Bloody diarrhea

[Jasmine1234Iloveyou]

Hey all,
I posted about a week ago talking about how my kitty was having dark stool and that he had worms and had started deworming. Right after that post he started having diarrhea which I assumed was from the deworming! The vet gave me fortifloa probiotic and he has been on it for a week. It didn’t seem to be working so I actually took him to the vet today and they said because he seems healthy no vomiting or anything so they gave me a new food to try. I had never seen any blood in his diarrhea until of course as soon as I get home from the vet and feed him dinner (not the new food same diet as always) he has blood/mucus in his poop! I know it could be from stress of the vet but I am worried. Luckily I am taking him back tomorrow for his last deworming but will need to leave him as a drop off to get further testing done as there isn’t any available appointments. I need help to ask what I should do and what the vet should test for. I’ve never had a kitten before so I don’t know. He acts totally healthy besides the diarrhea so I’m not sure what it could be but he’s only 3 months old and I know diarrhea in kitty’s can be serious but the vet didn’t seem to worried. She did say to bring him back if I start seeing blood or if he starts to vomit so that’s what I am doing even though he was just seen today. I have uploaded pictures of the poop please let me know what I should talk to the vet about thank you all so much

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Fortiflora is a pretty weak probiotic, so it is not surprising that it didn't really have an effect. S. boulardi might be a better probiotic to try instead for the diarrhea. However, with the new issue of visible blood, a probiotic isn't likely the answer. The dark stool your kitten has had that you noted in your last thread - as I said before can be a sign of GI bleeding in the upper part of the digestive tract. The visible blood (meaning that it is red?) would suggest there may be bleeding in the lower tract too.

When did the dark stool start? Did it just show up with the tapeworms? Did you make a food change when you first got the kitten? Just questions for you to think about as talking points with the vet.

I don't know what worming treatment they gave your kitten, so maybe it isn't the correct one. There is a broad-spectrum treatment, called Drontal, that addresses a number of worms that might be a better choice. So, you can ask about that too. I would also ask if they should do another test for worms, to see if something shows up this time. They may want to do a more extensive fecal PCR test that would also look for various bacterial and viral conditions that might cause bloody stools. This more extensive test would also look for other types of parasites that might not have been identified in the fecal test that the vet originally did.

 

[Jasmine1234Iloveyou]

Hi! Fortiflora is a pretty weak probiotic, so it is not surprising that it didn't really have an effect. S. boulardi might be a better probiotic to try instead for the diarrhea. However, with the new issue of visible blood, a probiotic isn't likely the answer. The dark stool your kitten has had that you noted in your last thread - as I said before can be a sign of GI bleeding in the upper part of the digestive tract. The visible blood (meaning that it is red?) would suggest there may be bleeding in the lower tract too.

When did the dark stool start? Did it just show up with the tapeworms? Did you make a food change when you first got the kitten? Just questions for you to think about as talking points with the vet.

I don't know what worming treatment they gave your kitten, so maybe it isn't the correct one. There is a broad-spectrum treatment, called Drontal, that addresses a number of worms that might be a better choice. So, you can ask about that too. I would also ask if they should do another test for worms, to see if something shows up this time. They may want to do a more extensive fecal PCR test that would also look for various bacterial and viral conditions that might cause bloody stools. This more extensive test would also look for other types of parasites that might not have been identified in the fecal test that the vet originally did.

Thank you I will ask for a different pcr. I showed them the dark poop and they said it didn’t look to abnormal. In the three weeks I’ve had him he’s now gone to the vet three times with two different vets so I feel defeated. I’ve only had him for 3 weeks and his poop has been weird the whole time but he had some pretty extreme worms so I think the vet is hoping after the dewormer and food changes he will stop having these problems. Thank you for your input I take him back in a few hours so I really need to know what I can say differently to actually feel like there is a better outcome. I know it’s hard to see in the picture but the poop had red mucus

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would just question the need for a food change at the same time they are hoping to resolve the worms. If this is all truly related to the worms. as they seem to think, then a food change may not be necessary. Food changes, especially abrupt ones, can cause their own set of gastric issues. Just MO.

If possible, it might be a nice thing if you could see the same vet, at least throughout the visits for this issue. I know most vet offices seem to think that any of their vets can stand in for each other. While that may be true, it doesn't facilitate familiarity with the patient. Yes, vets can read other vet notes, but I personally don't feel it is the same as having one dedicated vet. It also affords rapport building between the vet, the caretaker, and the pet. I know this isn't always possible, just a nice benefit for all involved.

 

[Jasmine1234Iloveyou]

I would just question the need for a food change at the same time they are hoping to resolve the worms. If this is all truly related to the worms. as they seem to think, then a food change may not be necessary. Food changes, especially abrupt ones, can cause their own set of gastric issues. Just MO.

If possible, it might be a nice thing if you could see the same vet, at least throughout the visits for this issue. I know most vet offices seem to think that any of their vets can stand in for each other. While that may be true, it doesn't facilitate familiarity with the patient. Yes, vets can read other vet notes, but I personally don't feel it is the same as having one dedicated vet. It also affords rapport building between the vet, the caretaker, and the pet. I know this isn't always possible, just a nice benefit for all involved.

Thank you sooo much! I took him back today to get a more extensive check up. No fever or dehydration so they said to see if it happens one more time come back and they will do further blood testing and give me medication but they want to not give him to many things since he is actively deworming. In the last PCR panel they said they checked for almost every parasite and it came back negative so they didn’t think it was necessary at this time. I went to the store and got S. boulardi to start giving him instead of the forti flora. How much do you recommend giving a kitten who is 3.7 pounds. He’s so small and I can’t find any dosing online.

thanks again for your help)

 

[FeebysOwner]

Did you check with your vet about using S. Bourlardi, just to make sure they are OK with it?

