Bloody Diarrehia, ER Clinic Today Opinions Needed

Status
Not open for further replies.
Louellen

Louellen

Member Since 2015
Had to take Morrigan to the E.R. clinic today as she's had 2 bowel movements in the past 24 hours now with mucous and blood tinged, semi-formed.
ER vet was quite impressed by the SS chart that we do by the way and said that even SHE isn't that organized.
She was also quite fine with Morrigan's numbers so, that wasn't an issue and nothing found on ab exam, temp etc..

She feels that it's colitis and *MIGHT* have been caused by introducing the Pure Bites Chicken as that's the only new thing she'd JUST started eating and had eaten quite a bit of it (couple of larger chunks day before this happened).

She prescribed Flagyl (Metronidiazole sp?) in liquid form for it and said to keep her on her regular diet. (I had the SS on my phone and notes with me as well as Morrigan's most recent full blood and urinalysis with me).

So, my questions to those of you who have any input are....
She's been eating the Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Chicken Liver Kitten Canned food throughout the day (will NOT look at it overnight so, a bit of m/d kibble still at night).

I've read a lot about people saying that their cats ended up vomiting and with bloody diarrehia on the Purina Pro Plan wet and dry foods. It's making me wonder now. Hmmm...could the canned food be causing this?

Now, I've got a cat that has this issue and while I've left her on the m/d kibble last night and today thus far, not pushing the canned food because of the diarrehia, I am supposed to get her back to the canned food again. (About 14 hours worth of kibble now)

My regular vet is away on vacation and I don't like the fill in vet AT ALL after some really bad advice on my pets as well as a friend's pets. BIG bill today too for the ER visit.

AND...anyone use Flagyl/Metronidazole for their cats with diabetes and been ok with it? (I haven't given her a dose yet as I figure I will give it to her when she settles down from the vet trip and wants to eat again (supposed to be given with food apparently).

It's too late today to hit the pet food store and she won't eat FF, Friskies/9 Lives (which I have here anyways). I do have Wellness Core, BFF and Feline Cuisine here but, hesitate to introduce something FAIRLY new right now as well in spite of the fact that she's eaten these before but, not more recently.

What would you do with this situation? Any opinions or thoughts I'd be grateful for having.
 
Food batch changes for several products have caused GI upsets for kitties in the past. Record the product codes on what you've been feeding and if the problem comes back when you start that food again, you've got support for thinking it is the canned food.

Also, plain pumpkin or squash, or a pinch of psyllium powder added to the food can help form up the stool again.
 
BJM said:
Food batch changes for several products have caused GI upsets for kitties in the past. Record the product codes on what you've been feeding and if the problem comes back when you start that food again, you've got support for thinking it is the canned food.
Click to expand...

Thanks BJ...I am hesitant right now (broke too LOL) to try anything new but, I guess I have to get her back onto canned foods again after 14 hours on m/d kibble. Uggghhh....swear she's going to have me drinking or mainlining valium! I'm already going to pop an Advil after a LONG wait which caused a bad headache.

I will do that though. So, you think that going back to the Pro Plan is not a bad idea? (She's only been off it for those 14 hours thus far).
 
I did a Google search and found this:
"The consequences are we have now lost two cats due to this awful nasty food. These two cats were doing fine before eating this and then not, 2 days are not eating, getting sickly, not going to the bathroom, and then sadly having to now put down the second kitty due to this. This needs to be investigated ASAP, animals are dying due this so called food and I am not the only one having this issue. Something needs to be done and SOON!!! IT WAS THE PURINA PRO PLAN NEW BRAND."
 
Thanks BJ...had to go and take an Advil for my horrid headache. I got the same types of things on a search with loads of people saying their cats were vomiting and had bloody diarrehia so...I think (though not good for long), I will let her stick to her m/d kibble and try slowly introducing another canned food bit by bit as she starts to hopefully, get better.

I was going to give her a dose of the Flagyl tonight but, because we're hoping to get some much needed sleep, I will leave it until tomorrow to start it and see if she has anymore movements first. If she does...new dose in the morning, then a slow introduction back to canned foods but, not Pro Plan. YIKES!
 
