Chronic Diarrohea

[Marble]

Hi, I am new to the forum and I'm really hoping someone out there can help. We have 2 cats who are sisters from the same litter and are about 6 years old. The live together in close proximity and even sometimes share the same litter tray. We moved into a new house about a year ago in an area with a lot of bully cats prowling around. As a result one of them (Marble) will no longer go outside. A few months after moving in she started developing lots of scabs on her skin and lost a lot of hair and weight. She has also now had diarrohea for about 10 months and despite various pills from the vets and sensitive stomach foods nothing seems to work. Occasionally she will do some solid stools for a week or two, then its back to the runny stuff. We now have to keep her locked in the conservatory which is breaking our hearts since she used to always curl up at the end of our bed. She doesnt seem to have any loss of appetite and is always meowing for more food and will usually clean her bowl. She still has scabs, mainly around the top of her head and under her chin although most of her fur has grown back. Her sister (Zara) despite living and sleeping in the same area is totally unaffected and is healthier than ever. I think that is all of her symptoms. Any help would be extremely welcome. We have run out of ideas and no one seems to know what is wrong with her so we cant treat her. We are happy to pay whatever it takes, we just want our lovely little cat back!

[yola]

Fran and Alex, two of our members both have cats who had/have bad stomach problems. I'm sure they will share advice with you shortly.

Oh, and welcome to Catsey! I hope even after Marble's problems are identified/resolved you might stay on here with us and continue to chat :D

[angieh]

So sorry to hear about Marble. You have obviously tried all sorts of things - have you tried any homeopathic remedies at all?

[dinahsmum]

Welcome! Sorry you have a problem.
Do you think she is stressed? If so a Feliway plug in and rescue remedy drops might help.

There are at least 2 members here who've had bad problems but in both cases their cats were younger and they have now recoveered - whether they have grown out of it or what, who knows?

Do you think she might benefit from a change of food (scabby skin & runny belly + food sensitivity, maybe?) Burns is a good food which markets itself as good for sensitive tums/skins.

If your vet has ruled out any possible infection etc you could think about prebiotics (the Yakult theory) or maybe even Canikur, which is basically just a gumming up medicine - nothing in the way of drugs in it. This helped my daughter's cat who was another of the 'young adult with runny belly' brigade. You can buy it without a prescription at the online vets like VetUK

Others will be along to help too - hope you can sort something out.

[alexgirl73]

Hi there Marble, so sorry to hear of your problems. Believe me when I say I know exactly how you are feeling with this. It took 10 months to get my Teddie to stop having chronic diarrhoea. With the scabs and such, I presume she has been tested for ringworm and mites etc. I cant really offer any advice on those issues sorry.
With the other business though, this is what I tried. For around 3 months the only thing Teddie was fed was boiled white fish, basically because it was the only thing she could keep inside her for any length of time. It didnt stop the diarrhoea, but did slow it down and enabled her to get to a litter tray in time. I too had to confine Teddie to the kitchen for weeks at a time, and it is so heartbreaking. We then moved on to a different regime with her which was metronidazole from the vets, along with RC wet sensitivity trays to eat. This made a huge difference with her, as it helped her tummy to settle right down. I dont know if your cat has dried food or not, but Teddie couldnt handle any dried whatsoever. Now however, she is on Asdas own Tiger meat with a handful of RC biscuits on top and is a different little cat completely. Please PM me or ask any questions you like if you think I can be of any help to you. ((hugs)) because I know how stressed you probably are about this.

[alexgirl73]

oh forgot to mention the canikur that DM has mentioned above. This stuff was fantastic for helping Teddie during difficult bouts, along with promax paste (a binding agent you can get from your vets). I also had some powder sent from one of our members in America and I think it was a combination of all of these which helped.I now keep allof these on hand 'just in case' (though fingers crossed I haven't needed them in a few months.

[sarahd]

Maybe the vets could give you some form of solution to this problem.

It sounds like the scabs, hair and weight loss need looking into first and possibly they could be the underlying cause for the diarrohea. Its just a thought.

Panacur paste is good for runny poo but if it is some kind of stomach bug or infection it wont work alone it will need some form of antibiotics to work alongside it.

