Cat Has Chronic Diarrhea... Vets Confused.

[karam94]

Hi everyone,

I have a beautiful 11 month old Turkish Angora who last Friday was struggling to control his bowels and was farting and as a result discharging a large quantity of watery, dark black/green liquid everywhere.

He has been fecal tested (with 3 samples taken within close proximity) for Giardia, Worms & Salmonella. All have returned negative.

He was put on a drip by the vets for two days and on metronidazole. He's finished one course (2x1.5ml per day for 4 days) and is back on another. He's gained weight over the past week since coming back home after the drip (they had him on a special food for sensitive stomachs when he was at the vets the first time) which means he's absorbing his nutrients. We've been instructed to feed him only canned tuna/plain chicken breast which he downs in seconds, he loves to eat! They said his stool was starting to solidify during his time at the vets hence why they discharged him.

His poop looked a little more solid on Wednesday but since then it has gone back to uncontrollable black liquid-esque stuff. It doesn't really smell, but his rectum hurts and he's licking it a lot.

He's been taken back to the vets and to be frank, they are unsure as to what it could be. They are now wondering if it could be IBS (he's been on Whiskas dry food in the morning and a Whiskas pouch all of his life... could IBS suddenly kick in? - unless it's a few licks of cat milk we tested on him a few weeks back that he didn't like)?

They are giving him a steroid to help with the itchy rectum and putting him back on the special cat food for sensitive stomachs to see if that helps.

The vets are baffled because while Tiger is very playful, his normal self, no fever, gaining weight and seems like his perfectly normal self... yet the poops won't go away.

This has been a really difficult week for me, I've honestly cried a few times as I'm worried about him.

Has anybody whatsoever experienced something similar? How can this suddenly happen out of nowhere? He's an indoors cat...

Could this really be IBS? Could the vets orders of feeding him only canned tuna/chicken breast have worsened matters if he has an allergy to them that we don't know about? I'm struggling to sleep at night, honestly. Constantly thinking about him.

Thanks!

 

[karam94]

And just to clarify, his fecal test was sent to a laboratory. So it wasn't the in-vet one, so I'm expecting them to be of a relatively high level of accuracy.

The vets say the tests make sense because he's been on metronidazole long enough that if it WAS a parasite, it should be showing signs of going by now.

 

[Furballsmom]

Poor baby and poor you!! I don't think the milk you tried with him is the culprit, it was too long ago.
At least he has his appetite - what if you tried goat milk? pumpkin? What is the food they're giving him at the vet? Can you obtain that for home feeding?

they had him on a special food for sensitive stomachs when he was at the vets the first time)

By the way, when this is squared away and his tummy is back to normal, if you haven't thought about this yet I would try a different food. It could be that the Whiskas manufacturers made a formula change that his digestive system didn't like.

 

[karam94]

Poor baby and poor you!! I don't think the milk you tried with him is the culprit, it was too long ago.
At least he has his appetite - what if you tried goat milk? pumpkin? What is the food they're giving him at the vet? Can you obtain that for home feeding?


By the way, when this is squared away and his tummy is back to normal, if you haven't thought about this yet I would try a different food. It could be that the Whiskas manufacturers made a formula change that his digestive system didn't like.

We haven't tried goat milk or pumpkin as the vets told us to only feed him canned tuna or chicken breast.

I've spoken to the vets about the food they're giving him and they said that IF it helps bring solidity back to his stools in the next few days, they can either give me the name of the food to order online or they can order it in for me. So my plan certainly if we can pinpoint it being a potential food thing, is to obtain it for home.

I too am wondering if Whiskas made a formula change that we aren't aware about.

I'm just praying that his stools start to solidify. I can't bare having to wrap him up in a blanket, sit on him and wrestle him twice every day just to get the metronidazole in him. He finds it very bitter tasting.

 

[Furballsmom]

We haven't tried goat milk or pumpkin as the vets told us to only feed him canned tuna or chicken breast.

I am thinking why don't you ask the vets about these things, since the tuna/chicken isn't working..., or boiled unseasoned chicken and rice.
Best of luck to you!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again, what about anchovy paste to help with the metronidazole?

 

[karam94]

I am thinking why don't you ask the vets about these things, since the tuna/chicken isn't working..., or boiled unseasoned chicken and rice.
Best of luck to you!!

Hi again, what about anchovy paste to help with the metronidazole?

In all honesty, we didn't ask because the vets told us he'd be fine since he was discharged on Monday and we just had to be patient with the meds and feed him only tuna/chicken breast... and while his stool on Wednesday looked thicker and more formed... it all went backwards today. He's now staying at the vets for a while.

I got a phone call this morning off them that he's had a stool overnight and it is thicker than water, "pudding" was the term used to describe it. So now we just hope that the food he's eating over there is helping with this.

If it does turn out to just be food and IBS, I'm not sure if he'd still need to be on the metronidazole. But IF we do still need to give it him and we are given the all clear to give him anchovy paste, then it's certainly something we can try!

 

[Furballsmom]

Sending you tons of love and good heal-the-tummy thoughts!!!

 

[karam94]

Sending you tons of love and good heal-the-tummy thoughts!!!

Haha, thanks I'll keep you updated!

 

[Tobermory]

Are you feeding him cat food tuna or people tuna? If it’s people tuna, check the label to make sure it’s no sodium added (I buy it at Trader Joe’s). Some kinds in water have veg. broth and I assume that means onions, which aren’t good for cats. It also shouldn't contain soy.

I hope he’s doing better!

 

[karam94]

Are you feeding him cat food tuna or people tuna? If it’s people tuna, check the label to make sure it’s no sodium added (I buy it at Trader Joe’s). Some kinds in water have veg. broth and I assume that means onions, which aren’t good for cats. It also shouldn't contain soy.