I am sorry, but I have no idea what the proper dosage might be for a kitten. I'll look around to see if I can find anything.

 

[FeebysOwner]

This information from another member - I hope it is helpful.
My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do? (foodfurlife.com)

Included in this data is the following:
For kittens under nine months old, follow the same instructions (as below) for adults, just use half the amount.

'Traditional dosing for therapeutic treatment of diarrhea in adult cats as provided by U.C. Davis is one-half of a 250mg capsule (5 billion CFU) given twice daily. Treatment for kittens is half of the adult dose. It can be given with food; it does not have to be. This is usually sufficient for loose stools of normal frequency. For the “emergency stop diarrhea” approach, we find more frequent dosing of smaller amounts of the probiotic, providing a higher total CFU the first day or two, resolves diarrhea much more quickly.

For adult cats (defined here as 9 months of age and older):
Give one-quarter of the 250mg / 5 billion CFU capsule every two hours or so. Many cats accept it when mixed into finely ground poached chicken breast / turkey breast / pork loin or meat-only baby food. (Beech Nut, Goya, and Gerber list “meat” and broth or gravy as ingredients. These are fine, they are referring to the water used to cook the meat, and they contain no spices). If your cat does not like the taste of the probiotic, you can syringe after mixing with water. If you are not experienced syringing liquids into your cat, you can use empty #3 gel capsules. Simply fill 10 to 20 of these by transferring the S boulardii from the larger capsules into the smaller ones. These are a size easy to pill your cat. Pill your cat with one #3 capsule filled with S boulardii every two hours or so. For pilling instructions, see How to Pill (Your Cat).

This frequent dosing method usually stops diarrhea within 24 – 48 hours, other than when diarrhea is caused by another disease that requires treatment (low B12, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, hyperthyroidism, as examples). This “loading dose” can be continued for longer if necessary, up to three to four days – but if you do not see substantial improvement in the diarrhea on day 3, it is best to follow-up with your veterinarian. It is NOT necessary to use this approach, it can be given at “therapeutic” doses as discussed above twice a day (and doubled if you see improvement in stool but diarrhea or soft cow patty stools have not resolved).
When the diarrhea has substantially resolved with use of the emergency stop treatment protocol, begin use of S. boulardii at the therapeutic dose level (2.5 billion CFU twice daily) and continue for at least one week. If stools soften, resume use of S. boulardii at the therapeutic dose as needed. Given its role in improving performance of bacterial probiotics and its anti-inflammatory properties, the use of S boulardii at maintenance levels (anywhere from 500 million CFU to a total of 2.5 billion CFU daily) can be continued indefinitely along with a bacterial probiotic. It confers many health and GI protective benefits, and we use it along with bacterial strains in all of our cats, all the time.

Please Note: If diarrhea becomes worse with S boulardii administration, stop use immediately. There can be several reasons for this reaction, however. We have seen cats do poorly with a brand of S boulardii that contains lactose, and switching to a brand like Jarrow without it, the product works quite well. This is most common. We have also seen what is most likely bacterial die-off with the S boulardii. Again, stop administration for 24 hours, and reintroduce it (while continuing to feed the bland diet) slowly. Do not follow the "emergency stop diarrhea" instructions. Use it just twice a day, but at 1/4 of the recommended amount the first day, and 1/2 the recommended amount the second day if kitty did not react to the lower dose. If you do not begin to see improvement even with this slower method of introduction, stop the S boulardii, best to see the vet.'

 

[stephanietx]

I would ask for them to do the diarrhea PCR test and the GI Panel. The PCR tests for parasites and infections not caught in a regular fecal test. The GI panel will check his B12 and other levels. Ask for Metronidazole to help stop the diarrhea. Also, don't feed him any kind of chicken or fish flavored foods. Try venison, beef, lamb, rabbit or other proteins. You may also find good luck on Royal Canin gastrointestinal food (wet and dry) but it's very expensive.

 

[Jasmine1234Iloveyou]

I would ask for them to do the diarrhea PCR test and the GI Panel. The PCR tests for parasites and infections not caught in a regular fecal test. The GI panel will check his B12 and other levels. Ask for Metronidazole to help stop the diarrhea. Also, don't feed him any kind of chicken or fish flavored foods. Try venison, beef, lamb, rabbit or other proteins. You may also find good luck on Royal Canin gastrointestinal food (wet and dry) but it's very expensive.

Thank you so much!! It’s so hard finding a kitten wet food without chicken! If you have any recommendations please let me know we are still struggling with the diarrhea on and off but it has gotten better. I have him off of the purina food completely and his poop is back to a normal color( just still soft 50% of the time) I took him back to the vet and they said if I see anymore blood in his stool bring him back asap. Good thing is I haven’t bad thing is he is still having diarrhea once every few days. I am starting to suspect a food allergy now that it has been about 2 weeks since we have finished his dewormer medication. The vet said allergy testing isn’t always accurate so it would be somewhat a waste of money and it might just be a trial an error of different foods. All of the food he is on is chicken flavored so if you have any recommendations for kitten food without chicken I would really appreciate it!

 

[stephanietx]

I would look at brands like TikiCat, Weruva, Koha, and Rawz, but I don't know if they have kitten foods. Wellness is another one. You may be able to do chicken plus another protein such as duck. I would give his poops a little longer to firm up completely. You can give s. boulardii to help with that or even plain canned pumpkin.