varying times to be tested at the vet, and 1 set of stool samples was sent from all 3 cats to the university to be tested for al those things i mentioned above. All three cats have been on the same diet from when i got them, which diet they were on before hand im not sure since they were rescue cats, but i do know that they had diarrhea issues before they came to me also. I use no cleaning products on the floor which is tile except water and soap that i be sure to clean up and let dry before i let them back into the general house, I tried spring water from the store for awhile to see if it made a difference and i did not see one, I use no air fresheners or oils or any scented things like that. They were tested for giardia, and it came back negative, but maybe i will have to try multiple tests. I will also look into the things gemsgem, and daftcat75 mentioned too. I really appreciate all the responses.

Oh wow, so they've had these issues since before you adopted them??? If you don't mind, I have a few more questions and a recommended website.

1. How old are your cats?
2. How long have they been with you?
3. Where on the Fecal Scoring Chart are they? And how frequently does this occur?

I really really hope it's nothing more than the timing and volume of meals (or something else easier to resolve). And if they're kittens, then it may just be the type of food. This website is a good overview of diarrhea and is helpful because it has a visual chart to help you determine exactly what kind of diarrhea you're dealing with. This may be information your vet has already reviewed with you, but I find it very helpful because I've had many people tell me their cat has diarrhea when it was just very, very smelly poop (which is a relief!! So much better than a bad case of diarrhea!).

Diarrhea—meaning stool that’s softer and wetter than normal—actually includes a range of consistencies, from moist shapes to watery liquid. When it begins suddenly and lasts for less than two weeks, diarrhea is described as acute. Diarrhea is considered chronic if it continues or recurs over a period of three weeks or more...

...Is your cat producing soggy logs, soft piles, or puddles? To determine where your cat’s poop falls on the scale, check out our Fecal Scoring Chart.

Cat Diarrhea: What You Need to Know

 

[dannotwo363]

yea they have, the two i brought in after the first had it very bad, i did try pumpkin, but unfortunately they absolutely will not eat it of free will, so i tried mixing in a very small amount of Metamucil bout have a teaspoon in their food to try to thicken up their poo, but neither of those really seemed to work. Vet hasn't given me any firming meds for them yet, and ive tried Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets FortiFlora Powder Digestive Supplement for Cats, and visbiome probiotics, and i have not tried saccharomyces boullardi. The first cat is 1 year old now, the other 2 are bout 2 months or so shy of a year now, as far as anyone can tell. Ive had all of them from about 6 weeks onward. As far as the chart right now they are all pretty much a number 7, with some blood in it and or mucus maybe 2 times a day. But, the strange thing is, from time to time they will produce normal feces maybe once a month, and when they do there is never a change to the diet or any surrounding elements that could effect it. Their poo used to be very very bad smelling in addition, but the past 3 days or so its been mostly odorless, just looks terrible.

 

[AODell]

Hi there! Sorry to hear about your kitty’s having issues. I foster through our local rescue and a few years ago I had one kitten that had the worst diarrhea issues I’ve ever seen. For months and months it was constant. She would be just sitting there and it would start coming out of her. Did all of the routine tests and antibiotics and everything that has been suggested but couldn’t get it under control. It was so bad that I had to follow her around the house with baby wipes so I could wipe her bottom I didn’t want her to have to clean herself and possibly get reinfected. We ended up doing a last resort solution and tried a tiny bit of medication called Tylosol (I think that’s how it’s spelled). It’s a yellow powdered substance that you sprinkle in their food. Only had to do that 3 or 4 times and it finally stopped. The end result was she was diagnosed with Feline Coronavirus. Thankfully it didn’t mutate into FIP. Hopefully your kittys will get better soon.

 

[dannotwo363]

Was it tylosin by chance?

 

[fionasmom]

Tylosin | VCA Animal Hospitals