Diarrhea And Hairballs, But Eating And Nothing In Bloodwork?

[alzycat]

Hi everyone, this might be a longer post because there's a lot of info but I'll try to keep it brief. I have an 11 year old female cat named Yoshi, and she's been having some GI issues for the past couple months.

She had diarrhea a couple months ago & was losing weight & eating less, so I took her to the vet & they did a few blood tests & a urinalysis. Nothing showed up out of the ordinary, so my vet gave her Metronidazole to help with the diarrhea. She didn't do well on that & had a couple seizures, so we obviously stopped giving it to her.

We scheduled an ultrasound to see if there was any kind of blockage, & I picked up some prescription wet food for her. She absolutely loves the food & gobbled it all down every day, gained 3 pounds back & seemed to be back to her healthy stuff. The diarrhea didn't stop completely but it was much better only in a couple days, so my vet decided to cancel the ultrasound and just the food take care of the problem since it seemed to be working.

That was a couple weeks ago, and she is still a healthy weight & eating a ton, but the diarrhea hasn't stopped. She is still having very liquidy stools that are very smelly. They are normal in colour and nothing appears to be in them that could resemble parasites. I have also found a couple hairballs around the house.

I'm perplexed because she is still eating the normal amount, isn't losing weight, is drinking, & is very playful. Everything showed up fine at the vets, so what could be causing this? Food sensitivity? Just a sensitive stomach?

I'm thinking about calling to book the ultrasound now, but I worry about putting her through that much stress. If she had a blockage, wouldn't she not be eating?

I ordered some S. Boulardii so hopefully that helps, but it wont get here for another 2 weeks. Should I go ahead & schedule the ultrasound to be safe? Has anyone else experienced something similar?

 

[mschauer]

What was the prescription food that she did so well on?

It sounds like it could be IBD. An ultrasound would be the first step in diagnosing it. Additionally, a biopsy may be needed depending on the ultrasound results. Both of those are expensive.

If she is doing OK except for the diarrhea, the S. Boulardii is definitely worth a try. If it doesn't help, I'd say it is ultrasound time. I've used S. Boulardii to clear loose stools caused by antibiotics. I saw improvement within a couple of days. It took a week or two for her stool to return to normal. And this all well continuing to give the antibiotic. Don't know if it will work in your case but it is worth a try before going down the IBD road which can be very long, frustrating and costly.

 

[alzycat]

What was the prescription food that she did so well on?

It sounds like it could be IBD. An ultrasound would be the first step in diagnosing it. Additionally, a biopsy may be needed depending on the ultrasound results. Both of those are expensive.

If she is doing OK except for the diarrhea, the S. Boulardii is definitely worth a try. If it doesn't help, I'd say it is ultrasound time. I've used S. Boulardii to clear loose stools caused by antibiotics. I saw improvement within a couple of days. It took a week or two for her stool to return to normal. And this all well continuing to give the antibiotic. Don't know if it will work in your case but it is worth a try before going down the IBD road which can be very long, frustrating and costly.

Thank you for your reply. The prescription food she is on right now is Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Energy canned food. I know that the ingredients aren't the best, but it was the only thing she would gobble down at the time so I just stuck with it.

I've researched a lot about S. Bourlardii & I'm really hoping it'll help her out. She is on FortiFlora right now but it doesn't seem to be helping. Diarrhea is the only problem so I thought it could be IBD as well. I'm just worried since the S. Boulardii won't get here until at least next Thursday, & I don't know if that's too long to wait. I'm not worried about her getting dehydrated since the diarrhea isn't happening constantly -a few times a day- and she is still drinking & her canned food provides a lot of moisture.

I've been thinking about trying to switch her to raw and try some kind of novel meat to see if it's a dietary issue, but I'm hesitant to start messing with her food since she enjoys the one she is currently on & I don't want to cause any more tummy distress.

 

[carebare]

That is understandable. There could be many causes of these issues. I won't list them out since there are so many online sources, but what I did was try to widdle down the most common causes. We ran the normal tests at the vet office, and observed the cat's behavior, for clues as to the cause(s). What it looks like for my cat is an allergy issue (possibly intolerant to chicken) as well as a kidney infection. It seemed like we had his allergy under control with a novel protein, but the vet and I were concerned about the more recent weight loss. As such, we did an ultrasound and identified the kidney issue.

 

[alzycat]

That is understandable. There could be many causes of these issues. I won't list them out since there are so many online sources, but what I did was try to widdle down the most common causes. We ran the normal tests at the vet office, and observed the cat's behavior, for clues as to the cause(s). What it looks like for my cat is an allergy issue (possibly intolerant to chicken) as well as a kidney infection. It seemed like we had his allergy under control with a novel protein, but the vet and I were concerned about the more recent weight loss. As such, we did an ultrasound and identified the kidney issue.

Were kidney issues causing diarrhea? When my vet did bloodwork & a urinalysis, she told us she found no kidney problems with Yoshi.