There are 2 dry kibble in the US that are low carb: Evo Cat and Kitten, and Young Again 0 Carb (internet only, 5% calories from carbohydrate)
 
interesting on the food complaints.

we've done that medication - metrodi-whatever... flagyl....
did it for a whole bottle.... saw no effect on bg.

I wonder about the pure bites....
all the freeze dried variations usually caused mine to have drier poo. I could actually see the freeze dried texture.
mine just won't eat any treats for me right now....

If the blood was red....than it may have been too much straining.... red is usually close to the anus....
if it's dark, or blackish than it's further up the intestine.

I was always able to switch foods back and forth previously before this ibd/lymphoma dx.
a probiotic might be a good idea if proplan is having issues...
 
BJM said:
There are 2 dry kibble in the US that are low carb: Evo Cat and Kitten, and Young Again 0 Carb (internet only, 5% calories from carbohydrate)
Click to expand...

Oh I WISH we could get those BJ but, here in Canada...we can't get either one of those. We Canadians are just really ticked off that we can't get either and have put in complaints to both manufacturers about it. EVO pulled out of Canada due to profit margins. Young Again WILL ship it....at approx. $120/4 lb bag (with exchange, shipping, duty, product cost) and that doesn't include our HST tax that we'd get charged by Canada...so likely about $150 Cdn when all is said and done. Can't do it. :(
 
rhiannon and shadow said:
interesting on the food complaints.

we've done that medication - metrodi-whatever... flagyl....
did it for a whole bottle.... saw no effect on bg.

I wonder about the pure bites....
all the freeze dried variations usually caused mine to have drier poo. I could actually see the freeze dried texture.
mine just won't eat any treats for me right now....

If the blood was red....than it may have been too much straining.... red is usually close to the anus....
if it's dark, or blackish than it's further up the intestine.

I was always able to switch foods back and forth previously before this ibd/lymphoma dx.
a probiotic might be a good idea if proplan is having issues...
Click to expand...

Thanks Rhannon and shadow. Not sure what to believe about this and the Pro Plan either. She's been eating Pro Plan all along but, the past couple of days, she's really been eating more of it? Before that, I was struggling with mixtures of Pro Plan, Wellness Core, BFF and Feline Cuisine. I got fed up with the mixing as it wasn't working and went to solely the Pro Plan Kitten (sanctified as low carb on the list) and she ate it much better and I was almost getting off of the m/d kibble. I do know that she didn't like the freeze dried treats for quite awhile but, the previous 2 days before this started, she was suddenly gobbling down big chunks of it. Same thing happened the last time a few weeks ago but, THAT, I'm fairly certain was due to too quick a food change (went from m/d to Orijen as it's the same carb content but more protein base and might be a lower GI rating). And, yes...I'd think it would be a bit drying too but, while my previous dog could eat them without issue, my current dog cannot. Same thing, colitis so...????

What do you feed for the IBD and diabetes?

Any side effects from the Flagyl/Metronidazole? I had my dog on it and no issue but, haven't tried it on my cat yet. I'm waiting until morning when I'm off tomorrow and will be around all day to watch her...not for BG reasons but, for side effects.
 
I used to feed the Purina cat chow dry (blue bag at the time) to 3 of my cats and they all developed semi-formed to formed, mucous-y stools with frequent small amounts of blood in them. After I finally switched foods, the issues with all 3 stopped. This was quite a few years back, so I'm not sure if it's still an issue with purina foods. My cats also got salmonella from friskies (purina) but that's another issue.

Still, I avoid anything by purina like the plague.

When I researched this problem the biggest culprit that I could find information on was aflatoxin which is a common contaminant in dry food stuffs, especially grains, seeds, flours, and other starchy goods. If they are using low quality, not fresh dry ingredients, they could be introducing the toxins into the dry or wet foods and contributing to the colitis that many have complained about with these foods. It's not just a purina problem, but this is the top offender for my cats.
 
