Hi all!
My cat, who's about 11 years old, has had diarrhea for about a month, has an abdominal ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'll give some context but feel free to skip to the bottom for the general question!
She was having diarrhea every night since around June 5th and I took her to the vet the next day. They ran a fecal test, bloodwork, did a senior profile, and prescribed some Metronidazole. She hated the medicine but I gave it to her for about 2 days and stopped because her stool started to look normal. Fecal test came back and the only thing she had was tapeworm eggs, so they also gave me some Profender and I applied that on June 12th, a few days after her dose of Revolution. That week also had normal stools.
We had a trip scheduled for that weekend so we dropped her off at a really great cat hotel that she's been to before and she ended up having diarrhea and vomiting one night while she was there. Her stool was a little normal once we picked her up but the diarrhea came back so we took her to the vet again. They ran x-rays and didn't find anything too concerning, aside from a lot of gas and maybe a larger colon. I started giving her the Metronidazole again for a week and that seemed to help. Solid stools but maybe a little hard from constipation (my guess) from pretty much June 25th-July 2nd.
Unfortunately the diarrhea came back a few days after we finished the Metronidazole so we did another vet visit and the doctor said an ultrasound might help. At this point I agreed and scheduled it. He also suggested a hydrolyzed diet so I picked that up some Hill's z/d and have been transitioning her to it with mixtures of her old food. I've also been adding pure pumpkin here and there and she's been having FortiFlora in every wet meal.
This morning she had a small amount of stool but also threw up some clear foam, maybe about 2 quarter sized puddles. Then around 1pm had very normal stool, in both color, look, and smell (the diarrhea smell was quite something). Throughout all of this, her behavior has been normal, she's active, maybe sleeps a little more than usual post diarrhea, eats and drinks everything just fine. She did vomit a bit here and there throughout the month but that's semi normal for her throughout the years we've had her. There's a small theory in the back of my mind that it's stress related. This is my parents cat that I do all of the health related matters for and I don't live with them but she's honestly the light of my life. They had some guests at the end of May, then I arrived at a similar time, then we had our weekend trip where she was boarded, and then my parents left for a long weekend for a wedding so she was just with me for that time. Since she's been having diarrhea I've decided to stick around at my parents since I'm the only one that can wrangle and medicate her if necessary. I know switching up schedules and timings can stress cats out.
Now this all leads to my concern. She's only been sedated once while I've had her, in February 2022. She did fine then. I'm a little worried because she's older and she does have some signs of a URI (seems congested at times, sneezes occasionally, a little clear eye discharge) that the vets know about but haven't diagnosed and don't seem concerned with. She's never had a diagnosed heart murmur but I know they can pop up and that's obviously not a good thing for sedation. She's also kinda fiesty - she's gotten bloodwork and xrays done there before without sedation, but for this, they'll have to shave her and I know that sound will scare her. And having that ultrasound gel on her plus the device will not sit well with her, I'm guessing. She also will pant here and there at the vet so I know her little body gets really stressed when she's there.
I've already talked to one of her vets and the vet tech who was working today and asked a hurricane of questions. They said they start light and do more if necessary but can't guarantee which meds will be used, as they choose on a case by case basis. I also asked the tech about complications and she said she's been doing these for 20 years so of course she's seen complications but overall things usually go well. I didn't ask specifically about deaths. Obviously I appreciate her honesty but it does scare me more. I know sedation cannot be 100% safe so I'm wondering whether this is a bad idea given that her behavior is totally normal. If something were to happen to her when it was really just a temporary thing that she could get through herself, or the hill's diet and probiotics were helping, I really don't know what I'd do. And I know she's so tired of these visits and I'm not sure if this one will just add to any stress she's having or had.
Okay, finally the questions! Have your cats been sedated? How did it go? What was the process like for you and for your cat? Any advice for a really worried cat mom? Anything I can ask tomorrow morning when I drop her off? I appreciate anyone even skimming this and passing along a thought!
My cat, who's about 11 years old, has had diarrhea for about a month, has an abdominal ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'll give some context but feel free to skip to the bottom for the general question!
She was having diarrhea every night since around June 5th and I took her to the vet the next day. They ran a fecal test, bloodwork, did a senior profile, and prescribed some Metronidazole. She hated the medicine but I gave it to her for about 2 days and stopped because her stool started to look normal. Fecal test came back and the only thing she had was tapeworm eggs, so they also gave me some Profender and I applied that on June 12th, a few days after her dose of Revolution. That week also had normal stools.
We had a trip scheduled for that weekend so we dropped her off at a really great cat hotel that she's been to before and she ended up having diarrhea and vomiting one night while she was there. Her stool was a little normal once we picked her up but the diarrhea came back so we took her to the vet again. They ran x-rays and didn't find anything too concerning, aside from a lot of gas and maybe a larger colon. I started giving her the Metronidazole again for a week and that seemed to help. Solid stools but maybe a little hard from constipation (my guess) from pretty much June 25th-July 2nd.
Unfortunately the diarrhea came back a few days after we finished the Metronidazole so we did another vet visit and the doctor said an ultrasound might help. At this point I agreed and scheduled it. He also suggested a hydrolyzed diet so I picked that up some Hill's z/d and have been transitioning her to it with mixtures of her old food. I've also been adding pure pumpkin here and there and she's been having FortiFlora in every wet meal.
This morning she had a small amount of stool but also threw up some clear foam, maybe about 2 quarter sized puddles. Then around 1pm had very normal stool, in both color, look, and smell (the diarrhea smell was quite something). Throughout all of this, her behavior has been normal, she's active, maybe sleeps a little more than usual post diarrhea, eats and drinks everything just fine. She did vomit a bit here and there throughout the month but that's semi normal for her throughout the years we've had her. There's a small theory in the back of my mind that it's stress related. This is my parents cat that I do all of the health related matters for and I don't live with them but she's honestly the light of my life. They had some guests at the end of May, then I arrived at a similar time, then we had our weekend trip where she was boarded, and then my parents left for a long weekend for a wedding so she was just with me for that time. Since she's been having diarrhea I've decided to stick around at my parents since I'm the only one that can wrangle and medicate her if necessary. I know switching up schedules and timings can stress cats out.
Now this all leads to my concern. She's only been sedated once while I've had her, in February 2022. She did fine then. I'm a little worried because she's older and she does have some signs of a URI (seems congested at times, sneezes occasionally, a little clear eye discharge) that the vets know about but haven't diagnosed and don't seem concerned with. She's never had a diagnosed heart murmur but I know they can pop up and that's obviously not a good thing for sedation. She's also kinda fiesty - she's gotten bloodwork and xrays done there before without sedation, but for this, they'll have to shave her and I know that sound will scare her. And having that ultrasound gel on her plus the device will not sit well with her, I'm guessing. She also will pant here and there at the vet so I know her little body gets really stressed when she's there.
I've already talked to one of her vets and the vet tech who was working today and asked a hurricane of questions. They said they start light and do more if necessary but can't guarantee which meds will be used, as they choose on a case by case basis. I also asked the tech about complications and she said she's been doing these for 20 years so of course she's seen complications but overall things usually go well. I didn't ask specifically about deaths. Obviously I appreciate her honesty but it does scare me more. I know sedation cannot be 100% safe so I'm wondering whether this is a bad idea given that her behavior is totally normal. If something were to happen to her when it was really just a temporary thing that she could get through herself, or the hill's diet and probiotics were helping, I really don't know what I'd do. And I know she's so tired of these visits and I'm not sure if this one will just add to any stress she's having or had.
Okay, finally the questions! Have your cats been sedated? How did it go? What was the process like for you and for your cat? Any advice for a really worried cat mom? Anything I can ask tomorrow morning when I drop her off? I appreciate anyone even skimming this and passing along a thought!
She's just the one I happened to catch on the phone today.
