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- Nov 20, 2021
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I'm in desparate need of some advice because my vets seem to be guessing at this point and my heart is breaking watching my cat have persistent diarrhea for about 1 month now ranging from 5-7 on the fecal chart. Mostly 5-6 but occasionally very watery 7. Besides the diarrhea, she is active and playful. She is eating and drinking water.
Cleo is mostly indoor but occasionally I brought her out on a leash/walking around in my backpack.
History:
- End of July: I adopt Cleo from SPCA at 3.5 months old. Right before adoption they tell us she is being treated for diarrhea and this is normal in kittens, especially since she had been transported from another shelter 40 minutes away to decrease their load. We take her home and over the next few days, we notice that she is sneezing and has mucus in her eye so we treat her for a URI with bnp ointment and doxycycline.
- End of August: URI heals but Cleo starts scooting. We are told numerous times that this is weird for a kitten. We bring her to the vet and find her anal glands are full, so they are expressed.
- September: Cleo seems fine
- Early October: Cleo mysteriously starts scooting again however her stool is solid so it doesn't seem to be linked to diarrhea. We wonder if this is a behaviour but it continues so we take her to the vet.
- Oct 22: Cleo is given Drontal for potential worms. Pus comes out of anal glands so an infection is assumed and she is given an injection of Cefovecin. Fecal test comes back positive for Giardia! Cleo is given Fenbendazole and Metronidazole for 6 days. Right as we start her on these antibiotics her stool starts to deteriorate. The vets insist its the giardia and not the medicine.
- Nov 5th: We start Cleo on bland diet, Science hills i/d dry (for wet I was still giving her Instinct and Purina) becuase diarrhea isn't going away and give another fecal test. Fecal test now comes back negative for Giardia. I'm scared this is a false negative though.
- Nov 10th: Cleo has explosive watery diarrhea so I panick and call the vet and she says we should put Cleo on Metronidazole again. I'm hesitant of more antibiotics but desparate so I agree. She does Metronidazole for 6 days and her stool changes from level 7 to level 5-6 but it still very soft. At this time, we also switch over to fully wet and dry science hill i/d. I also try giving a little pumpkin but I'm not sure if it helps and I can only find large cans and worry about it going bad in the fridge.
Cleo's stool stays at level 5-6.
- Nov 17: Check in with vet. Anal glands are empty. They tell me that maybe she has diarrhea from overeating. She is 8.3 lbs but should be 7 lbs. I start feeding her for 7 pounds. Vets don't really help at all, they just say we can try yet again another diet e.g. science hills d/d for senstive stomachs but I'm very hesitant.
- Nov 18: Cleo experiences watery diarrhea again a few times (she is now a level 6-7). Vet suggests sucralfate for her stomach, so I'm about to start her on that. I almost cried seeing them charge my $60 for 3 days worth of this. I'm also starting her on Purina fortiflora probiotics.
On top of the money, I'm so emptionally exhausted and crying about it all the time. Please please help! If anyone has any insights, that would be great.
Should I try a different diet?
Should I try a different probiotic?
What should I do?
Do you think she just needs more time to heal or are my vets really missing something here?
Cleo is mostly indoor but occasionally I brought her out on a leash/walking around in my backpack.
History:
- End of July: I adopt Cleo from SPCA at 3.5 months old. Right before adoption they tell us she is being treated for diarrhea and this is normal in kittens, especially since she had been transported from another shelter 40 minutes away to decrease their load. We take her home and over the next few days, we notice that she is sneezing and has mucus in her eye so we treat her for a URI with bnp ointment and doxycycline.
- End of August: URI heals but Cleo starts scooting. We are told numerous times that this is weird for a kitten. We bring her to the vet and find her anal glands are full, so they are expressed.
- September: Cleo seems fine
- Early October: Cleo mysteriously starts scooting again however her stool is solid so it doesn't seem to be linked to diarrhea. We wonder if this is a behaviour but it continues so we take her to the vet.
- Oct 22: Cleo is given Drontal for potential worms. Pus comes out of anal glands so an infection is assumed and she is given an injection of Cefovecin. Fecal test comes back positive for Giardia! Cleo is given Fenbendazole and Metronidazole for 6 days. Right as we start her on these antibiotics her stool starts to deteriorate. The vets insist its the giardia and not the medicine.
- Nov 5th: We start Cleo on bland diet, Science hills i/d dry (for wet I was still giving her Instinct and Purina) becuase diarrhea isn't going away and give another fecal test. Fecal test now comes back negative for Giardia. I'm scared this is a false negative though.
- Nov 10th: Cleo has explosive watery diarrhea so I panick and call the vet and she says we should put Cleo on Metronidazole again. I'm hesitant of more antibiotics but desparate so I agree. She does Metronidazole for 6 days and her stool changes from level 7 to level 5-6 but it still very soft. At this time, we also switch over to fully wet and dry science hill i/d. I also try giving a little pumpkin but I'm not sure if it helps and I can only find large cans and worry about it going bad in the fridge.
Cleo's stool stays at level 5-6.
- Nov 17: Check in with vet. Anal glands are empty. They tell me that maybe she has diarrhea from overeating. She is 8.3 lbs but should be 7 lbs. I start feeding her for 7 pounds. Vets don't really help at all, they just say we can try yet again another diet e.g. science hills d/d for senstive stomachs but I'm very hesitant.
- Nov 18: Cleo experiences watery diarrhea again a few times (she is now a level 6-7). Vet suggests sucralfate for her stomach, so I'm about to start her on that. I almost cried seeing them charge my $60 for 3 days worth of this. I'm also starting her on Purina fortiflora probiotics.
On top of the money, I'm so emptionally exhausted and crying about it all the time. Please please help! If anyone has any insights, that would be great.
Should I try a different diet?
Should I try a different probiotic?
What should I do?
Do you think she just needs more time to heal or are my vets really missing something here?