Feline colitis

[ASL]

Hello!

My 5 year old cat has been diagnosed with colitis. He has a history of struvite crystals and we've had him on RC s/o or Hills C/D for the past few years. He had been slowing having watery stool for the past few weeks, however over the past few days, it's been completely runny. The vet has him starting on gastro RC dry food and metronidazole for 10 days.

The thing I can't figure out is what caused this. He's 100% indoor, tested negative for parasites. His litter mate sister is completely fine and is on the same diet.

Any tips here to help me understand how this happened and how to treat it?

Thank you!

 

[gabicards]

Hi! I hope somebody else can jump in and help you out, but I'd just like to recommend that you give your cat pre and probiotics. It's good to do it regularly anyway, but particularly important if they're being treated with antibiotics (same for humans!) because those will kill good bacteria in the gut as well as the bad ones.

For the runny stool, what helped my cat was S. Boulardii. It's really efficient in firming it up, but then you need to try and narrow down the actual cause of the problem, as you're doing now. What I do know is that sometimes cats can develop sensitivities to food they've been eating for a long time, so it might be useful not to dismiss the diet as a possible factor even if that's the case.

 

[ASL]

Thank you so much! I just purchased some pre and pro biotics from Chewy in powder form. Did you purchase S. Boulardii from Chewy as well? or from another larger pet food chain? Thanks again.

 

[FeebysOwner]

As noted above, cats can develop sensitivities/allergies to foods even if they have been on them for a time. Or, if there has been any kind of change to the ingredients, some cats will be affected by it while others are not. The s. bouldardii mentioned above is a good thing to try - many folks on this site use it to help reduce/eliminate diarrhea in their cats.

I would also suggest going one step further with testing by getting a full fecal PCR done that will look for not only other parasites, but for bacterial and viral issues as well.

Jarrow or Now brands seem to be the most common for s. boulardii. I know Amazon has both, but perhaps Chewy does too.

 

[gabicards]

Thank you so much! I just purchased some pre and pro biotics from Chewy in powder form. Did you purchase S. Boulardii from Chewy as well? or from another larger pet food chain? Thanks again.

I got it at iHerb - the brand that ibdkitties.net recommends is Jarrows, because it also has MOS mixed to it, which seems to also be helpful. It comes in capsules, I open it and mix it to his wet food - but when he ate a bit of dry, I would also mix it to that and he'd still eat it. I think when I gave it to him for the first time, I gave 1/4 of a capsule twice a day, and then after a few days 1/2 a capsule twice a day. By then his stool was usually firm.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

A word of warning about using what you ordered from Chewy. Since that is a PRObiotic (doesn't matter the brand), you should not give it within two hours of giving the metronidazole, since that is an ANTIbiotic. they offset each other. With the S. Boulardi, it's ok to give at the same time because it isn't technically considered a probiotic, but it works great for diarrhea.

I second the opinion to have a PCR done because the diarrhea could be caused by something that doesn't show up on in-house fecal exams.

Additionally, since now he's not on the urinary food, I'm guessing you know to keep a very close eye on that. Does he normally eat dry? I guess you know for urinary issues hydration is key. And with diarrhea it's even more important that he stay well hydrated.

 

[ASL]

THANK YOU! You guys are amazing! Very grateful.

I am still using RC S/O and Hills C/D wet and mixing it with the RC Gastro dry, because of the possibility of struvite crytstals returning. So far, the gastro food has given him explosive diarrhea (on my child's bed..), so I may be giving him too much too fast.

Thank you SO MUCH for the tip on the probiotic. The metronidazole is given once every twelve hours so I'll give him the probiotics 6 hours after the metronidazole.

How long do you all think it will take for his stool to firm up? I bought him cat diapers to catch anything that happens when I'm out of the house. I haven't tried them yet but it might be worth a shot?

gabicards - thank you for the recommendation. It looks like the Jarrows S. Bouliardi is not specifically for cats, is that okay?

Also, thanks so much for recommending the PCR test. I will message his vet today asking for that.

I'm so appreciative of your support and guidance on this! Prince Pickles (named by my daughter) will hopefully be feeling better soon.

 

[gabicards]

THANK YOU! You guys are amazing! Very grateful.

I am still using RC S/O and Hills C/D wet and mixing it with the RC Gastro dry, because of the possibility of struvite crytstals returning. So far, the gastro food has given him explosive diarrhea (on my child's bed..), so I may be giving him too much too fast.

Thank you SO MUCH for the tip on the probiotic. The metronidazole is given once every twelve hours so I'll give him the probiotics 6 hours after the metronidazole.

How long do you all think it will take for his stool to firm up? I bought him cat diapers to catch anything that happens when I'm out of the house. I haven't tried them yet but it might be worth a shot?

gabicards - thank you for the recommendation. It looks like the Jarrows S. Bouliardi is not specifically for cats, is that okay?

Also, thanks so much for recommending the PCR test. I will message his vet today asking for that.

I'm so appreciative of your support and guidance on this! Prince Pickles (named by my daughter) will hopefully be feeling better soon.

Yes, the Jarrows S. Boulardii should be fine! It is indeed for humans, but my understanding is that it has been widely used for cats with IBD - which tend to have soft stool/diarrhea. I've used it on my own cat and he's never had a bad reaction to it, it's helped a lot.