Meya14 said:
I used to feed the Purina cat chow dry (blue bag at the time) to 3 of my cats and they all developed semi-formed to formed, mucous-y stools with frequent small amounts of blood in them. After I finally switched foods, the issues with all 3 stopped. This was quite a few years back, so I'm not sure if it's still an issue with purina foods. My cats also got salmonella from friskies (purina) but that's another issue.

Still, I avoid anything by purina like the plague.

When I researched this problem the biggest culprit that I could find information on was aflatoxin which is a common contaminant in dry food stuffs, especially grains, seeds, flours, and other starchy goods. If they are using low quality, not fresh dry ingredients, they could be introducing the toxins into the dry or wet foods and contributing to the colitis that many have complained about with these foods. It's not just a purina problem, but this is the top offender for my cats.
Click to expand...


Thanks Meya...I really appreciate this. I think I will try to change to be safe. But, the Pro Plan canned food was the ONLY canned food she'd eat and I have to get her off of the kibble. Wow...what a headache!

What did you do while they had the bloody-mucousy diarrheia? Did you give any meds for it or just wait it out? I am told to give her the Flagyl to help clear this up.

She had a movement in the backyard this morning. (She's out there, supervised, totally fenced in). That is highly unusual for her to have done. I'm concerned and her regular vet who knows her best is away until August 8th. SCREAM!
 
BJM said:
Maybe add Canada to your signature.
Click to expand...


Done BJ :)

PS: Just re-read your above post and saw the pumpkin! I think I have some. I'm hesitant to add anything to Morrigan's dietary issues but, perhaps....getting some into her would help. Thank you.
 
Last edited:
I stopped feeding my kitties Pure Bites because it would cause constipation. Guess they're so dry it's hard for them to pass. At times I would see blood as they strained to pass the poop. Once I got away from the Pure Bites all returned to normal.
 
Dusty Bones said:
I stopped feeding my kitties Pure Bites because it would cause constipation. Guess they're so dry it's hard for them to pass. At times I would see blood as they strained to pass the poop. Once I got away from the Pure Bites all returned to normal.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dusty Bones. I was thinking that it's too coincidental that she had JUST consumed a few large chunks of it a day or so before this started and was the only new thing that she's had. She was quite resistant to them (wanted to use them at test and shot time) at first but, 2 days before this started, she suddenly wanted them and this happened.

I've taken them away (though our dog loves them and he is prone to colitis but is ok with the chicken) so, it's been about 2 days now without them. I just started the Flagyl today. But, given what I've read about the Purina Pro Plan with so many people having had the same problems...it's making me wonder about THAT now too!
She hasn't had any of either for a day and a half now. She's been eating purely her m/d kibble but....her numbers are going WAY up again. Oh boy. I'm a mess, of course. :(
 
I think any dry food is tough on diabetic kitties because they tend to be more dehydrated than normal. Even with wet food I have to add water to make it soupy for Dusty so he can stay regular.
 
Oh you're in quite a pickle...Dakota is allergic to fagyl, discovered before we adopted him so don't know what his reaction was. He/most others don't eat kibble so don't know about that either. I'm not much help but I give good hugs... :)

Hugs and prayers!
 
Dusty Bones said:
I think any dry food is tough on diabetic kitties because they tend to be more dehydrated than normal. Even with wet food I have to add water to make it soupy for Dusty so he can stay regular.
Click to expand...

Thanks Squeaky and KT....now I'm going to watch her for a reaction! YIKES...more to worry about. :(

Dusty Bones...you just raised a good point...until I figure out what canned food to try next without a "transition upset"...I think I will add some water to the m/d kibble so that she gets that fluid! They did a check on her for dehydration yesterday (gums, skin pull etc) at the ER clinic and she was fine that way apparently and only had 1 bowel movement yesterday BUT...while I figure out how to get her safely back onto canned foods again (at least she's eating the kibble fine thus far...knock on wood....) adding water to her kibble *might* work??? She's pretty resistant to change! At least I know that she was ok on the kibble before so, that's one sure food for her.

I'm a mess.
 
Louellen said:
What did you do while they had the bloody-mucousy diarrheia? Did you give any meds for it or just wait it out? I am told to give her the Flagyl to help clear this up.
Click to expand...

