Cat with Persistent Diarrhea HELP!

[JosLoveCats]

Hi guys,

I have a 11 years old male cat, he is mixed siamese

He has been indoor only always

He eats Iams hairball care dry food

He was perfectly fine of health since a few months ago, he started to have intermittent diarrhea, let say one day his stools were ok and the other two days have diarrhea

Until the last two months he is now almost always with diarrhea

The diarrhea is extremely foul smelling, and looks greasy

Most of the time without blood, but sometimes the diarrhea have also some fresh blood in it

He is losing weight, but he have a voracious appetite all the time

I had try digestive enzymes with viable probiotics for two weeks and his stool are not getting better

Today I took him to the veterinary and a fecal examination resulted negative

The physical examination was fine

They prescribed him with Amoxicillin and Metronidazole oral suspension

Do you think is safe for him to take those medications in combination???


The picture attached is of today diarrhea

 

[maggie101]

Looks like there is blood in it? Doc needs to see that pic. I assume he has had blood work since he is senior?

 

[GranolaLouise]

If it were my cat I would take him to an emergency vet center and have a complete workup besides just a fecal exam . Questioning the meds the vet gave shows that you are not confident , so go somewhere else where they have the proper diagnostic tools. That is a long time having that condition and not trusting what the vet prescribed shows you are looking for another PROFESSIONAL opinion . It's not fair to the cat to let it go so long. It may be expensive, but the cat is worth it.

 

[gitabooks]

My girlie has IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) and has for years. She is only 7 but most cats get it when they are elderly. I've done a lot of research on it and it sounds like your cat has similar symptoms. It can be really hard to test for without a biopsy under anesthesia, but imaging can show thickened intestines which can be a symptom.
My Nocturne is on a specific, wet-food only diet that I figured out through trial and error (all cats are different in what food they do best on). She also takes cerenia (anti-nausea and pain relief) since her most common symptom is vomiting. When she has an upset stomach though she also gets very smelly poop, sometimes diarrhea with blood when it is really bad.
The weight loss is because the thickened GI tract can't absorb nutrients as well. The goal is to stop the diarrhea for comfort but also bring down the inflammation to allow nutrient absorption. Metronidazole is shown to help the GI tract and can stop diarrhea.
Other ways to help include probiotics (which you mentioned), B12 injections (ask the vet to test for a deficiency), and fiber in the diet (soluble fiber creates a gel that can sooth the GI tract).

Cats can also develop food sensitivities and allergies as they age, so you could try other protein sources. The most common allergens are beef, chicken, and fish.

 

[JosLoveCats]

The vet didn't performed blood test, because the Cat has been acting totally normal all this time.

He eats, he drinks water, have energy, act normal etc.

Only problem is this persistent diarrhea

Sometimes his stomach and intestines make sounds that can be heard

He is not vomiting

I guess today he have it with blood because last night he over eat too much

I have tried using wet foods, giving him small amounts at a time, but that way the diarrhea gets extremely liquid

Only thing I haven't try yet is a novel protein diet

But he has eat chicken, beef, turkey and fish already and the diarrhea continues, so I don't know if he is having stomach sensitive to one of those

By the way, if I control him the amount of food, he gets slightly better, but he is always having much appetite and he eats a lot, despite only weights 7 pounds and you can feel he is lightly underweight

I don't know if maybe he is having hyperthyroidism then

 

[Binxie]

Since he is losing weight and has a big appetite I would definitely have his thyroid levels checked. I recently took in a stray and he started having very bad diarrhea and vomiting. Standard fecal test showed nothing, he was put on Metronidazole and probiotics, it did not work to stop the diarrhea, hundreds of dollars later after more sophisticated fecal tests and blood tests that showed nothing abnormal, I decided to stop the cat food, he was eating a variety of canned food. I made some bone broth with chicken and for 3 days fed him only the chicken and bone broth, the diarrhea stopped completely. I began slowly giving him a single protein, but not novel cat food and he has not had any more diarrhea, so it seems that there was something in one of the previous foods that was causing the problem. I also had a cat few years ago with IBD and the diarrhea he had did not respond to food adjustments, as gitabooks suggested doing an ultrasound can reveal if the intestines are thickened.

 

[maggie101]

Many people on here suggest the Mouser brand which I have not tried. My cat with ibd eats instinct venison and nulo minced. Also weruva but is low cal, other brands much higher. I mix the 2 because she is at a good weight. Diaheria will cause dehydration so he needs canned

Vet Approved Cat Stool Chart: Decoding Your Cat's Poop - Cats.com

Your cat's poop can tell you a lot about their health. This cat stool chart and guide will help you understand what their waste means.

cats.com

Do you let your cat outside?

