Diarrhea Everywhere!

[JosieQ]

I have a 16-year-old cat who's been pooping everywhere for months now. She's been to the vet and had a load of tests done, but $300+ and several treatments later there's been no improvement. It's really quite horrifically awful and I don't know what to do anymore. She's clearly got cramps/pain as she's hunching all the time, and doesn't seem to know when the poop's gonna come out because she still uses the litter box, but can't seem to differentiate between a cramp and a doo as it just comes out sometimes while she stands there. DX

She's lost a lot of weight and meows all the time as if starving. The fecal exam came up negative on parasites, the blood work... well, I'll attach some documents with results, only to show what it ISN'T because apparently there are no real problems in any results. "Actually everything looks good for her age." THEN WHY IS SHE POOPING TO DEATH. ಥ_ಥ

Here are the things tried:

•Raw food diet (tried this first, as usually in the past it has cleared up any digestive issues)
•Antibiotic
•Probiotic
•B12
•Steroid shot (I have never before seen a steroid shot have literally no effect on a cat)
•Feline digestive enzymes
•Flax, then pumpkin (read online these might help)

Any suggestions at all will be considered. I'll try pretty much anything.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Has she had an ultrasound? I only ask because I learned the hard way that a partial intestinal obstruction can cause diarrhea. The feces builds up, liquifies, and forces its way past the obstruction, causing symptoms very like this. Of course, I have no real clue that this is the problem, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[daftcat75]

It could be a gut bug like clostridium. Has she had a Diarrhea PCR test?

It could also be GI lymphoma. This can be “confirmed” with an ultrasound. I say confirmed in quotes because the ultrasound can’t tell the difference between IBD and lymphoma. But it certainly sounds more like lymphoma than IBD. Correction. It can’t tell the difference between small cell lymphoma and IBD. But she may have a mass (a tumor) instead of the diffuse thickening associated with small cell.

An ultrasound certainly sounds like the best next test.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! A couple of thoughts;
Are you having her in her own small area, with pee pads on the floor to help with cleanup?

Are you handfeeding her, and is she becoming dehydrated? She needs to consume a lot more in order to offset the debilitating effects of the diahrrea. Is she receiving pain meds?

Are you able to keep her behind clean so that she doesn't have skin burn? Wipes with as few chemicals or fruit extracts as possible, or possibly even micellar water such as this;
DOUXO Micellar Solution

Do you have a university medical veterinary department that you or your vet could contact and consult with?

 

[Sajast]

I also think an ultrasound might be useful. FWIW one of my IBD cats had blow out diarrhea and only responded to super high doses of steroids (diet change “cured” her) but it sounds like your girl needs more testing for the time being to rule out lymphoma or some type of obstruction. Prescription diets can help tremendously with IBD.

 

[MikeAW2010]

I was dealing with something similar not long ago with my 3 yo cat Sandy. She was also on raw diet. The Diarrhea came, while she still went inside the litter box, she would have excessive feces stuck on her behind or her fur. It was messy. It turned out she had colon cancer. Most likely something in the GITract is swelling or possibly even has a tumor.

My cat Ginger was excessively meowing and endlessly eating before I found out he had a tumor in his gut.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

We'll hope that this is nothing so drastic, but with two cats dealing with cancers, your mind will go there first! In any case, an ultrasound could confirm or rule that out, as well.