My female spayed indoor cat is almost three years old. About 1 1/2 years ago, she started having diarrhea all the time. I tried different foods, worming her then started with vets. I have spent over $500 on three different vets which included a complete blood panel that showed nothing, 4 different kinds of Hill's Prescription Diet foods (id, wd, zd and something else), special urinary care foods over the counter, hard food, soft food, everthing. About 6 months ago, she decided that the litter pan was not the place to have diarrhea. I'll leave it at that.... Now, I'm getting ready to start all over again with the vets, but thought I would try here first. I'm worried that we may have to have her put to sleep even though it would really tear us up, we rent and I don't know what the landlord would do if he knew I was cleaning diarrhea off the carpet 1-3 times a day. After Sprinkles has an episode of diarrhea, she usually streaks into the room where she didn't go and immediately licks her bottom like it burns. This morning was just about the last straw, I got up in the dark and went to put on the sweats I had on last night until my husband got up, needless to say, I had to go wash a great deal of my body because the clothes had diarrhea on them...I sure hope somebody has some advice for me. Thanks in advance for ANY help!! Have a great day.

-- Laura (lucky1s@mcmsys.com), December 31, 2001

Answers

First make sure she doesn't have access to ANY milk products. Second, get some acidopholous from a health food store and mix with her food (usually the bottle in the fridge section is the cheapest). This is the good bacteria that all mammals have in common in their intestines. If it has been killed off it will cause diarrhea. I have used this successfully on cats and horses to get rid of diarrhea.

-- Stacia in OK (OneClassyCowgirl@aol.com), December 31, 2001.

Maybe a little pepto to coat the stomach.Forget about buying cat food make your own .Dont know if there is a "barf " for cats but basically little fat , rice and some veggies and meat lamb would probally be great but chicken or maybe even tuna.If you have a pressure cooker put everything in there and blast away.Freeze in little baggies or containers.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.

Here is what my book says on this. Many cats won't eat rice so try substituting pasta or mashed potatoes. Substitute this for about 2 days, then gradually add her reg. diet back slowly decreasing the potatoes, etc. You can give her Metamucil during or after this too, between 11/4 tsp. to 1 tbs. a day for 1 to 2 days. Mix it with water and pour it on her food. Make sure she has no dairy( they lack the enzyme lactase to digest it. Take her out on a couple of 15 minute walks. The book says that this stimulates a part of the nervous system that is responsible for keeping the gut calm. This came from Preventions Dr's book of Home remedies for Dogs and Cats. I wish you luck!! Diana

-- Diana (rock_hunter83@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.

Oh, and another thing, the switching around of her food can certainly cause diarrhea. If you were trying her on all those different foods, it could have kept the diarrhea going, regardless of what caused it in the first place. Maybe if you pick one food and stick to it, and try the suggestions above, it'll help. I know that's got to be hard to deal with, but don't give up. Also, maybe you could call your vet and ask if you could give a baby's dose of Kaopectate, while you're giving her the mashed taters. It might help. Acidophilus wouldn't hurt either. Diana

-- Diana (rock_hunter83@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.

I know what you are going through, we just inherited a barn kitten (our 5th!!)who had the same problem. Here's what we did. Like most have said NO MILK, if the cat is thirsty it will drink water, and with the runs she will need it. Try and buy the cheapest chicken you can find, skin it and boil, you can add some pasta or potato, I personally would not add any vegetables at this time. If you have a grinder, put everything through it(no bones though), or liquidise it, freeze in cat size portions. Try feeding small portions 3 or 4 times a day. Don't feed any of that dry food yet, buy some plain yoghurt and put a couple of tablespoons down a few times a day, she will probabley hate the yoghurt but get some into her. Be patient and stick to the diet, try and move her and the litter box into one small room and keep her isolated until she starts using it again, a bathroom or mud room will work, or if she goes outside, put her out every hour. Just like a human she can have plain bread, pasta, potato or cooked meat. Don't keep changing her diet though, it took about 3 weeks on the above diet to get my kitty right, I eventually tried several different dry foods before I found one that didn't give her the runs. Only introduce new foods very slowly over a 2 week period until her body becomes used to it and accepts it. Don't worm her again until she is solid, it sounds like you want to keep her and have spent time and money on her, it can be done with time, good luck and let us know how it goes. By the way my cat now eats anything and doesn't squelch everytime she walks!

-- Carol K (ck7951@bluefrognet.net), December 31, 2001.

does your cat ever go outside? A cat will eat grass if it's able. The fiber, enzymes, and chlorophyll help it with digestion. Your cat sounds like it might have irritable bowel syndrome. Outdoor cats get digestive enzymes from eating the guts of its prey. Canned cat food doesn't contain these enzymes. I'd take the cat outside for walks at least, on a leash if you have to. Give it the opportunity to eat grasses if it likes. Adding some psyllium husks(health food store) to its food would definitely help with diarreah. A diet of raw meat would probably help.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 31, 2001.

Cats can get giarrdia. They are the little parasites that cause beaver fever in people who hike etc. They are very hard to find in a fecal test. The treatment is Flagyl or metranidazole, also used for some women's infections. Talk to your vet about it. If he/she thinks it's a possibility maybe you can get a presciption without tests. You could spend a lot on fecals and still not find it even if it's causing the problem. I also am a firm believer in pepto for dogs, cats and goats!

-- Darcy in NW WA (gatecity@nomail.com), December 31, 2001.

Many cats are allergic to tuna. Avoid it, it might help. Best of luck.

-- Debbie from MO (notfrom@work.com), December 31, 2001.