Good luck
Sarah
x

[Marble]

Wow, what a quick response, thank you all for all of your thoughts. My name is Chris by the way :) I was thinking we were the only people to have these problems! Dinahsmum - I think stress definately had a big part initially. We moved into the house, had the problems with the other neighbourhood cats (4 Siamese had previously had the monopoly on the back gardens) and then went on holiday 2 weeks later and had to put them in a cattery since we didnt know anyone locally to cat sit for us (She got significantly worse while in the cattery although she was sharing with Zara who was fine!) I'll definately try your suggestions and see if there is any improvement. Alexgirl - It sounds like Teddie has had a very similar illness and its great to hear she is better now. It gives me hope for the future. I'm not sure what pills we have tried giving her although I think the last lot also included some steroids. The food she has is Chicken and Rice and comes in purple and white pouches for sensitive stomachs. We put sensitive stomach biscuits down for her but I dont think she eats them. Maybe she does and thats whats keeping her diarrohea going. It sounds like we should remove them from the diet too. At one stage we had to force some horrible brown goo down her throat which was supposed to help gum things up but to no avail. I'm not sure if it was Canikur but I'll definately give that a go too if not. I havent tried any homeopathic remedies at this stage but I'm open to all suggestions and I'll try anything to help her. Thanks, Chris.

[dinahsmum]

Canikur is 'palatable granules'. Handy, because you can start by giving a whole sachet and can give a gradually decreasing dose as it (hopefully) clears up.

[Grete]

Hiya Chris, welcome to Catsey :)

Does sound very much like a stress problem and would recommend trying the Feliway as well as the foods and treatments the others have mentioned. Hopefully with the runnies resolved or at least improved, she will feel much happier and gain weight.

Hope she improves quickly and can be your end of the bed kitty again :)

[Kay]

I would also say that the bottom cause is probably stress. It can cause major changes in cats and some of these would include hair loss, weight loss, diarrhoea and scabs. The fact that she is having to be confined, although I can understand why, could possible be adding to her stress and so causing a catch 22 situation.
Has she had fleas at anytime during this bout of illness? If so she could have a severe allergic reaction to them. This can cause all the above symptoms and can lead to aneamia as well. Has your vet run any test's like bloods or swabs? If not I would change vets and get some tests done.
I do hope it clears up or all your sakes.

[Elaine]

Hiya Chris, welcome to Catsey :)

Does sound very much like a stress problem and would recommend trying the Feliway as well as the foods and treatments the others have mentioned. Hopefully with the runnies resolved or at least improved, she will feel much happier and gain weight.

Hope she improves quickly and can be your end of the bed kitty again :)

I was also gonna suggest something to help her destress while you try other foods etc. Feliway diffusers can be great in times of stress as can rescue remedy.
Has she been tested for Guardia or pancreatitis or anything else?
Sadly with these things there is a lot of trial and error until you find the right foods and the right balance.
The weight loss is probably due to the chronic diahorrea. Is it possible that the scabs and the hair loss was maybe her scratching and pulling the hair out? Cats under stress often do this.
I wish you and the poor kitty all the very best.

[Marble]

Thank you again for all of your advice. I have ordered plenty of Canikur granules which will hopefully firm things up little meaning she can spend a bit more time in the house and destress. I'll stop her eating the biscuits for a couple of weeks to see if that makes a difference too. I have also ordered a Feliway diffuser to keep in the conservatory in the hope that that helps things. I'll also book her back into the vets and ask them to check for the specific things mentioned. Hopefully between these things she will get a bit better. If anyone thinks there is anything else that I should also do straight away then please let me know. Chris.

[dinahsmum]

Good luck!
Please keep us up to speed on her recovery

[Fran]

Hi and welcome to Catsey. The Canikur and the Feliway sound like the way to go. Just to point out that the Feliway diffueser can take up to a month or so before you see some results and I actually favour Promax paste to Canikur although what works for one doesn't work for another and all that.. just something else to try if necessary. The other thing is have you had any stool samples sent off for analysis?? Often it might be necessary to send a few samples before you get answers as some 'bugs' can be hard to find in just a single isolated sample. My Siamese kitten was diagnosed with a Giardia infection through sending stool samples, she came from the breeder with it and it was very difficult to irradicate. Several courses of Metronidazole and Panacur where necessary to clear it up. By the way is your cat up to date with worming??