Flagyl is for bacterial overgrowth (especially clostriduim) that can trigger colitis in cats. I would think it would be better to actually get a C&S on the stool sample before starting antibiotics if she is thinking it's related to infection. Flagyl will also kill common intestinal parasites like giardia too. It's important to give a probiotic after the antibiotic course.

With my cats' colitis the vet at the time told us it's IBD and not to really worry about it. I thought it was strange that ALL the cats in the house would have IBD? So I didn't do much at first, but tried to narrow down what might be causing for all cats, and obviously, food was a common factor. Once we switched, it cleared up for all cats in a matter of weeks. That's pretty much all we did for the colitis.

For the salmonella (OMG worst ever, both cats projectile vomiting and projectile diarrhea all over the house), ABX + probiotic. We continued the probiotic for a while. It really seemed to help keep the stools formed, and not smelling terrible. I had run out of my usual food and bought some friskies from the grocery, and this is what happened. Never again. This took about a month to clear up completely.

The wellness is a really good food. I currently feed EVO too because the wellness is a little more expensive.
 
If your cat is a kibble junkie, and you have a hard time getting her to eat wet, there is a semi-wet food kibble called "Fresh Pet" that isn't the lowest carb food out there, but it has less than dry and more fluids. It was helpful when I was trying to switch my cats to all wet food.
 
Meya14 said:
If your cat is a kibble junkie, and you have a hard time getting her to eat wet, there is a semi-wet food kibble called "Fresh Pet" that isn't the lowest carb food out there, but it has less than dry and more fluids. It was helpful when I was trying to switch my cats to all wet food.
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you, Meya. Yes, I have tried that too as has another Canadian friend of mine. We thought we'd struck some sort of gold in finding it and doing the math. Unfortunately...neither of our cats will even look at it! Both are kibble junkies and the ONLY canned food that Morrigan would even entertain and I had spent months getting her onto was Purina Pro Plan kitten chicken and liver entree. Now, she's developed bloody, mucusy diarrheia and we don't know if it was the Pro Plan (lots to say about Purina's issues lately and class action lawsuits etc.) or Pure Snacks the freeze dried chicken treats that has caused it. :(
 
BJ...I think you're right about that. Our dog eats them without issue NOW...but, when we first got him as a pup...he couldn't even look at them without having to go on Flagyl so, we stopped completely. We gave him (believe this or not), pieces of left over Hills i/d as "treats" once he'd cleared up and gone back to his food. But, he snuck into the Pure Bites Chicken and has been fine again so, we've let him have it. Maybe, there's bad batches? Or, maybe, Morrigan is just too sensitive to a full meat???

No more of those for Morrigan. For the few treats that we give her just to get shots and testing in (she gets maybe 2 per shot/test)....I've got to find something else. Purina said that it might have been a bad batch of the Pro Plan. The vets (we've consulted 3 of them now, including an E.R. clinic vet) thinks it's likely more the treats as she was doing fine on the Pro Plan (the ONLY canned food she will eat). So...right now...she's on the m/d kibble solely for a few days as she tends to be fine on that and while we finish her doses of the Flagyl and we've been told by 3 vets now to "put up with the higher numbers for 4 or so more days...then, SLOWLY re-introduce the canned food to her diet and see what happens. Anymore incidents with colitis and it's the Pro Plan but, to keep her away from the treats totally. I have NO clue really which it is except that she was ok on the Pro Plan and only started this bloody, mucousy diarrheia when she ate the treats. So...??? Guess work?

Boy I wish her regular vet was back! He's not going to be back until August 8th. :(
 
Maybe poach some chicken breast, cut it into pieces and freeze it. Then you could take out a few pieces to thaw out and use as treats instead of the Purebites.

FWIW, there are definitely quality differences between batches of Cosma freeze-dried chicken treats. Some of them are definitely oilier.
 
I use chicken Vienna Sausages as treats or to get my kitties to eat when they're being picky. They just love them, they're mostly chicken something, with no sugar, and lots of moisture. I just give them little bits of them and then when they see they're not getting anymore they go eat their cat food. As treats after shots would work great too. I'm guilty of eating the left overs :eek:.
 
