Getting desperate with our Cat's digestive health & Clostridium woes . . .

richCAT

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Hey folks just joined since I've been reading a lot of posts on this site searching via Google . . .

Our cat is a very lightweight 15 yr old female who's just recently moved to the Countryside.

For the past few months she has been having chronic diarrhoea and frequent vomiting, and is very thin and lethargic, with low energy.

We took her to the Vets and they ran all the tests (bloods, urine, stool) and all that came back was a positive for Clostridium bacteria but in the low range, so we're not sure if that is the cause of her digestive issues, pdf attached. Whether it's something she has picked up in her new environment or dietary changes which have triggered something.

In the past she has been on a few of the commercial brand dry and wet foods including Whiskas and Purina. We've tried to give her healthier brands and with questionable degrees of success.

She is currently eating one evening meal of locally sourced kangaroo/venison/goat (mostly lean meat) or wild caught fish both parboiled. Then she has a bowl of Royal Canin Exigent Savour which she snacks on and we are supplementing her with prescription Probiotics (BRAND).

We tried her on Big Dog Kanga Raw Food the other day since I read raw is better for chronic diarrhoea and started her on S Boullardi but she just barfed it all up pretty instantaneously.

So we are thinking to keep her food consistent and just introduce the SB probiotic for now and then maybe she will be able to adopt the raw meat later down the line.

We've tried a lot of dietary changes and are running out of ideas on how we can increase her fibre and find the right balance of wet/dry food. It seems her poo's are more solid when she eats more biscuits but I'm also aware dry food is not the optimum solution long term.

She is growing weaker and can barely clean herself and I'm worried we are running out of time. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

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NabilBen

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Hello richCAT richCAT have you tried the veterinary range of royal canin GI. I think you should give it a try. Speaking from a personal experience. It works like magic for mine. It has both dry and wet and it's high in calories in order for them to gain some weight back. Try (Royal Canin Gastrointestinal)
 

NabilBen

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It's a wide range..there is the high fibre, the fibre response, the moderate calories, the hairball...always read the package before purchasing. See the photo attached is what I use exactly. Speedy recovery ❤
I0050032_en.jpeg
 

maggie101

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so she only gets one evening meal of just meat? Stay away from raw til you find out what's wrong. Whiskas is not a good brand. Purina is ok. Limited ingredient like instinct,rawz or koha. What has your internal medacine doctor suggested?
Raw can have bad bacteria that a cat with a weak immune system will have more trouble. If you must feed raw add ez complete. Please discuss this with your vet. I have made the mistake of trying to fix things on my own.
 
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fionasmom

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Welcome to The Cat Site! You said that other conditions had been ruled out, leaving you with the c. perfringens. Everything else is okay at her age in general?

I would definitely stop the raw food for the time being and, given that she is failing, maybe the dry is not a bad temporary addition to her diet if it helps the diarrhea. You can always eliminate it when she feels better.

Do you have access to an internal specialist? You probably have a good vet, but sometimes going around and around with the same one does not yield any result as they have done all that they can.
 

verna davies

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Its a shame s boulardii didnt work but you could try a pinch of psyllium mixed in with her food. Its a fibre and often helps diarrhoea.
 
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richCAT

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so she only gets one evening meal of just meat? Stay away from raw til you find out what's wrong. Whiskas is not a good brand. Purina is ok. Limited ingredient like instinct,rawz or koha. What has your internal medacine doctor suggested?
Raw can have bad bacteria that a cat with a weak immune system will have more trouble. If you must feed raw add ez complete. Please discuss this with your vet. I have made the mistake of trying to fix things on my own.
Just one evening meal of parboiled kangaroo mince (circa 100g - she is a very small cat around 2.5kg) with SB probiotic and Slippery Elm added plus several handfuls of biscuits throughout the day (the bikkies seem to help her form more solid stools). She is quite fussy and has rejected a lot of the healthier grain-free brands so we've settled on the Royal Canin Exigent Savour atm.

Unfortunately both local Vet's offered little help and very poor communication and their final suggestion was to take her to the City specialists. We're going to hold off on raw and keep her food consistent and simple.
 
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richCAT

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Welcome to The Cat Site! You said that other conditions had been ruled out, leaving you with the c. perfringens. Everything else is okay at her age in general?

I would definitely stop the raw food for the time being and, given that she is failing, maybe the dry is not a bad temporary addition to her diet if it helps the diarrhea. You can always eliminate it when she feels better.

Do you have access to an internal specialist? You probably have a good vet, but sometimes going around and around with the same one does not yield any result as they have done all that they can.
Thanks Fiona.

Well the local Vet's couldn't find anything following various exams and tests, just the positive on the C. perfringens. She was absolutely fine until this recent bout of chronic diarrhea and vommiting, she's become very weak and struggling to clean herself.

If the SB and Slippery Elm doesn't help the next step will be the City Specialist yeah. I just wish she would eat healthier biscuits the Royal Canin brand are full of plant based fillers, but she needs the fibre in some form I think.
 

fionasmom

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RC is not great, but I think that you are beyond that point for the time being. If it helps, I would use it until you get this settled.

Going to a specialist is a very good move. I have found that those doctors often can get to the root of the problem much more quickly, based on their training and experience. It can even save you money and your cat continued distress. Please keep us posted.
 
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richCAT

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RC is not great, but I think that you are beyond that point for the time being. If it helps, I would use it until you get this settled.

Going to a specialist is a very good move. I have found that those doctors often can get to the root of the problem much more quickly, based on their training and experience. It can even save you money and your cat continued distress. Please keep us posted.
Yeah I think we must stick with the RC for the time being since she's really enjoying them and eating plenty which seems to be good for her poo's.

So she's been on SB for 2 days now and I added in Slippery Elm last night and this morning she done her best poo in a while so fingers crossed.
 
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