 

[JosLoveCats]

Good thing is that he is drinking lot of water himself from the water bowl.

Since he is having the persistent diarrhea he is always with lot of appetite and always drinking lot of water too

He had never been outside since he was a kitten

Since kitten blood test was done, and he was negative to FIV, Leukemia, heartworms, etc.


He is 100% indoor only

 

[maggie101]

Has your vet seen the photo? He may have an infection and need antibiotics.

 

[Binxie]

Even though he is drinking water, the constant diarrhea may cause him to be in need of sub q fluids, Gently pull up the skin over the neck/shoulder blade area, it should fall right back down into a normal position, if it does not, then the cat may be in need of fluids. The vet can give these and show you how to do it if the situation requires you to do it at home.

 

[JosLoveCats]

After the diarrhea with blood, I gave just small amout of food, and a wet canned food with proviable probiotics

After 12 hours of that, the diarrhea doesn't have blood, it looks slightly better with less undigested food, it seems like the stool started to get firm a little, but also more watery like in other parts

Then 5 hours later the diarrhea a little more watery

During the whole after midnight he was like meowing to me a lot to put him food, I put a small amout of food, he ate it all, and like within an hour again he become desperate for more food. Also drinking a lot of water during thosw hours

He is definitely acting like hyperthyroidism symptoms

He is well hydrated

My fear is to give him the metronidazole and amoxicillin antibiotics and that may cause him side effects without solving his problem is case is his thyroid

I already purchased online the Well Being Thyroid Support drops, and I am waiting for them

So I am not sure about if giving him the antibiotics/anti diarrhea metronidazole today and try that treatment, or to wait for the thyroid support drops to try that first

First image is after 12 hours of previous diarrhea with blood, giving him less food, it seems to be better

Second image after 5 hours more giving small amout of food after midnight, seems better but more watery

 

[GranolaLouise]

Rather than guessing day to day about the poor suffering little one's condition, I beg you to take him to another vet if you can afford it.
He still has chronic diarrhea and is losing everything that goes inside him..food,nutrients,fluids while you 'self' diagnose and 'self' medicate and wait for over the counter meds to arrive. Just because there is no blood does not mean all is well !
I feel as if it is being cruel to hesitate and guess like this. If one reads the replies, the strong hint to go to a VET is there. You are trying to get readers to diagnose and tell you what to do , and there are ALWAYS those who will suggest homeopathic ,over the counter or home remedies. And they do help in cases that are not so severe.
Please, please,please take your pet to another vet for a complete work-up with proper diagnostic equipment for an accurate diagnosis.
Again, bottom line is: He still has chronic diarrhea, is losing fluids and nutrients and is suffering while you lose precious time.

 

[JosLoveCats]

Rather than guessing day to day about the poor suffering little one's condition, I beg you to take him to another vet if you can afford it.
He still has chronic diarrhea and is losing everything that goes inside him..food,nutrients,fluids while you 'self' diagnose and 'self' medicate and wait for over the counter meds to arrive. Just because there is no blood does not mean all is well !
I feel as if it is being cruel to hesitate and guess like this. If one reads the replies, the strong hint to go to a VET is there. You are trying to get readers to diagnose and tell you what to do , and there are ALWAYS those who will suggest homeopathic ,over the counter or home remedies. And they do help in cases that are not so severe.
Please, please,please take your pet to another vet for a complete work-up with proper diagnostic equipment for an accurate diagnosis.
Again, bottom line is: He still has chronic diarrhea, is losing fluids and nutrients and is suffering while you lose precious time.

First of all I have taken care of this Cat perfectly well, for 11 years, and I and still doing it now.

The recommendation of the Vet in this case is to take those Antibiotics first to see if he improve, if not, then try another thing.

PROBLEM IS, if those Antibiotics make him sick with side effects, HE WILL ALSO SUFFER, AND WILL SUFFER MORE THAN NOW

In case is his thyroids, I do not have in this moment the required money for the chemical medication or surgical treatment. And the chemical medication for hyperthyroidism in cats is proven to give them horrible side effects that I will not try and guess if my cat will or not suffer those side effects where lot of cats ending almost dying, and they have to stop the chemical medications for hyperthyroidism in order to survive, then that was an unnecessary harm to their cats

If you take a time to review cases like that, most people who have cases of cats with hyperthyroidism the chemical medication ended giving horrible side effects to their cats, and those CATS ENDED SUFFERING MORE!!!

Not always the chemical, veterinary rule is the way a Cat will not suffer, you say it like you believe that always what the Vet give to them will 100% cure all cats, and actually the statistics of cases say the contrary. You are believing that out there all cats that are taken to Vet and receive chemical medication stop suffering, while that is not true in cats.