Thank you for those suggestions! I have tried the tuna and she's not much interested in it. I guess she's not a fish cat??? I've tried chicken done all different ways, roasted, BBQ'd, boiled, broiled, fried...none of it interests her. She's one stubborn cat! I haven't tried the Vienna Sausages. Hmmm....now where can I get those? Hubby says that I treat the cat better than I treat him! He's right! LOL ;)

But, these numbers I'm getting are driving me NUTS! I HATE seeing them. She's eating all m/d kibble and that's shooting the numbers UP big time. I know it's just supposed to be for another couple of days but, wow...I haven't seen her numbers like this since before insulin or just starting it. It may also be (as one friend of mine with a diabetic cat as well has said as a possibility) that she's still not feeling up to snuff, hates the liquid med she's being syringed twice a day and she's just not feeling herself???

I can keep her away from those freeze dried treats and will find something else that works but, the biggest culprit right now is the m/d kibble and what to get her back onto once i can go back to re-introducing canned foods again. I was told to go SLOWLY in re-introducing it to her but...what brand now? I'm SO frustrated, worried and fed up with not figuring this out. I think I'm just tired too. It's been worrisome to say the least.

I got her fecal tests back. Came back negative for parasites and anything else that would cause colitis outside of food/treats so....do I believe that Purina Pro Plan is ok to try again since it was the ONLY one she'd eat???
Any thoughts on that are so very welcomed!
 
I was just going to start a thread when I came upon yours so here goes - I am too familiar with diarrhea with blood and mucus. Hopefully your cat's problem is an acute form caused by food and is resolving or will resolve with the right diet. My cat has had loose stool with blood and mucus for a year and I have tried everything I can think of, to no avail - except prednisone which has made my cat Vivian diabetic and from which I am trying to wean her.
If symptoms don't improve with metro and diet change, and are ongoing, you may need to consider a more chronic inflammatory condition - this is what Vivian has. Did you say that your cat's symptoms have improved on the m/d only? I guess a good way to know if the canned food caused the problem is to try her on a little. My cat's BG #'s have been good since transitioning her diet to EVO, and the canned food transition is a work in progress. Every canned food I try other than the Hills DD (high carb!) she has been eating for months makes her diarrhea worse. This is further complicated by the weaning from the pred, she is down to 2.5 mg every other day and not tolerating the reduced dose well. Vet said yesterday I may need to face the fact that she will not be able to come off the pred and will therefore remain diabetic, and both colon inflammation and diabetes treatment with pred and insulin will have to be ongoing. Disheartening. I too am in search of a canned food, or some natural treatment for colitis that doesn't involve more px drugs! I feel your frustration, and I think we both feel our cats' pain.
 
Laura Nels said:
I was just going to start a thread when I came upon yours so here goes - I am too familiar with diarrhea with blood and mucus. Hopefully your cat's problem is an acute form caused by food and is resolving or will resolve with the right diet. My cat has had loose stool with blood and mucus for a year and I have tried everything I can think of, to no avail - except prednisone which has made my cat Vivian diabetic and from which I am trying to wean her.
If symptoms don't improve with metro and diet change, and are ongoing, you may need to consider a more chronic inflammatory condition - this is what Vivian has. Did you say that your cat's symptoms have improved on the m/d only? I guess a good way to know if the canned food caused the problem is to try her on a little. My cat's BG #'s have been good since transitioning her diet to EVO, and the canned food transition is a work in progress. Every canned food I try other than the Hills DD (high carb!) she has been eating for months makes her diarrhea worse. This is further complicated by the weaning from the pred, she is down to 2.5 mg every other day and not tolerating the reduced dose well. Vet said yesterday I may need to face the fact that she will not be able to come off the pred and will therefore remain diabetic, and both colon inflammation and diabetes treatment with pred and insulin will have to be ongoing. Disheartening. I too am in search of a canned food, or some natural treatment for colitis that doesn't involve more px drugs! I feel your frustration, and I think we both feel our cats' pain.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Laura Nels for sharing your situation with me. I am so sorry that your cat is suffering from this too. It's so hard to know what to do, isn't it? It's not just one thing to deal with but, 2 and knowing how to deal with it effectively is the hard part. In dealing with one, you lose out while dealing with another. :(

