Rescue cat (~7 mo.) with diarrhea

david68

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I retrieved a young male cat around 7 months old three days ago and took him in for a neuter/vaccination package at the spay/neuter clinic two days ago.

He's adapted to being inside very quickly, making me think he was previously socialized and seems very happy and content. He doesn't present as ill; however, he's having very loose stools along with bad-smelling gas. He had been living outdoors in a semi-rural area in North Carolina. The people who were feeding him were feeding him plenty of food, so he's not skinny at all. He was given topical Profender dewormer and Revolution at the time of neuter as well as meloxicam for pain.

I know that the stress of being grabbed and brought inside can give some cats diarrhea, as could dewormer if he had worms, but how long would you say is typical?

I made a vet appointment for him tomorrow morning so they can test a stool sample for parasites. Am I jumping the gun?
 

StanAndAlf

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No, not at all, I think a stool sample is a great idea and its great you are being so proactive with your new kitty's health!

It may well be a persistent parasite that is resistant to the deworming treatment he has already received. It could also be that he is having trouble adjusting to his new food, or perhaps his stomach disagrees with it. Take him for the stool test and if it comes back clear, try feeding him some boiled chicken (no additives such as salt, just boiled in water) for a day or two and see if it helps. If he won't eat the chicken, give him a week to settle on the new food and if no change is seen after that, it may be time to change foods or try an elimination diet to see what he is being sensitive to. If changing his diet doesn't help it may then be time to explore health issues such as IBD, but don't panic about that just yet until you have ruled out other more simple issues I have mentioned above.

Best of luck, and please keep us updated, we really do care and like to hear how he's going!
 
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david68

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Update: Stool sample came back negative. Vet put him on Hills i/d digestive care wet food plus Fortiflora, and it seems to be helping. I removed access to dry food. We're not quite to nicely-formed stools yet, but they are firming up. Far less mess in the litter box.
 
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david68

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It looked briefly like things were getting better, but then the diarrhea returned. We started him on metronidazole yesterday.
 
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david68

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Update: After the course of metronidazole and continuing, S. boulardii, diarrhea has not returned!
 
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