Good luck and do let us know how you get on :)

[dandysmom]

Coincidentally, this month's issue of a cat health newsletter I get from Tufts University School of Veterinary medicine has featured chronic diarrhea. Most of what the others have mentioned was discussed. However there were two tips that seemed helpful in adding fiber to the diet. They suggested discussing it with your vet first' but adding one to three tablespoons of Metamucil to the diet may help firm the stool. Also, adding two tablespoons of wheat bran per 14 ounces of moist food helps, with no known side effects. Best of luck in restoring Marble to health; do keep us posted!
Oh, and welcome to Catsey!

[Kay]

Let us know how you get on at the vets. I hope Marble gets better soon.

[Marble]

Thanks for your thoughts. I have just read a very interesting article about Giardia Infection and it certainly looks very similar to what is going on, especially with her getting so bad just after being at the cattery! http://www.ahhb.net/Documents/Pamphlets/GiardiaCat.pdf I'm going to ask for a stool sample to be sent away for testing straight away. The Canikur should arrive today so we can get her on that too. I'll let everyone know how she gets on.

[Mags]

Welcome to Catsey, Chris! :D

I hope you can get some answers soon and Marble improves...

[Marble]

The feacal tests are booked in for tomorrow, I think I'll let my wife collect the sample ;) I went for the 'Gold' option which tests for everything including Giardia although the vet thought this was an unlikely cause. Lets hope something comes in positive so they know what to treat. If not its blood sample time.

The Canikur granules arrived today but she wasnt too impressed. She had just eaten a whole sachet of Chicken and Rice S/O so hopefully she'll try it when she is a bit hungrier. If not I guess we'll have to try mixing some in with the wet food.

[Grete]

Hope the tests come back with an answer and you can get the poor girl well :)

[Kay]

I hope you get some answer from these tests so you can start treatment properly. Good luck.

[tilly]

Have you thougt of inflamatory bowel disease
http://maxshouse.com/inflammatory_bowel_disease.htm
my catb has it and get by ok on special food. it doesn't make her have diarrhoea but it can she presents with vomiting. and is fed hills science plan prescription diet d/d and sensitivity control which I think you are feeding marble already. Below are some links to other diets you can try.
http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244 41781976&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1194098269476&bmLocale=en_GB

http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244 41760594&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1194098338492&bmLocale=en_GB

http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455244 41781990&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1194098368351&bmLocale=en_GB

http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=60

http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=64

http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/FelineProductDetail.aspx?prod=240

ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet™ feline HYPOALLERGENIC HP 23™ is a highly palatable, highly digestible, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate diet that is specifically formulated to assist the diagnosis and management of adverse reactions to food.

ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet™ feline INTESTINAL HE 30™ is a complete and balanced diet specifically designed to assist the management of adult cats with gastrointestinal disease.I don't know if any of them will help but I felt better knowing that there were diet available that could help Tilly. As for a while I thought I was going to be feeding her chicken for the rest of her life as that was all that would stay down. But she is now doing much better on her special diet and is very rarely sick. I know the problem are slightly different but it might be the same problem.

Hope you can get it sorted very soon. feel free to pm me if I can help you or you have any question to ask.

Sally

[Marble]

No joy with the Canikur yet. Food seems to be getting from one end to the other in literally 5 minutes so I'm not sure if it's getting time to do its thing. No wonder she is so thin, she cant be getting anything good out of the food. She still seems very happy in herself and has plenty of energy - especially around meal times!

The results should be in from the Vets in a couple of days time so I pray something (cureable) comes up positive.

Thanks for the advice on the other diets, anything must be better than what she is currently on. We may as well be feeding her bars of butter for all the good its going :)

[dinahsmum]

Have you ever used an invalid diet? Steamed (or microwaved) plain white fish or boiled chicken (skin removed)? I'd always use that for a pet with diarrhoea as a first resort (and obviously keep the option of veterinary interference etc for later if necessary). I'd feed little and often and keep the animal on it for at least 48 hours, before slowly reintroducing 'normal' food.

Have you had a lot of fireworks to add to her current stress?

Good luck, again. Maybe the vet will find something organic?

[Soupie]

Just had my boy diagnosed with IBD after having all the tests mentioned so feel for you.

One thing I would mention is if your vet does faecal samples then get them to test for triTrichomonas - not well known over here yet but increasing and particularly common in multi cat households.