I've read a LOT about switching to a RAW diet for these types of issues. I don't have the nerve to do it though. I'm not even sure she would eat it. As you are experiencing, trying to get them off of the kibble is akin to trying to get a heroine addict off of heroine! ;)
Heck I'd stand and make her home made diet *IF* I knew she'd eat it but, I've read way too many cat owner's stories about how they spent hours and mega bucks, getting all that was needed to make homemade diets and the cats turning up their noses at it and having to dump it all then, give away equipment (electric grinders, vitamins etc.).

I know one thing...Morrigan has expensive tastes. She likes the higher priced foods. Fancy Feast, 9 Lives, Friskies etc. not only don't tempt her but, they don't do her system well either. And, being Canadian, EVO is not available to us here. Mars (EVO's manufacturers) have decided that their profit margins are lower by selling it in Canada and many other countries so, they are concentrating on the U.S.. :(

I have a dog who had chronic colitis and we had to switch him to Hills i/d for about 6 months and rounds of Metro/Flagyl (still can't spell that!) but, eventually, we got him transitioned over to NOW (Canadian made food, no grains) and as long as we don't let him stray from that too much, he has remained fine. We had another dog with that issue and had to get her onto Lamb formulas and she was fine as long as we didn't deviate. BUT...neither of them had/have diabetes on top of it and they are dogs so, the "obligate carnivore" aspect wasn't as much of a problem.

The ER vet said the same type of thing to us about eating what she will eat and staying on a diet that will allow her to eat then, dosing UP to those numbers and that food. Of course, it makes it hard to be in here where most member's cats are eating Fancy Feast/9 Lives/Friskies and not having much issue with that aspect of things. I feel like a "failure" (for Morrigan) when I can't do anything to get her onto foods that will help her too. It's like I want to go put my head through a wall. :banghead: (Thank heavens for this little icon).

Just one question...did your vet suggest that this could be caused by colon polyps (benign)? The ER vet told me that it may be the cause. I hope NOT. I can't afford a colonoscopy right now. So, I am hoping that it's the treats that I gave her and this round of Flagyl will do the trick and get her back to normal and I can start at the drawing board again with working back to some sort of canned food.

Just wanted to add that for Morrigan, getting her onto canned food, involved having to add Forti Flora to her food to tempt her. I had to use the CANINE version of it though. The feline version did nothing to either tempt or help her. Have you tried that?

So, from one diabetic colitis cat mom to another.... :bighug: :bighug: :bighug: :bighug:
 
Polyps are usually the -result- of chronic inflammation (ie. scar-type tissue), not the cause of the inflammation. There is a dry food that is very low carb called Young Again. I'm not sure that is available where you are and might be more expensive. I think there is one other dry food that's somewhat low carb, I can't remember if it was EVO that makes it? You may be able to order american products online to canada.
 
Meya14 said:
Polyps are usually the -result- of chronic inflammation (ie. scar-type tissue), not the cause of the inflammation. There is a dry food that is very low carb called Young Again. I'm not sure that is available where you are and might be more expensive. I think there is one other dry food that's somewhat low carb, I can't remember if it was EVO that makes it? You may be able to order american products online to canada.
Click to expand...


Thanks Meya...yup...I wish we could get those 2 lower carb foods up here but, neither EVO nor the Young Again Zero are available up here in Canada. Profit margins seem to be the bottom lines. :(

But, HOPEFULLY, Laura can use it! :)
 