 

[mschauer]

I only asked about the prescription food because I thought the description on the manufacturers web site might offer a clue as to why it is helping your kitty. The Royal Canin web site says it is highly digestible and "high energy". Don't know why they call it high energy when it is only 31 kcal/oz. Also contains prebiotics. That it helped makes me think IBD again. IBD can be completely controlled with only a diet change. Maybe you'll get lucky and feeding that food plus a probiotic will be all she needs.

She is on FortiFlora right now but it doesn't seem to be helping.

I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who saw benefit from using FortiFlora. I only use it as a flavor enhancer to get my cats to try a new food.

I've been thinking about trying to switch her to raw and try some kind of novel meat to see if it's a dietary issue, but I'm hesitant to start messing with her food since she enjoys the one she is currently on & I don't want to cause any more tummy distress.

If it is IBD it might be more easily controlled if a raw diet is fed even without using novel proteins.

It's too bad it will take so long to get the probiotic but as long as she is comfortable in the mean time I would wait on before doing any expensive tests.

 

[alzycat]

I only asked about the prescription food because I thought the description on the manufacturers web site might offer a clue as to why it is helping your kitty. The Royal Canin web site says it is highly digestible and "high energy". Don't know why they call it high energy when it is only 31 kcal/oz. Also contains prebiotics. That it helped makes me think IBD again. IBD can be completely controlled with only a diet change. Maybe you'll get lucky and feeding that food plus a probiotic will be all she needs.



I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who saw benefit from using FortiFlora. I only use it as a flavor enhancer to get my cats to try a new food.



If it is IBD it might be more easily controlled if a raw diet is fed even without using novel proteins.

Thank you so much! I think I'll wait until the S. Boulardii gets here & give that a try before taking her to the vet again. I'll think about picking up some raw food too & see if she likes it.

 

[carebare]

The vet said something to the effect that the tests may not be that helpful during early kidney disease. The ultrasound can be pricey, even tho I found a vet to do it for half price. But it is better option than spending money on an x-ray IMO. So many treatments did not seem to be working (and possibly backfiring), such as antibiotics, so I was fed up with "trial" medications to try to diagnose his issues.

I think the diarrhea was more of related to his allergy issue. But kidneys could possibly be related to diarrhea. But it seems like cats drink more water and can get hypertension with kidney problems.

 

[mschauer]

BTW, if it does turn out to be IBD, in some cases (most?) it can only be controlled but not cured. Meaning that with whatever changes you make she might be fine most of the time but periodically have flare ups. If that happens with your cat your vet might be able to give you something to help her through the flare ups (cerenia for nausea, mirtazapine to stimulate appetite, prednisolone for inflammation).

 

[alzycat]

BTW, if it does turn out to be IBD, in some cases (most?) it can only be controlled but not cured. Meaning that with whatever changes you make she might be fine most of the time but periodically have flare ups. If that happens with your cat your vet might be able to give you something to help her through the flare ups (cerenia for nausea, mirtazapine to stimulate appetite, prednisolone for inflammation).

Do you know of anything other than medications that can help during flare ups? We generally try to stay away from medications for Yoshi- she reacts badly to a lot of them. When I first took her to the vet for her diarrhea problems they prescribed her Metronidazole, but she had a couple seizures while on it.

 

[mschauer]

There are holistic treatments. I don't know how effective they are. Slippery Elm Bark and Aloe Vera juice are believed to sooth an irritated stomach and GI tract. Probiotcs to treat inflammation. Be sure to talk to you vet before using anything.

A couple of resources you might find useful:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Personally, my first step if it was my cat would be to get complete fecal tests done, to see if I could rule out a bacterial or parasitic cause to the diarrhea. You didn't mention if that was one of the tests she'd had within the last few months? If there is a bacterial component to the diarrhea, maybe a different antibiotic could be suggested by your vet -- one particular to that bacteria. And again, if it were me, I wouldn't mind doing another blood panel, an electrolyte panel, and another urinalysis/C&S on my cat. I'd go to those first for my cat, before thinking about ultrasound, since she does seem to be improved and eating, playing, etc. She is 11 years old, though, and a senior cat. Health changes can happen within weeks or months, and sometimes might show a broader, systemic disease.

 

[alzycat]

Personally, my first step if it was my cat would be to get complete fecal tests done, to see if I could rule out a bacterial or parasitic cause to the diarrhea. You didn't mention if that was one of the tests she'd had within the last few months? If there is a bacterial component to the diarrhea, maybe a different antibiotic could be suggested by your vet -- one particular to that bacteria. And again, if it were me, I wouldn't mind doing another blood panel, an electrolyte panel, and another urinalysis/C&S on my cat. I'd go to those first for my cat, before thinking about ultrasound, since she does seem to be improved and eating, playing, etc. She is 11 years old, though, and a senior cat. Health changes can happen within weeks or months, and sometimes might show a broader, systemic disease.

No, they didn't test her stool. I just called my vet & told them I would be bringing some in as soon as she gets some out of her Thank you for your insight! Do you by any chance know how much it costs & how long it takes to get results for the fecal tests?