Hope all goes well

[Marble]

Bad news on the faecal tests - all came back negative. Some Ecoli and Entricrocus was present but apparently that is not usually the cause of such long term problems. So blood tests booked in for Saturday and if all fails, a gut biopsy (£500 I think!!!). Everyone outside the direct family is suggesting the easy way out, but its not something I think I could live with, especially if its cureable. I shall remind my father-in-law of his advice when its him on the block!

[alexgirl73]

drat!!! I had the same thing with Teddie though and nothing was ever found to be the cause, though the vet took it to be that she had IBS and was treated accordingly. Has she been tried on metronidazole at all? I only ask because it is a treatment for giardia AND ibs, and when neither can be proven, as giardia is very hard to find, then it may be worth her having a dose of that to try. Hope you find something soon x

[Fran]

Often it is necessary to send more than one stool sample as it can be very difficult to detect some of the bugs/parasites etc.. you are looking for. My vet told me this, I was lucky that they picked up the giardia on the first sample I sent but my vet said that was quite unusual. I had the bowel biopsy done on Porsha and tbh, it was a waste of money, all it indicated was there was a mild imflammation which could be due to any cause including the diarrhoea itself!! :? I had food allergy tests done and those revealed some quite interesting results! That Porsha is infact allergic to ALL the common meats. I was at a point where I nearly called it a day :( but now I have found a diet that suits her, she's flying, no more diarrhoea, she's a well grown cat and a very happy one at that. In retrospect, I would have had the allergy tests done before the biopsies but as the insurance were paying and my vet wanted to do it this way, that's how it happened. Incidently, has your vet prescribed a course of metronidazole before doing all these invasive tests?? This is a very good gut antibiotic and it helps calm any inflammtion in there too. It might be worth trying this before you go down the root of gut biopsies, it's quite a big op with an element of risk. Good luck, I hope you get to the root of the problem x

[dinahsmum]

Ah, back to square one. :(
Alex and Fran (and my daughter, but she's not on this board) have been in the same place and all thought, at one time or another, that there might only be one sad solution. BUT - they've all got happy, pretty healthy, cats now.

I'd advise you to pick their brains (by PM maybe, if you don't want to give us too much dirty talk) and make up your own mind on the way forward.

No-one here will be judgemental - it is you in the situation and it must be your solution.

Very best of luck.

[Grete]

I think only you can know her best. That she's lively and is interested in what is going on around her is a great sign and there *has* to be a cause for it. Whether it's food allergies or IBD, there will be a solution, it just takes time :(
Having said that, if you decide she is suffering too much and want to ease her from this life, you will have support here. What you do for her, you do out of love and how can anyone question that?

*hugs*

[dinahsmum]

I'd agree with Fran about the gut biopsy - it was no use at all with my daughter's cat :(

Have you done the very simple 'first principle' things for a cat with a runny tummy? 24 hours water only, then 1/2/3/more days on steamed fish or poached, skinless chicken. Give the gut as total a rest as you can. Try to keep that up until you get some solidity in the poops, then reintroduce 'normal' food very very gradually.

Oh dear, I do feel sorry for you - you're in a bad situation and people keep throwing helpful suggestions at you - but which do you go for, and how long do you try this before trying that etc etc? But we can give you a little consolation .... all 3 cases known to me have turned the situation round. Let's hope yours will too.

[Marble]

We have solid poo! I never thought I'd be so happy to say that! Thank you so much Tilly for the advice and D/D tins to try, you really must let me send you some money to cover the costs and postage - PM me. Shame we now have 4 cases of RC Chicken and Rice. We literally tried her on Tilly's Venison D/D 2 days ago and yesterday we were seeing positive results. It looks like maybe she has developed an allergy toward the other meats, or maybe something in the other food disagreed with her, either way its Catsey 1 - Vet 0! I know its early days yet but this is definately a great start!

[Mags]

We have solid poo! I never thought I'd be so happy to say that! Thank you so much Tilly for the advice and D/D tins to try, you really must let me send you some money to cover the costs and postage - PM me. Shame we now have 4 cases of RC Chicken and Rice. We literally tried her on Tilly's Venison D/D 2 days ago and yesterday we were seeing positive results. It looks like maybe she has developed an allergy toward the other meats, or maybe something in the other food disagreed with her, either way its Catsey 1 - Vet 0! I know its early days yet but this is definately a great start!
That's excellent news!! :D

[Fran]

So pleased to hear this news :D