I know that there are scary things being said about the pro plan ( i looked it up just to see), but that company has so very many products out there (Friskies, FF, ProPlan, Vet formulas, endless kibble and dog food, the list goes on!). I don't think there could be something dangerous in there that wouldn't cause them to do a recall and/or reformulation. They've got a big industry to protect, and I know the big companies seem like the worst, but they've also got to be pretty careful with so many animals' lives at stake. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but there are a lot of misinformed and often hysterical people who voice their opinions online. Sometimes it's valid and sometimes people are looking for someone to blame, and in the process they freak everybody out when there could have been other contributing factors, as well. So! I would say it's probably safe to give it a try since she's done so well with it, and especially since she's such a princess about her food ;) and if the problem arises, then you can consider the food a possible culprit now that you've only got one variable.
It could be she is having inflammation due to a number of things, though, even a food allergy. There are other inflammatory (but manageable and possibly temporary!) conditions that may cause those symptoms. I do feel like vets are a little IBD happy, as somebody already mentioned. My own cats and friends' cats (all with different symptoms) have been casually diagnosed with some form it and it seems like that's the diagnosis when they don't know exactly what's going on or how to address it. What seems true, though, is that cats are prone to inflammatory problems and one can set off a chain reaction, so it may be a good idea to look into that if the problem persists. It's a bugger, but it's deal-able.
I know it was said before, that sometimes blood (red blood) can be from a burst capillary from the trauma of having diarrhea. Same goes for small amounts of blood in vomit; it can be from the strain. It doesn't have to mean something extraordinary. Vomitting and diarrhea are, of course, not normal, but cats do have those sensitive systems.
Also, I give William a few pieces of his dry food as a treat. He thinks it is the BEST. It is EVO which I know you can't get there, but maybe for the time being you can use her kibble as the treat? Assuming you got her back on her wet food, even if it isn't low carb, at least it wouldn't be her main food and you know she likes it.
Good luck! And you're doing a good job!
 
William's Mom said:
I know that there are scary things being said about the pro plan ( i looked it up just to see), but that company has so very many products out there (Friskies, FF, ProPlan, Vet formulas, endless kibble and dog food, the list goes on!). I don't think there could be something dangerous in there that wouldn't cause them to do a recall and/or reformulation. They've got a big industry to protect, and I know the big companies seem like the worst, but they've also got to be pretty careful with so many animals' lives at stake. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but there are a lot of misinformed and often hysterical people who voice their opinions online. Sometimes it's valid and sometimes people are looking for someone to blame, and in the process they freak everybody out when there could have been other contributing factors, as well. So! I would say it's probably safe to give it a try since she's done so well with it, and especially since she's such a princess about her food ;) and if the problem arises, then you can consider the food a possible culprit now that you've only got one variable.
It could be she is having inflammation due to a number of things, though, even a food allergy. There are other inflammatory (but manageable and possibly temporary!) conditions that may cause those symptoms. I do feel like vets are a little IBD happy, as somebody already mentioned. My own cats and friends' cats (all with different symptoms) have been casually diagnosed with some form it and it seems like that's the diagnosis when they don't know exactly what's going on or how to address it. What seems true, though, is that cats are prone to inflammatory problems and one can set off a chain reaction, so it may be a good idea to look into that if the problem persists. It's a bugger, but it's deal-able.
I know it was said before, that sometimes blood (red blood) can be from a burst capillary from the trauma of having diarrhea. Same goes for small amounts of blood in vomit; it can be from the strain. It doesn't have to mean something extraordinary. Vomitting and diarrhea are, of course, not normal, but cats do have those sensitive systems.
Also, I give William a few pieces of his dry food as a treat. He thinks it is the BEST. It is EVO which I know you can't get there, but maybe for the time being you can use her kibble as the treat? Assuming you got her back on her wet food, even if it isn't low carb, at least it wouldn't be her main food and you know she likes it.
Good luck! And you're doing a good job!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much William's Mom. I agree with pretty much everything that you've said. I guess that I'm being extra sensitive about the food issue as I am just tired right now. Fear and worry can do a lot of damage and make mountains out of mole hills. Like you've said, Purina has been in business for almost 80 years or more so, I'm sure, being such a big company, they'd be VERY careful as to what they're putting out there from the lower priced to the higher priced foods. It doesn't make sense that they'd fool around with that. Accidents and bad batches happen with every food company....even human foods and products but, I'm feeling a little better in thinking of it that way. I did call Purina to see if there had been a reformulation as they'd changed the packaging. The answer from 3 different reps (yup...I called 3 times to be sure) was that there wasn't a change in formulation since April 2013 (way before I started Morrigan on their Pro Plan canned food) and that it was only a packaging change/label change.