 

[Yanaka]

I don't know about cost, maybe between 60 and 100? It takes my vet 24h or less to call me back with results

 

[alzycat]

I don't know about cost, maybe between 60 and 100? It takes my vet 24h or less to call me back with results

Thanks! She still hasn't pooped yet, which is an improvement since usually by this time in the day she has had diarrhea at least once or twice.

 

[dustydiamond1]

How is she doing?

 

[alzycat]

How is she doing?

She's still having very watery stools, but only once or twice a day. I decided to try to transition her to raw food to 'get back to basics' and see if it's something dietary causing her issues. Today was day 1 of mixing a small amount of raw food with her normal canned food, and she did NOT like it However, when I tried again tonight, she actually ate all of her food including the small amount of raw mixed in, so hopefully now that it's familiar she'll be able to eat more of it. She is still behaving normally, playful and eating mostly fine, but the stools have not got better yet.

I want to take a stool sample to the vet to get it tested, but I haven't had the time yet, or when I do have the time, the office is already closed. They're closed tomorrow so hopefully on Monday I'll be able to drop some off. Someone told me about Clostridium perf on my other thread and it sounds suspiciously like what she has...

 

[dustydiamond1]

She's still having very watery stools, but only once or twice a day. I decided to try to transition her to raw food to 'get back to basics' and see if it's something dietary causing her issues. Today was day 1 of mixing a small amount of raw food with her normal canned food, and she did NOT like it However, when I tried again tonight, she actually ate all of her food including the small amount of raw mixed in, so hopefully now that it's familiar she'll be able to eat more of it. She is still behaving normally, playful and eating mostly fine, but the stools have not got better yet.

I want to take a stool sample to the vet to get it tested, but I haven't had the time yet, or when I do have the time, the office is already closed. They're closed tomorrow so hopefully on Monday I'll be able to drop some off. Someone told me about Clostridium perf on my other thread and it sounds suspiciously like what she has...

 

[Buddies mom]

Hi everyone, this might be a longer post because there's a lot of info but I'll try to keep it brief. I have an 11 year old female cat named Yoshi, and she's been having some GI issues for the past couple months.

She had diarrhea a couple months ago & was losing weight & eating less, so I took her to the vet & they did a few blood tests & a urinalysis. Nothing showed up out of the ordinary, so my vet gave her Metronidazole to help with the diarrhea. She didn't do well on that & had a couple seizures, so we obviously stopped giving it to her.

We scheduled an ultrasound to see if there was any kind of blockage, & I picked up some prescription wet food for her. She absolutely loves the food & gobbled it all down every day, gained 3 pounds back & seemed to be back to her healthy stuff. The diarrhea didn't stop completely but it was much better only in a couple days, so my vet decided to cancel the ultrasound and just the food take care of the problem since it seemed to be working.

That was a couple weeks ago, and she is still a healthy weight & eating a ton, but the diarrhea hasn't stopped. She is still having very liquidy stools that are very smelly. They are normal in colour and nothing appears to be in them that could resemble parasites. I have also found a couple hairballs around the house.

I'm perplexed because she is still eating the normal amount, isn't losing weight, is drinking, & is very playful. Everything showed up fine at the vets, so what could be causing this? Food sensitivity? Just a sensitive stomach?

I'm thinking about calling to book the ultrasound now, but I worry about putting her through that much stress. If she had a blockage, wouldn't she not be eating?

I ordered some S. Boulardii so hopefully that helps, but it wont get here for another 2 weeks. Should I go ahead & schedule the ultrasound to be safe? Has anyone else experienced something similar?

I know how frustrating this can be, I went through this with my Buddy. I rescued him from a shelter full of worms, he had diareah and I blamed it on all the worm treatment he received. I changed his food to grain free, even prescription food from my vet, nothing worked. I started doing research on my own, I watched a Netflix movie called Pet Fooled, opened my eyes on feeding my Buddy. He now is diareah free, and had gained weight. I am feeding him PetFresh. Best food for his stomach. Worth a try for your baby.

 

[alzycat]

I am very disappointed and frustrated now. She has been eating raw food since Monday and she was doing great- eating the right amount, and she started having solid poops a couple days ago. Yesterday, she barely had an appetite. She only ate half of the amount that she should. She just didn't seem interested in it so I thought she might just be having an 'off' day. Last night, in the middle of the night, she threw up. This morning I thought she would for sure be hungry but she didn't eat at all, just licked the probiotic off the raw food. Then she threw up twice more (it looked like her food and very mucousy). She ate some treats, but then threw them up 5 minutes later. She is still drinking, but she seems a little tired. I have no clue what to do. The vet is open today until the afternoon, but then they will be closed until Tuesday. I doubt I could get her in for an appointment today anyway, since they're very busy. The emergency vet charges 2x as much & I don't have the money for it. I know that she needs to eat & I will syringe food into her if necessary. Is it time to book the ultrasound? Does anyone think that her problems before with diarrhea are related to the vomit now, or is this just some small kitty flu that needs time to go away?