Cat has explosive diarrhea

[RangersMom]

I have a 2 year old female cat with bad diarrhea at the moment.

Shes been tested for worms/parasites, and FIV FeLV all was negative. A few months ago we switched her to a grain/corn free food (Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Turkey). Shes always has soft stool but now shes having really bad diarrhea and is straining in the litterbox a lot. Shes very uncomfortable and hurting. She is a cat we took in after a neighbor abandoned her and moved away. Shes had diarrhea issues in the past and the vet said "maybe IBD".

I'm taking her to the vet first thing tomorrow morning, I asked them what I could do in the meantime and they said give her some plain canned pumpkin (no spices). Shes a good eater and will eat anything. I just don't want to make it worse.
Has anyone had success using plain pumpkin for diarrhea in cats? Do you think it would help her tonight?

 

[Furballsmom]

Do you think it would help her tonight?

Yes, it might - I believe you can trust your vet.

Has she always been eating dry food? See if she'll eat unseasoned baby food (try Earthborn or Beechnut. Gerbers has cornstarch in it). One of the meat flavors often work, (other than chicken for your baby since it may be a trigger), and are bland which may help her tummy.

Even if the vet doesn't definitively determind IBD, this post may be of help;

Best food brands for IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease

 

[RangersMom]

Yes, it might - I believe you can trust your vet.

Has she always been eating dry food? See if she'll eat unseasoned baby food (try Earthborn or Beechnut. Gerbers has cornstarch in it). One of the meat flavors often work, (other than chicken for your baby since it may be a trigger), and are bland which may help her tummy.

Even if the vet doesn't definitively determind IBD, this post may be of help;

Best food brands for IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease

I actually have tried Beechnut Beef baby food (in case of chicken allergy), and I think if anything it made her diarrhea worse.
She is still eating her dry kibble. She is eating and drinking well. She loves to eat, but she only weighs 6lbs, probably because food runs right through her. Thank you for the link! I will read it. I appreciate the reply <3

 

[verna davies]

Maybe she is allergic to turkey, can you try another protein.
I find this excellent when my cat had diarrhoea, after a few days it was gone. It was recommended by another member .

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You might ask the vet about doing a full fecal PCR test. This test goes beyond just testing for parasites, as it also looks for bacterial/viral issues as well. At least you could rule out those possibilities.

 

[Furballsmom]

She is still eating her dry kibble.

If you can, after the vet visit, see about getting canned food for her - I think she could benefit a lot with it. Hopefully they're able to determine a solution to get her digestive system. You're right, it's likely why she's hungry all the time, but also dry food is very carby compared to canned food, which will provide her with better nutritional value.

 

[RangersMom]

Hi. You might ask the vet about doing a full fecal PCR test. This test goes beyond just testing for parasites, as it also looks for bacterial/viral issues as well. At least you could rule out those possibilities.

Thank you, I am taking a stool sample to the vet tomorrow and I will request a full panel. <3

 

[RangersMom]

If you can, after the vet visit, see about getting canned food for her - I think she could benefit a lot with it. Hopefully they're able to determine a solution to get her digestive system. You're right, it's likely why she's hungry all the time, but also dry food is very carby compared to canned food, which will provide her with better nutritional value.

I will talk to them about wet food. We have given her some limited ingredient wet food and it always makes her diarrhea worse
I'll see what they suggest.

 

[RangersMom]

Maybe she is allergic to turkey, can you try another protein.
I find this excellent when my cat had diarrhoea, after a few days it was gone. It was recommended by another member .

Thank you for the suggestion. We did try probiotics with her and no improvement. But we did not try this kind.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Keep us posted!

 

[Furballsmom]

It sounds like you've tried a lot of things.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!!

 

[Telstar]

My cat has long hair a fluffy tail, and he does NOT cleans himself of poo (it disgusts him). Hence, diarrhea is the thing I fear the most. Once he got it cause of eating a fly, once because of too much probiotics (Fortiflora), once because of much malt paste (switched to cookies), once because the cat grass bought the day before from supermarket probably had some pesticides on it, and even once as emotional reaction when I got back after a 3 weeks work trip.

Said that, I have always at hand some pills that are a mix of probiotics, vitamins and other stuff specifically made to cure it. I got them prescribed the first time it happened (after excluding worms and other serious issues), when he was still a kitty. And gastrointestinal kibble, which I know are shit but they work and for a couple days wont kill anyone.

 

[Furballsmom]

and he does NOT cleans himself of poo

Not to hijack this thread but you might consider a hygiene trim, --his bum and under his tail. I even have to trim the backs of my boy's back legs

 

[LTS3]

Thank you for the suggestion. We did try probiotics with her and no improvement. But we did not try this kind.

S. boulardii isn't a probiotic. It's a yeast. There is info on page 11 using it for diarrhea:

http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/uploads/8/1/2/3/81236524/probiotics_for_cats_-_why_and_which_ones_2019.pdf

Probiotics in general can be helpful to maintain a healthy gut. It won't resolve a current digestive issue and isn't a cure all for all sorts of digestive issues. It may take trying different brands, different bacteria strains, different CFUs, different doses, etc to find what works for your cat. You can use Human probiotics instead of pet specific ones. FortiFlora is what most vets are familiar with and recommend but it's not the best product.

 

[Telstar]

Not to hijack this thread but you might consider a hygiene trim, --his bum and under his tail. I even have to trim the backs of my boy's back legs

Oh, I had to do that. Just he wouldn't like a razor noise so it had to do manually with a second person holding the cat still.
But most recent episodes, which are rare, lasts only 1-2 days.
This is good advice in general.

 

[stephanietx]

We use s. boullardi to control explosive diarrhea in my house. When it's really bad, I do 1/2 capsule twice a day in wet food. Just open the capsule, sprinkle on wet food and mix in. I use the NOW brand found at the health food store or you can find it on Amazon.

My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

 

[Uncled]

I have used canned pumpkin in the past for diarrhea with success, but it was not explosive like your describing, I hope your cat feels better soon.

 

[RangersMom]

Not to hijack this thread but you might consider a hygiene trim, --his bum and under his tail. I even have to trim the backs of my boy's back legs

I have definitely done this! she is a long haired cat and i shave her bum and toe hair, and some of her lower leg hair.

 

[Furballsmom]

They look kind of ...umm.. extra long legged after a fresh trim, don't they lol

 

[RangersMom]

Keep us posted!

Hopefully anyone who is interested will see this: her bloodwork panel came back fine. However her fecal panel showed she has the bacteria Clostridium perfringens (a bacteria that grows in the G.I. track and causes bad diarrhea). They gave her liquid amoxicillin which she will be on for about 10 days and that should do it! I'm SO relieved to finally know what it is. Like I said, she was dumped outside and probably picked this up, and shes had diarrhea issues for months, poor thing. Before this, they gave her a steroid for suspected IBS and her stools got a lot firmer, but that was probably just because it was a steroid.
(We have 4 other cats and my husband never made her a priority with money, because our other cat's vet bills came first) But I finally shelled out $580 and I'm glad I did.