Hi guys!
I'm having problems with my boy, Stratus. Most of the story is here - Cat Defecating 50% Of The Time Outside Of The Litterbox - Behaviour?
Long story short though, he's 9 years old and has had soft stools all of his life. Up until September of this year, that was his "normal", but that month, he started having blood. After meds, he wasn't getting much better, and he was beginning to defecate on the floor. With the vet's help, we checked bloodwork, urinary tract, fecal testing (including the PCR test that tests for bacteria), and everything came out clean. He's gone through full courses of antibiotics and deworming. He's been put on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food first, and now he's trialing the Science Diet Z/D (which they pronounce as "zed/d" here in Australia - very odd to get used to from the States, haha!). He's still having super runny poos (on my carpet, because I assume they're painful - he pees in the boxes just fine). He frequently (once every...2-3 days now) vomits food, usually after having runny stool (I've watched him physically gag while in the box/on the floor, and then once he's done there, he goes to throw up).
He vet did not check his thyroid, because he is not losing weight at all. She's frequently checked his abdomen to feel for inflammation or obstruction. After this trial with Z/D, she says the next step, if this doesn't help, which it doesn't seem to be, is ultrasound, which I can't afford right now because we have to pay for my visa next week (goodbye, $7,000...). I might just get the thyroid checked anyway (just to rule it out), but that's another $250...but we can probably do that in January. She thinks it is possible he may have IBS or IBD, but the only way to check 100% would be to biopsy, which would be way too expensive, and my husband would not be able to justify spending that much on a cat, even a cat he loves.
Do any of the IBS/IBD "pros" have any input? I would love to know if this sounds like what you've gone through, and maybe some tips and tricks for us to try to see if we can help him out. I love this cat with all of my heart, I want to help him, but I just can't keep forking out money that isn't even mine (I'm unemployed, just lucky that my husband makes enough money to keep us afloat...), and I'm getting worn down by cleaning up the carpet 2-4 times a day...
And no, I'm not saying that as in "I'm gonna get rid of him" - I will never do that. Not only did I spend so much money to bring him here from the States to Australia, but like I said, I raised him. He's my baby. My carpet-messing, smelly baby. <3
Thank you. <3
I'm having problems with my boy, Stratus. Most of the story is here - Cat Defecating 50% Of The Time Outside Of The Litterbox - Behaviour?
Long story short though, he's 9 years old and has had soft stools all of his life. Up until September of this year, that was his "normal", but that month, he started having blood. After meds, he wasn't getting much better, and he was beginning to defecate on the floor. With the vet's help, we checked bloodwork, urinary tract, fecal testing (including the PCR test that tests for bacteria), and everything came out clean. He's gone through full courses of antibiotics and deworming. He's been put on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food first, and now he's trialing the Science Diet Z/D (which they pronounce as "zed/d" here in Australia - very odd to get used to from the States, haha!). He's still having super runny poos (on my carpet, because I assume they're painful - he pees in the boxes just fine). He frequently (once every...2-3 days now) vomits food, usually after having runny stool (I've watched him physically gag while in the box/on the floor, and then once he's done there, he goes to throw up).
He vet did not check his thyroid, because he is not losing weight at all. She's frequently checked his abdomen to feel for inflammation or obstruction. After this trial with Z/D, she says the next step, if this doesn't help, which it doesn't seem to be, is ultrasound, which I can't afford right now because we have to pay for my visa next week (goodbye, $7,000...). I might just get the thyroid checked anyway (just to rule it out), but that's another $250...but we can probably do that in January. She thinks it is possible he may have IBS or IBD, but the only way to check 100% would be to biopsy, which would be way too expensive, and my husband would not be able to justify spending that much on a cat, even a cat he loves.
Do any of the IBS/IBD "pros" have any input? I would love to know if this sounds like what you've gone through, and maybe some tips and tricks for us to try to see if we can help him out. I love this cat with all of my heart, I want to help him, but I just can't keep forking out money that isn't even mine (I'm unemployed, just lucky that my husband makes enough money to keep us afloat...), and I'm getting worn down by cleaning up the carpet 2-4 times a day...
And no, I'm not saying that as in "I'm gonna get rid of him" - I will never do that. Not only did I spend so much money to bring him here from the States to Australia, but like I said, I raised him. He's my baby. My carpet-messing, smelly baby. <3
Thank you. <3