Example, most Cats that receive chemical medication for hyperthyroidism, end suffering life threatening side effects to the point that most of the Vets that previously give them those meds, then they say to owners to stop giving them the meds. And the going for the surgery instead.

And guess what? Some Cats with hyperthyroidism due to their age and symptoms, and state after chemical medication, etc. does not always survive the surgery

I am not guessing, I am trying to be sure that my 11 years old Cat does not end dying and suffering from unnecessary side effects of chemical medications in the case I give something that he actually don't need it, and make him to get worse unnecessarily

This is not an acute case, but a chronic one, in chronic rare symptoms like this, the real diagnostic is some times more difficult to find even for Vets, like is happening in this case, and that's something that even Medicine/Veterinary books and literature state. So you can ending giving wrong chemical medications that your Cat actually don't need, like many documented cases where that happened before and will keep happening

By the way, if you do research of those specific Natural thyroid support drops, there are lot of cases where cats with hyperthyroidism that were SUFFERING from the chemical medication side effects, stopped using those meds, and started using those Natural drops and they got totally better in most cases improving fast, and also lot of cases prolonging their lives by even years with those drops

That specific Natural medication for hyperthyroidism in cats is documented to be very good for them

 

[Binxie]

I have treated many cats with medication for the thyroid and never had any issues with it except getting the dosage regulated to the proper level. I am not familiar with the drops you are referring to but if they do actually bring down the thyroid levels you need to consider what that would do if the thyroid is not the problem, it may make the cat hypothyroid as opposed to hyperthyroid.

 

[GranolaLouise]

I wish you and your kitty well. Take care Jos.

 

[JosLoveCats]

I forgot to mention an important detail before so you don't misunderstand me about his treatment

I previously ruled two fecal analysis to him in two different Vets previous to last one, both times, and three times including last fecal, he appeared negative to all kind of worms, that was from three different Vet clinics

I don't know if they don't know hot to properly done the test, or if he is really totally negative to worms THAT'S WHY I haven't give him any dewormer or the antibiotics last prescribed yet. If he was positive to worms I have just started chemical treatment for the specific worms right away. But they don't find any worms at all in his fecal tests at three different veterinary clinics. That's weird.

Only thing they found was that the stool have excessive levels of fat in it.

That means he is having either a Pancreatitis, a digestive enzymes problem, or fat malabsorption

That's why I first started with probiotics and digestive hepatic enzymes but the diarrhea persisted. I have try other low fat high quality food in small amount and the diarrhea gets even more watery

Then, the other disease that can cause all of his symptoms including malabsorption is hyperthyroidism. That's why I want to try the Natural medication for that before the antibiotics, considering his fecal tests were always negative three times already

Last Vet just say that sometimes the fecal is negative for some worms.

Also in his stool I have never seen evidence of any worms

 

[JosLoveCats]

What home made diet do you suggest me for him in case he is having Pancreatitis and malabsorption due to it???

I am thinking on giving him boiled cooked plain chicken to see if he digest it better

 

[fionasmom]

Hyperthyroidism in Cats
Feline Pancreatitis
These are two of the most complete, yet to the point, discussions of both conditions in cats. They may provide you with some helpful information including tests that should be considered and some nutritional options. However, uncontrolled/untreated hyperthyroidism and/or pancreatitis can be fatal.
Managing Hyperthyroidism with Diet in Cats
This article discusses the dietary intervention of hyperthyroidism in cats. It requires a veterinary prescription diet which will be the only food that the cat will ever eat.

I have had two cats on Felimazole for hyperthyroidism, Fiona being one of them, and both did fine, suffering no lingering adverse affects. This medication is not overly expensive.

 

[maggie101]

What home made diet do you suggest me for him in case he is having Pancreatitis and malabsorption due to it???

I am thinking on giving him boiled cooked plain chicken to see if he digest it better

Sounds like a good idea! There is a thread for home cooked meals and raw. If that works out better, check it out. My vet gave me tylosin for$32. Worked immediately. Only can get it thru your vet Just remember,as I have realized,trying to to solve it yourself and having no luck can make it cost more. I wish there were one drug to fix everything. Instead the vet is trying different things to see what works

 

[gitabooks]

The hunger despite no weight gain can be due to hyperthyroidism or even diabetes (the cells can't use glucose), but these are also very common symptoms of IBD. IBD can lead to pancreatitis (triaditis is the term for inflammation of the pancreas, bile duct, and GI tract).
Loss of fluids and other nutrients leads to the persistent hunger but eating can just increase the diarrhea. Gas and gurgling sounds are often present in cats with IBD as well.