I'm not sure about how long it would take, but if the probiotics work, maybe a few days? I'll be crossing my fingers for quick results!! I know it's distressing, and also tiring because it involves a lot of cleaning up. What I used to do with my cat if he had diarrhea and I needed to leave him by himself was to rearrange a space in the apartment where he would be "confined", but comfortable and with the things he needed. It's specially helpful if the diarrhea is caused by some form of parasite, because then you really want to reduce the chances of them contaminating spaces of the house that you might not be able to disinfect - in which case they'd just recontaminate themselves during the treatment.

 

[ASL]

Yes, the Jarrows S. Boulardii should be fine! It is indeed for humans, but my understanding is that it has been widely used for cats with IBD - which tend to have soft stool/diarrhea. I've used it on my own cat and he's never had a bad reaction to it, it's helped a lot.

I'm not sure about how long it would take, but if the probiotics work, maybe a few days? I'll be crossing my fingers for quick results!! I know it's distressing, and also tiring because it involves a lot of cleaning up. What I used to do with my cat if he had diarrhea and I needed to leave him by himself was to rearrange a space in the apartment where he would be "confined", but comfortable and with the things he needed. It's specially helpful if the diarrhea is caused by some form of parasite, because then you really want to reduce the chances of them contaminating spaces of the house that you might not be able to disinfect - in which case they'd just recontaminate themselves during the treatment.

Thank you! Purchased!! And great idea about confining him to a small space!

 

[catsknowme]

In addition to the S. Boulardii, you might consider adding lactobacillus casein (definitely separate from the antibiotics). I look forward to updates to see your results.
Effect of Lactobacillus casei as a probiotic on modulation of giardiasis - PubMed

 

[ASL]

In addition to the S. Boulardii, you might consider adding lactobacillus casein (definitely separate from the antibiotics). I look forward to updates to see your results.
Effect of Lactobacillus casei as a probiotic on modulation of giardiasis - PubMed

Great! Thank you so much catsknowme !!

 

[GraciesParent]

Just want to chime in with another vote for S. boulardii. It was recommended to me on this forum lat week (my cat had stress colitis and several days of extreme diarrhea). Three days after I started giving it to her, the diarrhea came to a sudden and immediate stop. Then no poop at all for three days. Then a firm, normal poo!

It’s been several more days, and the poops have remained firm.

If you check the thread called “Post Dental Surgery,” there are some super-helpful and informative links on S. boulardii contained therein, including instructions on the stop-diarrhea protocol. Good luck!

 

[ASL]

Just want to chime in with another vote for S. boulardii. It was recommended to me on this forum lat week (my cat had stress colitis and several days of extreme diarrhea). Three days after I started giving it to her, the diarrhea came to a sudden and immediate stop. Then no poop at all for three days. Then a firm, normal poo!

It’s been several more days, and the poops have remained firm.

If you check the thread called “Post Dental Surgery,” there are some super-helpful and informative links on S. boulardii contained therein, including instructions on the stop-diarrhea protocol. Good luck!

Amazing! That is so encouraging to hear! I should be receiving my S. Boulardi this week. I'll report back to you all on how things go - thank you again!

 

[gabicards]

Just want to chime in with another vote for S. boulardii. It was recommended to me on this forum lat week (my cat had stress colitis and several days of extreme diarrhea). Three days after I started giving it to her, the diarrhea came to a sudden and immediate stop. Then no poop at all for three days. Then a firm, normal poo!

It’s been several more days, and the poops have remained firm.

If you check the thread called “Post Dental Surgery,” there are some super-helpful and informative links on S. boulardii contained therein, including instructions on the stop-diarrhea protocol. Good luck!

Ah, yes, each time my cat has had severe diarrhea, it was followed by a few days of no poop! I used to worry about it, now I understand that he's just emptied his bowels and it takes some time for the stool to form.

The way in which S. Boulardii works is still mysterious to me, but it really is the only probiotic that works for diarrhea when my cat has it. I don't give it to him unless he has that - during normal days I just give other probiotics to try and support his gut.

 

[ASL]

Hello everyone! I'm thrilled to report that Pickles the cat is no longer having symptoms of colitis! No more messy diarreah and his stool is firm! I took advice from each of you and it absolutely worked. Thank you so much! Prince Pickles is a much happier boy. Thanks again!

 

[GraciesParent]

Great news A ASL !

gabicards , what kind of daily probiotic do you use?

 

[ASL]

Great news A ASL !

gabicards , what kind of daily probiotic do you use?

Hi there! It's called Rx Biotic for Pets, by Rx Vitamins - link can be found here Mixes well with my kitty's food.

 

[gabicards]

Great news A ASL !

gabicards , what kind of daily probiotic do you use?

GraciesParent I have been using one that my vet loves, called "Florentero", which I *think* is from Spain. I have to say though, I intend to find a stronger one, probably human grade that might actually help populate the gut as opposed to the pet ones. I don't have a lot of faith that this type of probiotic helps with anything. I need to take some time and research which ones are safe...

I actually give Florentero to my cat as a treat, he seems to love the taste of the pill. It's a big one, so I split it into two and give half at night and half in the morning.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hello everyone! I'm thrilled to report that Pickles the cat is no longer having symptoms of colitis! No more messy diarreah and his stool is firm! I took advice from each of you and it absolutely worked. Thank you so much! Prince Pickles is a much happier boy. Thanks again!

Fantastic news!