Hi all; I'm at my wit's end with a cat health issue and I'm looking for some advice.
One of our cats (female, ~12 years old) has been having chronic diarrhea over the past couple of months. She usually tries to use the litter box, but often chooses the floor instead (probably associating the box with unpleasantness). The stool is dark brown, no apparent blood or mucus, but what I would call a "runny pudding" consistency. The "good news" is that she's otherwise behaving normally... appetite is normal, she's as energetic as usual and still likes to sit on people's laps, etc. She's a trooper. We've been to the vet several times and tried a bunch of things to no avail.
The situation is bad enough that she is slowly losing weight and has had a suspected UTI during this time as well, which was treated (the vet claims this may be related to dehydration from the diarrhea).
We have no idea what the cause is; she's been on Tiki Cat non-fish flavor food for over a year with no issues, no "people food" and minimal treats. No changes in our surroundings... we're living in the same house, same people, same furniture arrangement, etc. The diarrhea seems to have just started out of nowhere. Our other cat is completely fine with normal stool. The vet has tested blood and stool samples, which came back normal (including no thyroid issues and kidney indicators are normal as well). Then did an x-ray, which was also normal. They're saying an ultrasound would be the next test, but I'm not sure that's going to reveal anything new.
The things we've tried prior to and with vet guidance; none of these have worked so far:
- Small amount of pumpkin in food (I tried this first, then stopped when it didn't work)
- Has been on Hills "i/d" wet food for over a month
- During the suspected UTI, took a full course of antibiotics (which seem to have helped the urinary issues for now, but diarrhea is the same)
- Probiotics (FortiFlora) during and after the antibiotics
Our vet is usually open to discussion and suggestions, so I'm hoping someone here might have some thoughts or insights I could bring up at the next vet appointment. Basically I feel like I'm running out of things to try on my own. Thanks.
One of our cats (female, ~12 years old) has been having chronic diarrhea over the past couple of months. She usually tries to use the litter box, but often chooses the floor instead (probably associating the box with unpleasantness). The stool is dark brown, no apparent blood or mucus, but what I would call a "runny pudding" consistency. The "good news" is that she's otherwise behaving normally... appetite is normal, she's as energetic as usual and still likes to sit on people's laps, etc. She's a trooper. We've been to the vet several times and tried a bunch of things to no avail.
The situation is bad enough that she is slowly losing weight and has had a suspected UTI during this time as well, which was treated (the vet claims this may be related to dehydration from the diarrhea).
We have no idea what the cause is; she's been on Tiki Cat non-fish flavor food for over a year with no issues, no "people food" and minimal treats. No changes in our surroundings... we're living in the same house, same people, same furniture arrangement, etc. The diarrhea seems to have just started out of nowhere. Our other cat is completely fine with normal stool. The vet has tested blood and stool samples, which came back normal (including no thyroid issues and kidney indicators are normal as well). Then did an x-ray, which was also normal. They're saying an ultrasound would be the next test, but I'm not sure that's going to reveal anything new.
The things we've tried prior to and with vet guidance; none of these have worked so far:
- Small amount of pumpkin in food (I tried this first, then stopped when it didn't work)
- Has been on Hills "i/d" wet food for over a month
- During the suspected UTI, took a full course of antibiotics (which seem to have helped the urinary issues for now, but diarrhea is the same)
- Probiotics (FortiFlora) during and after the antibiotics
Our vet is usually open to discussion and suggestions, so I'm hoping someone here might have some thoughts or insights I could bring up at the next vet appointment. Basically I feel like I'm running out of things to try on my own. Thanks.