Hi Laura,,I feel so bad for you and your kitty,,,very trying time,,,,Difinitly don't feed her regular food or any milk products>,, Some chicken broth,,maybe some rice (or mashed potatoes, no butter or milk in them))with some chicken broth on them. Can cook a little burger and mix in with potatoes or rice too,,if she can hold any foods. Sometimes only broth will stay down,,she needs lots of liquids,,,all she will drink,,can get dehydrated very fast,,not good for cats, they get urinary infections easy and fast,,Hope the problem is resolved quickly,,,and kitty gets well,,Take care,,

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), January 01, 2002.

Laura, i am sorry to hear about your cat. My cat had this problem, too, and even after spending a lot of $$ on vets, there was no happy ending. The medicine she was given didn't work and she died. Hope you have better luck with your cat. Maybe one of those suggestions from others will help....

-- k (squeakywheel2001@aol.com), January 01, 2002.

My guess is that she has a serious food allergy, most likely to coen or wheat, try feeding the cat foods made specifically for food allergies, available from www.petfooddirect.com. They have all sorts of special needs cat foods available at cheap prices, much cheaper than from your vet!

Add plain Metamucil to your cats canned food at every feeding, at the rate of 1/2 teaspoon per 5.5 ounce can, or 1/4 teaspoon per 3 ounce can. The fiber will regulate water excretion in her gut and stabilize the diarrhea quickly.

Using a dose syringe, give the cat 5 cc.'s of Dannon brand plain yogurt at least 3 times per day, the acidofolus in it will re- establish normal intestinal flora and help also.

No people food whatsoever, special allergy cat food only, with the above suggestions will help your kitty maintain a firmer stool. The "burning" sensation to her bottom really points to serious food allergies, it DOES in fact burn her, her reaction to the food that she is allergic to causes that.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 01, 2002.

Duh, not coen, CORN. Sorry for the typo.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 01, 2002.

Laura - My newest addition has a bad habit of jumping into the sink and bathtub just after their use. She drinks the soapy water and started having a similar problem until I noticed her doing it. Soap will give them the runs. Maybe it's as simple as making sure she isn't drinking the soap from the dishes. I've had several dogs lick the bar soap in the past too. It has the same effect on them. Good luck. I hope this helps.

-- Sheryl (all295@aol.com), January 01, 2002.

This is going to be a different answer. I had the same thing happen with a cat I adopted from the pound. After her necessary spay, she never grew her hair back, developed horrible food allergies, and had constant diarrhea just as your cat did. I tried every food that I could find that was considered to be good for cats with allergy problems, I took the time to switch the feed slowly etc as I was taught to advise when I worked as a vet tech, I tried everything that I could think of to remove foods that might cause allergies from her diet, all to no avail.

One day, I finally got tired of it and just bought a huge back of the normal purina blue-bag cat chow. Low and behold, my cat's hair grew back, her fur is now so luxurious that I have nicknamed her Fluffy instead of Little! Normally, with my training, I would advise all of the advice above (and certainly still do say that you should try the acidophilus). However, just for the sake of it, try the blue bag purina. It worked for this cat, and then another cat that I got shortly after that who had the same problems until this feed. It's worth a shot as it's the easiest experiment to try.

Best of luck, and if the blue-bag doesn't work, the other recommendations sure seem to be fine ones with good sound veterinary logic.

Nathalie Ross in Houston, TX

-- Nathalie Ross (threehorses) (threehorses@emailaccount.com), January 01, 2002.

I know you said that you went to the vets. I had three cats once that had coccidiosis (sp?) and they kept giving it back and forth to one another - 5 months of three cats with diarrhea was hard to cope with. Just call your vet and ask if they tested for coccidiosis because it sure sounds like that could be it. Good luck!

-- Katie (homesteader@accessnevada.com), January 04, 2002.

Laura, it sounds very much like food allergy. Try a sample of IAMS Lamb & Rice, keep cat outside as much as possible. If the cat is eating grass, mice and birds, all the better. Time to leave the cat outside for your best interest.

-- matt johnson (wyo_cowboy_us@yahoo.com), January 04, 2002.

If your vets haven't considered this yet, suggest radiography (x rays), ultrasound, upper GI series, etc. (Get an estimate first, though. Even though it might sound expensive at first, it might be cheaper than some of those cat foods!!) And btw, your vets can send films out of town, etc., so don't be dissuaded if there's not a specialist in your immediate vicinity.

There are many physical problems (from neurologic, to physiologic, etc.) as to why cats can have diarrhea problems.

I work for a veterinary radiologist and see scores of reports on domestic animals daily. I'm not by any means *any* kind of expert (!!!), but I do know that clinical vets refer to specialists for interpretations. Sometimes the clinicians overlook things to rule out or diagnose.

Good luck with your cat. I have five cats myself and fret when they don't feel well.

-- sheepish (WA) (the_original_sheepish@hotmail.com), January 04, 2002.

Thanks so much for all your help! I decided to start with the acidopholous since it was recommended in several responses, but I have printed out all the suggestions in case it doesn't help. She is just on a basic lamb & rice food now which I am going to leave her on until I see how the acidipholous works. That way, I know when I have it solved. It will be really hard to find time to cook for her each day. I go to school full-time and I work full-time. On my mother-in- law's advice (she's a sweetie, not the stereotype!!), I am also going to leave the tv on for her when I go to work in case she's just lonesome/anxious. THanks again for all the help & concern, I would have started here first last year if I had know it was here!!! Sprinkles says hi & thank-you too!!!

-- Laura (lucky1s@mcmsys.com), January 06, 2002.