New cat has diarrhea

[Carpinus]

New Cat (Cat 2, age 1.5 yrs) was adopted 5 weeks ago. He was immunized and treated for worms, etc about 3 weeks prior. He joined Cat 1 (3.5 yrs old). They seem to get along very well - eat and play together and sleep close to each other.
Cat 2 had diarrhea when he arrived, which in my experience is normal for a short while. But - after 5 weeks he still has diarrhea. He is eating well, is active and appears healthy. Is this still stress diarrhea?
I read about pumpkin as treatment but he won't eat it (or canned food, so I can't hide it in that). Can anyone offer suggestions - or reassurance that that all is well?

 

[stephanietx]

Are you feeding him the same food he was eating at the shelter/rescue or did you change his food to what you are feeding your other kitties? Most likely it's because of a sudden food change. You might want to get him to the vet to rule out parasites. It can take more than 1 round of meds to get rid of them.

 

[Burts]

I use probiodics to get over diarrhea, nutramax forte from the vet

I just ordered nutramax proviable dc 30 capsules for $25.00 shipped to hawaii
Vets Proviable Forte 15 capsules for about $25.00

Forte has twice the amount of bacteria then dc equating to forte at half capsules is 30 count go figure

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. As said above, food changes can cause this. If you are not feeding him what he was previously fed, find out - if you can - what that food was and feed him that. If that stops the diarrhea, you can try doing a gradual transition to the new food by adding just a bit to the 'old' food, and over time, more new and less old. There is a possibility that there are ingredients in what he is eating now that he has a food intolerance to, so you might also want to compare all of the ingredients in old and new to see what the differences are. If that doesn't get you anywhere, look at the what the primary ingredients are in his current food, and move away from those to another source of protein. For example, if his food's primary ingredients is chicken, transition to beef, turkey, etc. If it is something like grains, get a non-grain food.
As said above wormers can also cause diarrhea, but probably not this long - but, also as said above, maybe one round of wormer was not enough??

 

[cataholic07]

Stress can also cause diahrea, anytime a cat goes to a new place it can be stressful, and worming does a major number on their tummies. It always causes diarrhea for all the fosters I have had who got dewormed lol. Try probiotics s.bourlardii is great!

 

[Carpinus]

Thank you for the replies. It's been over a month since I adopted him. In retrospect, I should have transitioned the food. What I feed him is limited ingredients, no grain. I don't think going back to shelter food will help at this point because he was at the shelter for only two weeks and unknown where he was before that. I'm thinking that is part of the problem - perhaps he was moved around too much and all that stress has done him in. I will try probiotics - thank you for that suggestion. I'll give him a few days of that, and if it doesn't help I will take him and a stool sample to the Vet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I'll give him a few days of that, and if it doesn't help I will take him and a stool sample to the Vet.

If you do the stool sample, ask for a full fecal PCR which will test for bacterial/viral issues in addition to parasites. And, you might be able to do that now rather than wait - if your vet will take stool sample that you collect from his litter box (litter and all). Many vets will do so without having to see a cat at the same time.

 

[jen]

I was wondering what worms he was originally treated for. Also was a follow up stool checked to make sure it was negative?

 

[maxmeezu]

Could be the food adjustment as others have suggested, or he could have a parasite from the facility where he was. If your vet runs a fecal, make sure you also test for tritrichomonas foetus, it’s a separate test. It’s common in shelters and catteries but can be difficult to diagnose (the tests aren’t super accurate and some vets don’t know much about it). I struggled with that with mine for a long time.

 

[Carpinus]

Thank you for your replies. After 3 days of s.bourlardii there seems to be some improvement. Diarrhea still present but stools are a wee bit firmer and much less frequent. I'll continue the probiotics for another few days, but will be sure to ask for the tests you suggested when we get to the stool sample. (I was worried about the litter because I don't know how to get a sample without it - thanks!)

 

[Carpinus]

I was wondering what worms he was originally treated for. Also was a follow up stool checked to make sure it was negative?

No, I don't know what he had - he was given Strongid T on Dec 1 & Dec 8. Milbemax on Dec 8. No indication that he was tested before or after.

 

[Carpinus]

A reminder that I adopted Cat 2 (pic below) about 2 months ago.
I've been giving him s.bourlardii for about 3 weeks and there is some improvement - stool a tiny bit firmer and much less frequent. Things seemed to going fine (he is playful and energetic and looks healthy with good weight. He and Cat 1 play and wrestle and groom each other). I have not yet taken a stool sample to the Vet because I want to try the probiotic first.
BUT today he pooped (diarrhea) all over my freshly laundered bed. What a mess!!!!! This has never happened before!
What's happening?
Will this stop? I thought the 2 cats were getting along really well, but are they?
Can anyone offer some hope? I admit that I am really discouraged and ready to give Cat 2 away.
.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't think giving away the one cat is going to solve any of the problems you are experiencing - if they play together and groom each other, I find it hard to believe that has anything to do with the diarrhea. Obviously, the probiotic isn't the solution. Get the fecal testing done - the full PCR - and then go from there. And, I noticed earlier you said something about worrying about having litter in the fecal sample - that should NOT be an issue. You can always check with your vet, but I have never heard it poses a problem for testing.

 

[Carpinus]

Yes - that will be my next step (stool sample to Vet). Re the probiotic - don't believe all that's on the internet!
In the meanwhile, he's back in his "safe room". I can't deal with poop all over the bed again.