Diarrhea for months after surgery

[bebemau]

Hello forum,

My cat is 4 years old he has always been pretty healthy until 3 months ago he had to have surgery to remove part of his intestine.

Doctor has warned about diarrhea will occur after surgery possibly for weeks but it is over 3 months later cat is still ill having diarrhea almost every day.

I have tried fortiflora it usually helped in the past but this time it does nothing. I have also taken him in for checkup but vet just told me to try hills or purina which i am not too sure about these brands. He is eating the same food as before the surgery which is mostly wet but if he is acting finicky, then I add some dry food but mostly wet food.

Any recommendations will be greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I personally think that what part, and the amount, of intestine that was removed is a big indicator of how long diarrhea may be a factor. Have you asked the vet again about what their thoughts are on how long his diarrhea has continued, since the checkup? I sincerely doubt that using Hill's or Purina is going to solve the problem, just in case that is all you get from the vet again. Let them know that he is eating what he successfully ate before, and that you are very hesitant to switch foods at this time given they may not do anything to resolve the diarrhea.

S. bourlardii seems to be the probiotic of choice on this site anyway.
The benefits of using S. Boulardii for cats– FullBucket Health

Hopefully other members will come along with some additional thoughts too!

 

[bebemau]

Thank you for your reply Feebysowner the vet that did the surgery was not the same vet that I went to for the check up since it was an emergency surgery and the check up was done by my regular vet.

I honestly don’t have answer to the question about the part and amount of intestine removed. Cat had intussusception where the intestines folds into itself., I wish I had asked those questions it would definitely be good to know.

I did check with the clinic just yesterday who did the surgery and was told that it might not be normal at this point. I am going to try this probiotic link. Thank you very much for your suggestion.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Ask for all the records the clinic has related to his surgery. They are yours and you should be able to get them for free. If your vet doesn't have them already, you can share the records with them too - they should have them as well.

What does 'might not be normal at this point' mean? Did the clinic explain?

 

[bebemau]

I did not get a chance to speak with the Doctor directly who told me about the possibility of diarrhea. I called the clinic and the receptionist asked somebody there who was available, it is an emergency clinic so they are always busy and i saw it for myself when i was there.

My guess based on their response is yes, diarrhea is going to occur after the surgery for an amount of time but three months might be longer than they expected.

 

[verna davies]

I have had a lot of success with s boulardii, I use this one
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0013OVW0E/?tag=

Half a capsule twice a day either mixed into the food or mixed with a little warm water and syringed. It can take 3/4 days but you should see a difference within a few days.

 

[bebemau]

Thank you!! I am willing and to try anything at this point.

 

[fionasmom]

In humans who have a hemi colectomy, this can also be a problem. With less intestine, especially if it is a large amount that was removed, the transit time becomes faster. However, that is not the answer for your cat and he can't live with this. As suggested, I would gather all the records, so that you can read them yourself, and then consider looking for an internal medicine vet if your regular vet is not able to help you with this.

 

[bebemau]

Thank you fionasmom. I looked at the 5pages long receipt and didnt see any mention of the details. They did send all data to my regular vet i am sure i can get yhat info.

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks!