Yellow poop in senior cat

[Daz90]

Hi, I'm hoping for a second opinion (I'll take however many I can get!) on how I'm interpreting my friend's bowel movements. She's 16 years old and she's had IBD for years. She recently had a mysterious bacterial infection that affected her liver. She had a course of antibiotics and was switched to Royal Canin selected protein food. Last week, she got her blood work done again and the vet said her values (liver, blood cell, etc.) were all back to normal. She was also longer jaundiced. Appetite is great and she seems back to her old self. She had diarrhea from the antibiotics, but that finally cleared up last week.

She has to take liver support pills, which is difficult for her so I've been experimenting with putting it in various things (churo treats, tuna juice). Two days ago, the yellow diarrhea returned. I assumed it was from the churo or tuna juice, so I cut both of those out. Yesterday her poop was almost back to normal (mostly dark) but today it's yellow again (although not a watery puddle, just yellow and very soft). From what I've read, yellow poop can be a sign of liver or gallbladder problems. But she just had blood work last week and was fine, and I don't want to call the vet again unless necessary because I've been doing so a lot to try to figure out the medication difficulties.

There are no other signs of anything being wrong, and she's eating everything I give her. I'm thinking it makes the most sense to give it the weekend and if it continues then call my vet on Monday, since they just ran blood work last week. But I'm really paranoid about her health since she was so sick a few weeks ago. I guess I'm looking for some opinions from the outside. Thanks in advance.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! I think if it were me, I would also wait and see over the weekend, particularly if she is doing well otherwise. Things to consider: The coloring of the new food that could be impacting her stool color? More antibiotics in case what she took didn't entirely get rid of the bacterial problem - this may be especially true if her blood work was done during or very quickly after the antibiotics.

Make a note of any/all changes from the time her stool changed color from more normal to more yellowish color - anything else added to her diet? Treats, human bite of food, etc.?

I don't know what liver support supplement she is taking, but there may be others that would serve her better. There are even liquid ones that might be helpful, although I gather she is on dry food, which would make giving them to her a bit more complicated. There are also a lot of other lickable treats to try - although most are light in color and could affect her stool color the same way, if that is part of the issue.

I wish I had more ideas, but hopefully other members will come along soon with additional input.

 

[tabbytom]

Two days ago, the yellow diarrhea returned.

Here's a poop guide chart. Best is you send your vet a photo of the poop for a professional medical answer.

 

[Daz90]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice! I appreciate it, because I fear I'm developing health anxiety for my cat haha. Zero other behavioural changes so that's good. Medication is just always going to be an issue for her. She's an anxious girl who sets boundaries, and it takes two people to give her a pill or a syringe. Unfortunately, I live alone. I hired a mobile vet tech to give her the antibiotics twice daily for the two weeks she was on them.

After struggling with giving her the pill on my own, my vet ordered one I could crush. But so far she's sniffed it out of everything I've put it in, no matter how enticing the food is or how smelly. She did drink some of the tuna juice with the crushed pill in it, so I'm going to try re-introducing that after this latest bout of loose stool improves.

 

[Kwik]

Hi, I'm hoping for a second opinion (I'll take however many I can get!) on how I'm interpreting my friend's bowel movements. She's 16 years old and she's had IBD for years. She recently had a mysterious bacterial infection that affected her liver. She had a course of antibiotics and was switched to Royal Canin selected protein food. Last week, she got her blood work done again and the vet said her values (liver, blood cell, etc.) were all back to normal. She was also longer jaundiced. Appetite is great and she seems back to her old self. She had diarrhea from the antibiotics, but that finally cleared up last week.

She has to take liver support pills, which is difficult for her so I've been experimenting with putting it in various things (churo treats, tuna juice). Two days ago, the yellow diarrhea returned. I assumed it was from the churo or tuna juice, so I cut both of those out. Yesterday her poop was almost back to normal (mostly dark) but today it's yellow again (although not a watery puddle, just yellow and very soft). From what I've read, yellow poop can be a sign of liver or gallbladder problems. But she just had blood work last week and was fine, and I don't want to call the vet again unless necessary because I've been doing so a lot to try to figure out the medication difficulties.

There are no other signs of anything being wrong, and she's eating everything I give her. I'm thinking it makes the most sense to give it the weekend and if it continues then call my vet on Monday, since they just ran blood work last week. But I'm really paranoid about her health since she was so sick a few weeks ago. I guess I'm looking for some opinions from the outside. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to TCS,very nice to meet you

Your kitty just went through a bacterial infection and was on anti- biotic and is recovery nicely you did say and also all blood work came back with good results so having that info leads me to believe this is not a liver or gallbladder issue- yellow soft stool is not always a big concern and may be a run of the mill digestive issue from all of the sudden dietary changes-

I'd suggest paying close attention over the weekend and give your Vet a call on Monday- of course you'd always want to address any diarreah that lasts more than 2 days- I suspect the color change is a result of the new foods introduced -@tabbytom mentioned you might find a different liver support supplement so I would discuss what you are using with your Vet and I'm sure he'd recommend something beneficial- supplements can be difficult to digest and "passing " too quickly will often cause yellow color as well

The good news is the positive feedback from the blood work-when you introduce new foods,treats and supplements it should be done gradually until the desired amount is reached- also suddenly eliminating certain foods should be done gradually to wean them off and into different diets.....I do believe that's the issue here

Keep us posted how kitty is doing and what your Vet has to say





t

 

[Daz90]

Welcome to TCS,very nice to meet you

Your kitty just went through a bacterial infection and was on anti- biotic and is recovery nicely you did say and also all blood work came back with good results so having that info leads me to believe this is not a liver or gallbladder issue- yellow soft stool is not always a big concern and may be a run of the mill digestive issue from all of the sudden dietary changes-

I'd suggest paying close attention over the weekend and give your Vet a call on Monday- of course you'd always want to address any diarreah that lasts more than 2 days- I suspect the color change is a result of the new foods introduced -@tabbytom mentioned you might find a different liver support supplement so I would discuss what you are using with your Vet and I'm sure he'd recommend something beneficial- supplements can be difficult to digest and "passing " too quickly will often cause yellow color as well

The good news is the positive feedback from the blood work-when you introduce new foods,treats and supplements it should be done gradually until the desired amount is reached- also suddenly eliminating certain foods should be done gradually to wean them off and into different diets.....I do believe that's the issue here

Keep us posted how kitty is doing and what your Vet has to say





t

Nice to meet you too - you all are so kind! This is comforting to hear. She's not pooping multiple times per day like she was when she had diarrhea on the antibiotics, so that's a positive. She still seems fine otherwise - eating a ton and resting comfortably. We all know how well cats can hide illness, and I almost lost her during the recent bout of illness, so I'm particularly on high alert. I'll see how if it clears up over the weekend.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Not a vet so the following is only my opinion. The yellow in the stool is most likely bile. Liver values can change day to day. So, last weeks blood work doesn’t mean it’s all the same today. There are many different conditions that can cause liver and biliary problems in cats. An abdominal ultrasound with a specialist is always a good idea.

The liver supplement, is it the Denmarin?
Didn’t the vet tech show you how to give medication when she was coming by twice a day?

You must learn to give your cat pills without mixing it in anything. It is vital if your cat is going to get their medications.

 

[Daz90]

Hi. Not a vet so the following is only my opinion. The yellow in the stool is most likely bile. Liver values can change day to day. So, last weeks blood work doesn’t mean it’s all the same today. There are many different conditions that can cause liver and biliary problems in cats. An abdominal ultrasound with a specialist is always a good idea.

The liver supplement, is it the Denmarin?
Didn’t the vet tech show you how to give medication when she was coming by twice a day?

You must learn to give your cat pills without mixing it in anything. It is vital if your cat is going to get their medications.

She actually received an abdominal ultrasound when she was hospitalized for the infection and that didn't reveal anything. The liver supplement was Denosyl, which I couldn't get into her. The vet showed me, but my cat was very ill and not energetic so I was able to do it. I've watched many videos, tried using the towel burrito, etc. She's very slippery and can instantly differentiate between a head or chin scratch and when I'm going for her jaw for a pill. I'm confident that unless someone's a professional, it's impossible to get a pill in her on one's own. The last evening I tried to do it a few times, she wouldn't eat because she was so stressed. So the vet gave me Zentonil instead because it can be crushed and mixed, so that's the current plan.

 

[Daz90]

Just an update. Thanks again everyone for your comments. The poop isn't nearly as yellow as it was a couple of days ago, but it's still a bit lighter in parts so I think I'll send a pic to my vet tomorrow to be safe.

 

[IndyJones]

That looks like loose stool to me. Maybe she has a food sensitivity

 

[Daz90]

That looks like loose stool to me. Maybe she has a food sensitivity

She has IBD and it's been loose (sometimes more so than others) since she got over an infection. She did switch over to a new hypoallergenic food too, so I don't know how long that takes to adjust to. But it's been about a month on that food.

 

[IndyJones]

Assuming its canned, should be a fairly seemless transition, dry takes a bit longer but shouldn't take more than a week or two. Depending on the cause of the IBD (a diagnosis of exclusion) it could be anything really. IBD is diagnosed when all other options have been ruled out (viruses, bacteria, etc).

Could she be sensitive to a gum or filler of some sort?

 

[Daz90]

Assuming its canned, should be a fairly seemless transition, dry takes a bit longer but shouldn't take more than a week or two. Depending on the cause of the IBD (a diagnosis of exclusion) it could be anything really. IBD is diagnosed when all other options have been ruled out (viruses, bacteria, etc).

Could she be sensitive to a gum or filler of some sort?

The only other new thing she's had was churu and tuna juice (trying to get her to take ground up medication). I stopped both after the diarrhea came back, which was 4 days ago. The diarrhea was a complete pool of yellow 4 days ago, then completely yellow and soft pieces, then more "properly" shaped but still mostly yellow, then today's was a bit better. So she's trending in the right direction I think. I'm of course assuming it was the churu or tuna juice since there was nothing else new.

 

[IndyJones]

I would check the churu wrapper for "gar gum, agargar, or carageenan" many cats are sensitive to these ingredients for some reason. Especialy ibd ones.

 

[Daz90]

I would check the churu wrapper for "gar gum, agargar, or carageenan" many cats are sensitive to these ingredients for some reason. Especialy ibd ones.

Good call! There is indeed "guar gum". That may be the culprit then.