Stomach problems

Snuugel

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*sigh* My oriental 1-year old boy cat is once again sick. He has bad watery diarrhea and is extremely dehydrated. He is at vet currently getting some fluids back. All blood tests were normal. No fever. The diarrhea started out of nowhere 2 days ago, he also vomited quite many times. Vet took ultrasound and there really was nothing too out of ordinary, some intestine walls were bit more thicker than normal and some lymph nodes were swollen in his stomach. Vet said that he may have IBS. I read about the subject from internet and while it seems plausible is it normal that it starts this quickly out of nowhere? His stool has always been normal and he rarely vomits. Other thing the vet wondered was if it could be lymphoma. Homever she said that it's not very common in young cats. Has any one of you gone trough a similar situation? Do you think it could be lymphoma or IBS? I'm working with the vet to get more answers but scince it's soon weekend there are only emergency vets availabe who don't know a lot about cats.
 

daftcat75

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This sounds too young and too sudden for one of those chronic inflammation diseases (IBD or lymphoma.)

Have there been any changes in his diet or environment? It could be an acute event. Traditional therapy of steroids and/or chemo may be inappropriate.

Because he is so young, I would engage with a specialist as soon as you can to get to the bottom of this.

While you are looking for answers, I would try the emergency stop diarrhea protocol in this link:
My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

I would pick up a bottle of Jarrow brand s. boulardii with MOS:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013OVW0E/?tag=thecatsite

If he likes the stuff--my last cat did--you can mix it directly into his food. My current cat doesn't like the taste so I make up capsules for her.

You can get some size four gelatin capsules from Amazon and a size four capsule filling machine from Etsy. Last time I tried to paste the link to that here, the redirections never resolved correctly. Search for the seller "MYHERBAR". You may be tempted to get size five capsules because they are smaller. But I have not been able to find a size five filling machine. I believe these are restricted by the DEA for their potential to be used in the illicit drug trade. Size four is small enough.

One human-sized Jarrow capsule comes out to about four cat-sized size 4 gelatin capsules. The capsule filling machine will let you make up 50 capsules in less than 30 minutes.

The article above will tell you the dosage and frequency. I think 1/4 of the original capsule (e.g. one of the size fours if you're repacking them) four times a day would be where I would start. Or two of those size fours twice a day if you're not feeding him that frequently.

My Betty is a blessing because she will take her own capsules if I simply coat them in Hills A/D first, very similar to this video.
 
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daftcat75

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Ask the vet for some Hills A/D and Hills I/D. The A/D will be for coating meds. The I/D will be to try an easier to digest food with him. It comes in kibble, stew, and pate forms. Betty likes stew. I don't give her kibble. She doesn't like the pate.

I would also ask the vet to test for EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.) This is a rare one and I certainly would have expected it to present sooner. But it's a good and easy one to rule out. EPI is the pancreas inability to produce enough digestive enzymes. It's a simple blood test. But it's a fasting test. Cat shouldn't eat 8 to 12 hours before the test. That's why it probably wasn't checked when you last did his blood work.

He may also have pathogenic bacteria in his gut. The s. boulardii supplement I recommended above is the best treatment for that. If you can collect a stool sample (easier said than done when it's watery diarrhea), I would ask for the fecal float test that checks for parasites AND the more expensive Diarrhea PCR which looks for pathogenic bacteria strains and the toxins they release that differentiate normal resident bacteria from pathogenic strains (those causing active disease.)

The one thing I would strongly recommend AGAINST is a course of antibiotics. Vets often like to prescribe metronidazole in cases like this. Metro often does more harm than good. It can kill beneficial resident bacteria while doing nothing for pathogenic strains like clostridium and e. coli. If the PCR reveals pathogenic strains and their toxins, s. boulardii is a far better treatment. It's like scrubbing bubbles for bad bacteria while soothing the gut lining, and preserving the good bacteria.
 
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Snuugel

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Hi! Thank you both for answers. I have actually given him hills A/D food mixed with water. After he came to home from vet yesterday he is feeling a lot better. He even ate on his own last evening. I actually told the vet that aren't these diseases you are suspecting usually quite chronic while the situation with my cat is quite acute. She really didn't know what to answer, kinda felt like she just wanted money from expensive treatment :/ . This morning I woke up with carpets covered in vomit. I was certain that I have to take him to the vet again until I saw my other cat vomit. He had also lost his appetite even though normally he would eat all the time (if I gave him food all the time). I can't really say I'm relieved but I know he will get over this sickness faster than my oriental cat. And yes, now I'm quite certain what has caused this. I got a new kitten week ago, she is completely healthy, has gotten her vaccines and has been dewormed. I'm now quite sure whatever stomach bug my other cats have right now is caused by her.
 

daftcat75

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The s boulardii should see them through this without having to resort to any antibiotics. You may ask about the I/D food anyway to provide an easier to digest bridge from here to there. Betty only gets A/D with pills and only the smallest amount needed. But it is there for us in a pinch if she goes off her food completely. She had a fever of unknown origin earlier this year and ate just enough A/D to keep her going until she felt like eating her regular food again. Exceptional times require exceptional measures. And then she felt better and only wanted her I/D stew again. And tiny amount of A/D on her capsules. We’d be lost if she didn’t pill herself. 😻👍
 
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