Best senior cat food for diarrhea

[leahnicole]

Hi my friends!
My 13 year old kitty has never really had formed poo. Now in her senior years, she is having trouble controlling it. She will have accidents all over the house and while she is sleeping. it makes me so sad. I took her to our vet and they gave her a clean bill of health. Sent me home with medicine for worms and a $30 bag of cat food. I called the vet to let them know she is still having diarrhea all over the house and they just said to just keep feeding her the cat food that I bought from them. I was wondering if anyone else out there has kitties with this same problem. My poor girl needs help and the vet says nothing is wrong and to just change her diet. JoJo Kitty and I thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[daftcat75]

If she has never really had formed poo, have you had her tested for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)? It's a non-standard test so it wouldn't surprise me if your vet never ordered it. Speaking of non-standard tests, have you done the Fecal Diarrhea PCR test? It is significantly more expensive than the usual stool sample test that checks for worms and giardia so you would remember if you did this one.

I recommend reading this page all the way through and then reading it again.

My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

Don't panic! Just as with people, healthy cats can suffer an “upset stomach” from time-to-time. We may not know the cause, and it doesn’t necessarily mean a trip to the vet is in order. After...

www.foodfurlife.com

Especially the parts about saccharomyces boulardii as well as feeding a highly digestible food even if it's simply poached chicken or poached turkey. If food is running too quickly through her to be digested, then it's not really food anymore.

Another suggestion I have is that if she's been having soft stools or diarrhea long enough to lose weight, ask the vet about getting her on B-12 replacement shots.

Finally, at her age, and given that she's never really had good poops, she could have IBD. Only a biopsy can absolutely confirm this but an ultrasound can get you to "IBD or lymphoma." If the ultrasound reveals inflammation and intestinal wall thickening, the vet may try steroids with her to get the inflammation under control. Getting the inflammation under control should slow the transit time, give her a better shot at digestion, and firm up the poops.

I think you might want to consult with another vet if this one is only going to give you a bag of food.

 

[daftcat75]

You could try a course of Flagyl (metronidazole, e.g. antibiotics.). But I would feel more comfortable if you had a PCR test confirming a bacterial infection before you “pill and pray.” But Flagyl is cheap and the PCR test is rather expensive. If you do go this route, Flagyl itself could wipe out the good bacteria needed for good poops. S. Boulardii, especially with the MOS in the oft recommended Jarrow brand, would be helpful here too. Since it is yeast, it will survive the antibiotics.

 

[DreamerRose]

You could also try Fortiflora, which is a probiotic. I got mine from the vet, but pet stores probably also carry it. With all of that diarrhea, the "good" bacteria that inhabits the gut has probably washed out. It's a powder you can mix in with her food, and it takes some trial and error on the dosage to get it just right. When the stool firms up, then you can stop giving it to her.

 

[jen]

Super irresponsible of the vet to just send home some dewormer for a senior cat with long term diarrhea. How about some bloodwork, anti-diarrhea medication, fluids for dehydration...etc. Please find a new vet and start fresh. This poor cat should NOT have diarrhea its whole life. This isn't a simple food adjustment. This cat needs help.

 

[1 bruce 1]

If the vet said "nothing is wrong" but told you to change her diet to a 30 buck a bag food they happen to sell, I'm with jen . It's very irresponsible. If she's had long term problems, then something is obviously not right.
I'd get a second opinion on this one, because as the others said, that's not normal and probably upsetting for both of you.

 

[daftcat75]

You could also try Fortiflora, which is a probiotic. I got mine from the vet, but pet stores probably also carry it. With all of that diarrhea, the "good" bacteria that inhabits the gut has probably washed out. It's a powder you can mix in with her food, and it takes some trial and error on the dosage to get it just right. When the stool firms up, then you can stop giving it to her.

Fortiflora is only one strain and not very much of it. Proviable is a better probiotic that can also be purchased through your vet. S. boulardii is even better than both.

FortiFlora is mostly a flavoring. It's "animal digest" which is an enzymatic reduction of meat into something meat-like. That meat is almost certainly chicken the way my Krista reacts to it.