I hope to wait until the weekend and SLOWLY (as 3 vets have now suggested), trying to get her back onto the canned food. I might try a few others that I had given to her before and see if this "break" will get her back onto something else but...if it doesn't...I will slowly try the Pro Plan canned again as she ate that and I had her nearly off the kibble. It's like starting over again once she gets back into it again. *SIGH* Oh well...we do what we need to do for their own good when they need it, don't we?
 
@Louellen If you want to try raw, see if you can find Primal frozen raw...they have a "trial pack" of 3 different kinds so you don't have to buy a huge bag of it just to find out he won't eat it. RadCat also has a smaller 8oz tub of frozen raw (and smaller sample sizes if the store carries them)

Transitioning to raw takes time too, but it can be done!
 
Your cat's sudden symptoms remind me of another kitty I had - Nina lost her battle with kidney disease May 30 2014.
Long before that I had her on a "kidney formula" cat food, it was a Purina veterinary product, NF probably. She was fine with it until all of a sudden she began to vomit every time she ate it! I asked the vet to check if they had changed the formula and to anyone's knowledge they had not.
Kidney disease is notorious for causing stomach upset, so I just assumed Nina had developed a sensitivity to something in the food.
I switched her to the other brand the clinic carried: Hills KD and she was fine with it. Always a mystery what happened, but I attributed it to Nina's disease and related sensitivities. Sometimes these sensitivities, allergies, whatever they are come out of nowhere and are not easily explained. I also would not necessarily blame the food, but who knows. When she is ready, maybe there is another low carb canned food she will accept and tolerate.
Good luck.
I increased Vivian's pred yesterday, she was just getting too sick and I didn't have any other quick enough solutions. Things already look better today, not great, but better. Not sure where we're headed from here - I've had my mind so made up that the insulin was a TEMPORARY measure until she got off pred, and am trying to come to terms with the fact that Vivian is making it clear to me what she needs, not the other way around. Disappointing but we move forward.
 
Vivian began to eat a bit of Purina DM canned food mixed with the DD she has been on. This isn't what caused you cat's symptoms?
She seems to like it, and as I said, what I've seen in the litter box so far today looks better than it did in previous days, though there is still much room for improvement -
 
First, how's Morrigan doing?

Something else that may be a consideration is that most all of the foods from Purina, from Friskies to the veterinary diets, contain fish somewhere on their ingredient list (I'm a semi obsessive label reader - food and otherwise). Fish contains a lot of histamine and is one of the foods that cats can have or develop allergies to.
DM has it and I've been trying to find something else for him so that he doesn't have fish everyday, since he's got some issues of his own outside of diabetes, but he's a really picky eater, too, and I haven't been successful yet.

@Laura Nels Don't be disheartened! Remission is not something that happens as quickly in some as it does in others. I looked at Vivian's (great name!) spreadsheet and she looks wonderful! I could only dream that William's would be such a calm ride through diabetes. I have decided that I have to address the possibility of remission not as my goal, but as a really happy surprise that may one day happen, otherwise I'll be bummed (or more bummed) about it all the time. But, honestly, she looks great and with time and diligence you may get what you're hoping for.
 
William's Mom said:
Fish contains a lot of histamine and is one of the foods that cats can have or develop allergies to.
Click to expand...

I don't know whether the following might be of help to readers.

Saoirse has been tested for allergies and did get some positive results. She has pancreatitis so trying to find something she would eat consistently took me nine months, but sometimes she would start mewling after eating. This got more frequent. Around the same time she started sneezing a lot. I asked our vet to prescribe an antihistamine for her because I thought it might be something in our house that was irritating her nose. He prescribed Piriton for her. It helped with the sneezing, and it had the unexpected effect of stopping her mewling, too. It seems to have helped her digestive system.

Interestingly, when Saoirse was on cyproheptadine last year (also an antihistamine) it also seemed to have a beneficial effect on her digestive system in addition to stimulating her appetite. It's definitely something that might be worth asking one's vet about if the cat has digestive issues.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top