I hope he’s doing better!

This is the tuna we've been feeding him, so no signs of added sodium or vegetable broth in the ingredients!
Tuna Chunks in Spring Water

HOWEVER, I have been investigating his box and I've just realised something.

For wet food, he's always had Whiskas poultry pouches:
Whiskas 1+ Adult Cat Food Pouches Poultry Selection in Gravy 12 x 100g | Pets At Home

However, it seems my mum purchased the fish pouches instead and first gave him a pouch on Tuesday 10th (while this diarrhea ordeal began on Friday 13th).
This means he'd have had roughly 3-4 pouches by the time the illness became evident.

Could it be possible that switching him to a few pouches of this:
Whiskas 1+ Adult Cat Food Pouches Fish Selection in Jelly 12 x 100g | Pets At Home

Could be the root cause of the problem?
It's all Whiskas, cat food at the end of the day. Even the same pouch range.

Could this innocent mistake have caused all of these problems? I'm sure you more experienced cat peoples would have more of an insight

 

[Furballsmom]

Sure it could have, this could have been a too abrupt non-transition to a new food, and/or a fish allergy or an allergy (for lack of a better word) to something that's used in their fish food line and not in their chicken variety.

For what it's worth, though, tell your mum we love her - don't let her feel badly about this even those of us who try not to do this have it happen by accident, the packages are too similar, we're in too much of a rush, all that sort of thing.

I'm personally still thinking it might be worthwhile to get a different brand and start rotating foods, but then again, after this you're probably wary of any new foods.
Still, it's something to think about. If you do decide to do that, we have a lot of good info about how to transition, what to avoid, what members like and don't like etc etc.

And besides that, we always like to talk cat food

 

[karam94]

Sure it could have, this could have been a too abrupt non-transition to a new food, and/or a fish allergy or an allergy (for lack of a better word) to something that's used in their fish food line and not in their chicken variety.

For what it's worth, though, tell your mum we love her - don't let her feel badly about this even those of us who try not to do this have it happen by accident, the packages are too similar, we're in too much of a rush, all that sort of thing.

I'm personally still thinking it might be worthwhile to get a different brand and start rotating foods, but then again, after this you're probably wary of any new foods.
Still, it's something to think about. If you do decide to do that, we have a lot of good info about how to transition, what to avoid, what members like and don't like etc etc.

And besides that, we always like to talk cat food

Fair enough.
His dry whiskas food contains tuna apparently... and he was eating that in the mornings when on the poultry based wet diet. Makes me wonder if this small difference too could mean he still has an issue with tuna/fish but the amount in the dry food wasn't significant enough to cause problems!
Whiskas 1+ Adult Complete Dry Cat Food with Tuna 2kg | Pets At Home

My Mum does feel really bad at the moment haha, but don't worry, I'll take care of her. She didn't pick it up accidentally bless her, she just wanted to treat the cat to something different lol But I guess you live and learn...

I'll need to ask the vets what the special food for bad stomachs that they have been feeding Tiger is made from. If it is non-fish based, we could be on to something. As his stool was improving when we got him back the first time and we were instructed to feed him tuna... and things got worse again. So there seems to be a strong correlation.
Unless they suddenly tell me they've been feeding him something tuna/fish based too then we're back to square one

I do want to get a different brand than Whiskas, I know it's cheap rubbish. I just didn't want to take him off what he was used to in all honesty to ironically avoid all this!

I will more than likely - providing the vet calls tomorrow and says his stool is becoming firmer on their food - get him eating that same food at home for a while until things calm down... then slowly introduce regular food back in to the mix and test things on him slowly.

Are there any brands you recommend? Can't guarantee we will stock them in here in the UK, but I can keep them in mind!

 

[Furballsmom]

@mightyboosh has mentioned this Prescription Diet™ i/d™ Feline with Chicken as a good food available in the UK

 

[lacy2000]

A fish intolerance can definitely cause immediate effects and make it seem like symptoms appear out of nowhere. I just went through a fish allergy problem with a young kitten who, after eating a whitefish food only once, began immediately having digestive issues and losing weight. It only took a few days of a strict poultry based diet to get her back to normal. I suggest staying away from fish foods for a few days and see if it has any effect. Probiotics like feline Fortiflora can also help increase good gut bacteria and aid in digestion.

 

[karam94]

Hi everyone,

Got a call from the vet today and I've just picked up Tiger.
He has been off the metronidazole for 3 days apparently and the special food the pets were giving him was in fact the Sensitive Hills Prescription Diet that you recommended Furballsmom !

His poop apparently is more of a patty texture now and the vet says it's an improvement from the pudding texture from yesterday so he's let him come home as he thinks it's for the best!

He's given us the same food including some Sensitive Hills dry food and he wants Tiger on that diet for a week and we should hopefully start to see his stools return to normal.

After his check up in a week, if it's all good, then we can slowly ease him back on to cheaper over the counter food. I was thinking trying him out with Royal Canin's sensitive range.

Will keep you all updated with his progress
Can't believe after all the predictions of giardia, parasites, drips he had and metronidazole etc... it seriously could end up just being a fish allergy.

 

[Tobermory]

Sounds like things are looking up! Yay! I’ll bet Tiger is so happy to be home.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[karam94]

Good news! He had a poop yesterday and while it's still not where we want it to be, it's certainly looking a lot more formed. I'm really hoping that it'll continue to get better over the next few days and back to normal now that he's on the prescribed food.

Will keep you all updated

 

[Furballsmom]

Woo hoo!!!